For Us, By Us: How City Youth Are Restoring Their Neighborhoods Through CTE and Workforce Development

A few years ago, the former Mayor of Wilmington, a couple of School Board members, and I met to answer a very specific question: How can we better engage and support our city’s youth through a meaningful work program that actively engages them while supporting their community?

Out of that conversation grew our City of Wilmington Youth Development Program, which developed into a powerful collaboration between the New Castle County Vocational-Technical School District (NCCVT), the City of Wilmington, and local business partners.

When federal funds became available in 2022, we saw an opportunity to scale our vision by creating a program where students could be gainfully employed, contribute their skills meaningfully, and receive the additional services they need to succeed.

Building Skills and Communities

What started as an opportunity for a few students has now more than tripled in size over three years, transforming students’ lives and the neighborhoods in which they live in the process.

We know that CTE is one of the greatest movers for equity and opportunity since the “real world” becomes the students’ classroom.

Additionally, youth often face barriers that limit access to skilled paid work, tools or resources, and wraparound support when needed. This partnership intentionally connects the dots between school, workforce development, and the city, removing those barriers, developing students’ civic pride, and providing them with hands-on opportunities to practice the skills they have learned in their career programs.

Here’s what sets this program apart:

• Community-centered work: Most of the students participating in the program work on homes and properties in neighborhoods where they live. It’s a FUBU-style model, for us, by us, with students helping to restore the very communities that they are a part of.
  
• Meaningful employment: Students apply the various skills and CTE training to projects that matter. They gain work experience, earn competitive wages, and leave a real and visible impact on their city.
  
• Wraparound supports: Youth services are built into the program where needed. Whether it’s mentoring, transportation support, or actual tools and clothes, students receive what they need to be successful.
  
• Future-focused success: This program specifically aids students who are having issues maintaining or securing gainful employment within our traditional cooperative employment program, in which NCCVT seniors work in paid positions related to their career areas for approximately half of their school day. It has created a network of support and a viable launchpad for future employment within a trade or business.
  
• Thriving partnerships: For the first time, city officials, community organizations, independent contractors, and NCCVT staff are working hand-in-hand to support students, design meaningful work experiences, and ensure the program’s continued growth.

The Results: Purpose, Pride, and Progress

CTE is not just about preparing students for jobs, but rather it’s about helping them become contributors, citizens, and leaders in the places they call home.

The results speak for themselves. In just three years, participation grew from seven students in year one to twenty-five in year three, with more than fifty students being a part of the initiative overall.

These students have earned an average of $15 per hour, up to 35 hours per week.

As a result, we’ve witnessed students not only change the trajectory of their life by gaining technical skills but also, just as importantly, develop pride, purpose, and a deeper connection to their community.

Looking Ahead

For educational leaders looking to bridge education and workforce development, I encourage thinking locally and building partnerships that center students and their communities.

CTE is not just about preparing students for jobs, but rather it’s about helping them become contributors, citizens, and leaders in the places they call home.

In Wilmington, we’re seeing that when students are given tools, trust, and opportunities, they can build a better future for themselves and for all of us.