Join YouthBuild Hartford and get paid to learn the skills you need to take responsibility for yourself, your family, and your community.  We’ll teach you how to get and keep a job, focusing on the following five sets of skills:

1. Basic reading and math skills - essentials for job success
2. Vocational skills in carpentry and construction
3. Job readiness skills, such as timeliness, effective communication, and dressing for success
4. Leadership development skills including confidence, teamwork and conflict resolution – to be a positive force in your own life and your community
5. Critical thinking skills to help you make your best decisions in all aspects of life.

How It Works

50% of your time will be spent learning academic and job readiness skills. On-the-job training comprises the other 50% of your time, so you get paid to learn. If you need it, we offer counseling to address barriers to employment such as substance abuse, criminal record, or relationship problems. In addition, YouthBuild Hartford participants can earn their GED and earn AmeriCorps dollars for higher education.

Who Qualifies

YouthBuild Hartford is available to 18 – 24 year old Hartford residents with natural leadership ability who want to change their lives. YouthBuild participants must meet income guidelines.

YouthBuild Hartford changes lives by providing the opportunity for participants to find and keep good paying jobs with employers who are committed to hiring YouthBuild graduates. 350 people have graduated from YouthBuild Hartford in the last 8 years. 60% of trainees receive their GED. 87% of those graduates have secured jobs or pursued higher education within 3 months. More than 90 homes have been built by YouthBuild Hartford graduates.

Getting Started

If you are interested in YouthBuild, contact Co-opportunity for an application and to schedule an interview. Programs start in the fall and in the winter, and require 35 hours a week for 10 to 12 months. If you are accepted into the program, we expect that you will show up, be on time, work hard and believe in your ability to overcome the challenges in your life. YouthBuild Hartford will challenge you, and you will work hard work. There will be things you don’t like, but we’ll go the distance with you, as long as you go the distance with us.

For more information contact about Co-opportunity’s YouthBuild Hartford program, please contact Ellen Boynton, Director, Workforce Development, 860-236-3617, Ext. 100 or info@co-opportunity.org.

YouthBuild Hartford is an AmeriCorps site and is accredited by YouthBuild USA.  Funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of Hartford.