The Job Corps program is funded through the U.S. Department of Labor and has been around for 60 years. Sadly Donald Trump’s 2026 budget proposal would eliminate the program entirely. 

Already DOGE’s haphazard cost-cutting efforts have disrupted program operations and blocked young people from accessing the program. 

This program provides education and skills training that is vital to the work force. Job Corps teaches youth ages 16-24 a skill trade and helps them obtain their GED or high school diploma. 

Job Corps isn’t a dumping ground for unwanted youth. It is an opportunity provided to at-risk youth to help them succeed. 

Many trades are taught at Job Corps—many of them vital to everyday living. Without Job Corps, there would be a decrease in people trained in a bunch of trades, and that would affect the workforce nationwide. 

Students come to Job Corps and they work hard to learn the trade of their choice and to obtain their GED or high school diploma. It’s a hope and opportunity for them that they may not otherwise have. It is a support system for not just the students but the trades offered on center. 

It’s not just a center, it’s like a family, and we are supporting our youths ages 16-24 to learn and grow and to help them succeed in society. 

Without the funding, Job Corps will have to close and that would mean a huge loss for our nation and our youth. Closure would cause many to become unemployed, and many youths who have worked so hard would lose their chance at finishing their trades and schooling. It would also be a loss for those who wanted to go to Job Corps but couldn’t due to closure. 

Please help all of us save Job Corps. Call your congressman, write a letter, send an email, anything you can, to help keep Job Corps open and running for our youths of today and those of tomorrow. 

Please don’t let this closure happen. It would take away so many youths’ hopes and chances to become more. 

We aren’t just a center, we are a family, a close-knit unit, and we can’t afford to lose this program. 

Time is running out to save Job Corps. Please help this petition grow and reach those who can save our youths’ hopes and their dreams of tomorrow.

The link to the petition is www.chng.it/7zQrTffFt2.

Iris Oliveras
Hankins, NY