Applicants are required to attend a workshop on interviewing and workplace skills prior to accessing the system, with the intention of making them more successful in their job search and on the job. With this streamlined process, we are able to maximize youth employment for all areas of the Silicon Valley and allow employers a convenient way to list job openings to the widest possible audience. After applicants have completed the workshop, they meet with an employment counselor to receive additional preparation and job specifics for an appropriate referral. This pre-screening process ensures only the most qualified youth are referred to each job and workplace environment. By specifying the job requirements for each listing and controlling how referrals are made, employers are able to hire youth easily and efficiently.
New technologies can link our youth efficiently and realistically to the workplace.
With the extension of education outside the classroom to hands-on industry experience, youth are able to explore career options and interests, and industry is able to train the workforce of the future. The public sector involved in summer youth employment programs recognized the advantages computerization would bring to their efforts, which relied on an outdated manual system of placing index cards on bulletin boards. NOVA Private Industry Council turned to Smart Valley for assistance in developing an online database and finding partners to develop the Internet-capable systems that would streamline the process and allow similar employment programs to share job listings, thereby expanding the capacity of each program. Software Development Corsoft Corporation, a Microsoft Solutions Provider, agreed to create the database using SQL server and customized a Microsoft Application Program Interface to work with the Internet Information Server. About Private Industry Councils Private Industry Councils were established in 1982 under the federal Job Training Partnership Act to assist employers and residents in their workforce development needs.