By Cara Baruzzi, Register Business Editor, cbaruzzi@nhregister.com
@nhregister / @newhavenbiznews

NEW HAVEN — The New Haven Job Corps Center, which provides free academic and technical training to young workers, is in the midst of its first Career Week.

While the center has held “career days” in the past, this is the first time it has expanded the concept into a weeklong event, said Shelara Pullen, the center’s work-based learning coordinator.

Each day this week, students at the center — area residents between the ages of 16 and 24 — are learning about a different facet of the job search process and life in the work force. The center, at 455 Wintergreen Ave., is primarily a training facility, but also incorporates education into its curriculum.

Tuesday’s activities focused around a career-themed fashion show, in which models showed students the types of attire that are appropriate for various workplace settings.



The center’s main mission is to prepare young people for the work force, an objective Pullen said has become even more essential in a tough economy in which many have trouble getting their foot in the door.

“A lot of them don’t know where to start,” she said of students. “We’re getting a lot of students who (becuase of the economy) have never had that first job. It’s up to us to give them those skills. We focus in on different aspects of the job market and the job world to give the students more confidence in what they’re pursuing.”

Monday the center held an open house. Other events taking place during the week include a “trade lecture series,” where an hour will be dedicated to each of several occupational fields, including health care, carpentry, facility maintenance and culinary occupations; as well as mock interviews Thursday.

For the mock interviews, Pullen said area employers will visit the center and interview the 180 to 200 students, assessing their interview skills and offering feedback and advice. “Our goal is to interview all of the students in our center,” she said.

The week will conclude with an awards banquet Friday. In addition to thanking employers and those in the community who helped throughout the week, the banquet will feature the presentation of awards for students who score highest on their mock interviews. Continued...

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New Haven Job Corps is part of the national Job Corps program, which started in 1964, and is open to all U.S. citizens. Those interested in learning more can contact the center directly at 800-733-JOBS(5627) or visit to take a tour. Tours take place weekly at 10 a.m. Thursdays.

Call Cara Baruzzi at 203-789-5748.

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