Job Corps is a program that dates to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. The initial goal — help young people develop the skills they need to succeed in the workforce — was laudable. However, as tends to happen with government programs, the results have fallen short of the vision.

On this episode of “Hardly Working,” I’m joined by Anne Kim, who listeners may recognize from her first appearanceon the show. Kim talked about a recent article she wrote for Washington Monthly looking at the promise of Job Corps and the disappointment it has left in its wake. 

Show Notes:

Anne Kim’s first appearance on ‘Hardly Working’

Anne Kim’s essay in Washington Monthly 

Anne Kim’s book

George Foreman repaying Job Corp 

On Job Corps not working

Past Job Corps audits (1, 2)

Job Corps handbook

Mathematica Job Corps evaluation

2018 Job Corps audit 

On why doing nothing can be better than doing something

YearUp

On the wrong people benefiting from Job Corps

Job Corps

Philadelphia Youth Network

Minding our workforce: The role of noncognitive skills in career successEconomic Mobility Pathways (EMPath)

On Job Corps trouble in COVID-19 times

Young workers hit hard by the COVID-19 economy: Workers age 16–24 face high unemployment and an uncertain future

On Young people’s skills gap

Problems with millennial generation coming out of 2008 recession