Our community-based Youth Career Program helps young people learn to make positive decisions. Our individualized approach to career exploration and work experience assists with personal development and success in life.

We Provide An Alternative to removing youth from their families and communities.

We Work Directly with families, Juvenile Officers, employers, schools and other community members to help participants secure jobs with a future.

We Prepare Young People before beginning work by teaching them how to engage in constructive social behavior that helps them develop positive identities as workers and community members.

Youth Served

Any youth at-risk in their community. We serve any person between the ages of 13 and 21.

Referral Procedure

The appropriate funding agency refers an at-risk youth. This process should include providing information regarding the youth/family background, history and education. We pride ourselves on having no waiting lists and strive to schedule an intake within twenty-four hours of referral receipt.

Program Outcomes and Components

Work is the major component of our program and we use a job as a modality for changing behaviors. We help youths make positive contributions to their community. Our Career Resource Specialists (CRS) support youth both on and off the job. We focus on an individualized, strength-based, client-centered approach to service delivery. The CRS meets with youth in both one-on-one and group settings in the community. Each youth helps develop their own Youth Development Plan with the use of the Youth Service Menu below. When the youth achieves their Development Plan they “graduate” from the program. Many youth have not been taught how to set goals and how to achieve them. A benefit of our outcome-based approach to services is to teach goal setting and how to achieve goals once they have been determined.

Personal Skill Development (All Ages)

  • Developing positive relationships
  • Making positive choices
  • Money management/budgeting
  • Goal setting
  • Time management
  • Communication development and skill building
  • Stress and anger management
  • Problem solving skills

Vocational Services

Career Exploration (All ages)

  • Career Plan
  • Identifying vocational goals
  • Interest and aptitude inventories
  • Company tours
  • Career Center orientation and registration

Employment Preparation Assessment (All ages)

  • Resume, references, pocket resume
  • Applications- paper and/or on-line
  • Interviewing (mock and actual, follow up: sending out thank you letters)
  • Job searching (cold calls, researching Employer’s, walking in)
  • Employment eligibility
  • Working papers
  • CORI training (with youth +/or employers)

Job Placement

The choices below all include On-site Support, Identification of a Positive Adult Role Model, Retention Planning (work based learning plan) & Letter of Recommendation

  • Paid Work Assessment
  • Paid Job Placement (16 and older)
  • Volunteer Placement

Academic Support (All Ages)

  • Academic goal setting
  • Weekly check ins/meetings with school Personnel as needed
  • Tours and site visits of educational sites (training programs, alternative
    education, post high school education options)
  • Financial aid exploration
News and Events

INFORMATIONAL VIDEOS

Work Opportunities Unlimited Core Values – Our core values make our company and team strong. Watch this video to learn more.

Ryan Mountain at Work Opportunities Unlimited tells a client story – We succeed when our clients succeed. Listen to Ryan Mountain, Vice President of Program Development explain why.