Barger and Partners Work to Bring More Job Opportunities and Workforce Training to Antelope Valley
Supervisor Barger meets with a Lost Angels Children’s Project participant in Lancaster in Feb. 2023.
Los Angeles, CA (March 22, 2023) – Today, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger hosted the seventh quarterly Antelope Valley Key Stakeholders meeting at the Antelope Valley Union High School District.
A variety of partners attended the planning session to strategize how to offer a range of no-cost employment and training services to job seekers with an emphasis on promoting county jobs to individuals who live in the Antelope Valley.
“I wholeheartedly support the work this group has underway,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “These stakeholder meetings, born out of a motion I authored, bring together agencies who can offer career opportunities for at-risk youth in North County and equip them for good paying jobs. There’s room for everyone at this planning table – nonprofits, the public sector, and private agencies.”
The Antelope Valley Key Stakeholders’ partners have successfully connected youth whose lives have been touched by the County’s child welfare or juvenile justice systems, or are homeless, with apprenticeships and jobs with powerhouse employers including Northrop Grumman, Amazon, and Edwards Air Force Base.
Today’s meeting highlighted the youth job preparation work underway by Kollab Youth, a nonprofit that provides virtual and in-person mentoring and career exploration programs for at-risk teens.
“Our Kollab Youth program focuses on leadership, social and emotional wellness, skill building and offers career exploration for underserved youth,” said Kollab Youth Chief Executive Officer Mary Hewitt. “Our program empowers youth so they can find employment, gain valuable job skills and give back to their communities. We want to thank and acknowledge Supervisor Barger for her support of Kollab Youth. Intentionally intersecting education with work experience and exposure to positive role models supports our participants’ path towards a positive future.”
Lost Angels Children’s Project also attended the meeting to share about their program, which offers former foster youth, those facing homelessness, those impacted by the justice system, and first-generation citizens with career readiness training and holistic services. A majority of graduates of the program go on to make $25 an hour at worksites in the Antelope Valley.
Attendees at today’s meeting included leaders from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, the Department of Human Resources, and the county’s new Department of Economic Opportunity.
