Pine Knot Job Corps Stronger Than Ever
By: Brandon Pfeilmeier, Center Director, Pine Knot Job Corps CCC
As a member of this community, Pine Knot Job Corps takes pride in our commitment to strengthen our relationships and provide services to the surrounding areas. While doing this, we are still training our young adults to become employable and to assist them to create opportunities that will launch their careers.
The Pine Knot Job Corps program does far more for our students than just providing them an education and trade skills, which will surely last a lifetime. In addition to their core training, we also work very hard with each student to build their skills in employability, social skills, team concepts, diversity awareness, health and wellness, and a wide range of other trainings to assist them moving forward. In addition, we also provide Driver’s Education and Career Transition/Readiness services.
Job Corps is a voluntary program for youth, aged 16 through 24. Job Corps’ mission is to attract eligible young people, teach them the skills they need to become employable and independent, and place them in meaningful jobs or further education.
During the course of our current Program Year, which runs from July 1st through June 30th, Pine Knot is setting a record pace. The center is currently ranked #16 out of 124 centers and we are ranked 3rd out of the 26 Job Corps centers operated by the US Forest Service. Job Corps center rankings are established by the US Department of Labor and are based on how well students perform compared to students at all of the other centers across the country. Performance measures include both on-center and off-center accomplishments including achievement of a HS diploma, completion of a vocational trade certification, placement in a job, attainment of target wages, and even successful job placement and wage attainment 12 months after graduation.
The following is some notable statistical information, in regard to Pine Knot Job Corps current Program Year and last year. During 2016, students and staff worked 10,329 hours fighting Forest Fires throughout the country and provided 7,043 hours of fire support duties on Camp Crews. We have provided over 1100 hours of community support so far this Program Year, within the surrounding communities and other federal programs. We have placed 34 graduates in Ameri-Corps, which ranks 2nd in the nation among all Job Corps centers. We have had 7 students enlist in the Armed Forces this current Program Year. Seventy-five percent of our students completed their high school diploma/GED, 93 percent of students obtained an industry recognized credential, 72 percent obtained both a diploma/GED and a trade completion, 70 percent leave finding a job in the field they studied for, 86 percent of the graduates are placed into jobs and an average of 67 percent are still employed 6 and 12 months after leaving the program. We have partnered with 7 local businesses to provide off-site work-based learning opportunities as well.
None of this would be possible if it were not for the commitment of our very talented staff that are employed here. We currently have 54 federal positions (3 are vacant), 6 contracted employees, 2 Employee’s from Goodwill (Formerly Experience Works) and several volunteers to service 175 students on a daily basis. I would like to solicit your involvement as well. If you are interested, you can contact me for volunteer opportunities, get involved with our Community Relations Council, Center Industry Council or arrange a tour of our facility.
Finally, you can contact us if you feel we could assist you or the community with a project you know of. We can provide assistance to the following: Local/State/Federal Government, Non-Profit Organizations, individuals with disabilities and for projects that are for the betterment of the entire community.
The Pine Knot Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center is operated by the U.S. Forest Service through an inter-agency agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor and is associated with the Daniel Boone National Forest. The Pine Knot Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center offers residential job training for at – risk young people between the ages of 16 – 24 and serves 175 students. The USDA Forest Service operates 28 Civilian Conservation Centers spanning 22 forest and grasslands and 18 states with a capacity of serving 6,200 students. For more information, visit: http://recruiting.jobcorps.gov/en/home.aspx. The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forest and grasslands to meet the needs of the present and future generations. The Agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to State and private land-owners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the whole world.
