How the Work Readiness Training Program Is Building a Stronger Columbus

By Michael Tomlin-Crutchfield

 

Columbus, Ohio, is home to some of the most innovative institutions in the world. From Ohio State University and a $20 billion investment from Intel, to the ever-evolving automaker Honda, the city is an incubator for transformative ideas in almost every sector.

 

The Columbus Urban League (CUL) team recognized this growth as an opportunity to prepare the city's young people for a future they can thrive in and shape.

 

In 2021, the Work Readiness Training University (WRTU) was born. Building on the legacy of the league's "Ready to Earn" youth workforce development program, WRTU guides youth aged 14-19 across Franklin County on an eight-week professional and personal growth journey that immerses them in emerging industries coming to Columbus through paid work experience.

 

Jeaneen Hooks, Vice President of Programs at the Columbus Urban League, calls WRTU one of the league's flagship programs because of its reach and impact on the city's young people.

"This program is intended to expand our young people's minds and give them exposure to new people, new ideas, and experiences while nurturing them in a way where they feel compelled to go after any opportunity they choose," said Hooks. "I know how brilliant our young people are; they can do anything they put their minds to; they just need the grace and resources to make it happen."

 

Word of WRTU's success has traveled quickly across Columbus. As the program grew, Columbus Urban League President Stephanie Hightower saw the need for a new vision and hired Charity Martin-King as CUL's Associate Vice President of Youth Workforce Development. Guided by the Franklin County 2024 report, Martin-King rewrote the proposal to address the needs of the 14th largest city in the nation. As a result, interest in the 2024 summer class has grown exponentially, and as of early June, over 1800 students expressed their interest, and 600 submitted applications.

 

"We went from a program where students said 'if I get in, I get in' to being wildly competitive. It's been a complete 180," said Hooks. "No one wants to be left out of this, and it's all word of mouth and people who've previously enrolled."

 

Part of the program's increased interest stems from its new cohort model, launched under Charity Martin-King. With over 20 years of experience in program design and leadership development, she worked with the league to develop five skills tracks for students to immerse themselves in and helped identify key partners to bring each track to life. To ensure relevance in addition to student interest, the programming under each WRTU track was also selected through data trends in Columbus from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Economic Development across Franklin County, Ohio.

 

 “I saw that we needed to break up the program into manageable pieces to provide better experiences for our young people and help us sustain relationships with our funding sources and the businesses we work with," said Martin-King. "Each program manager has a content area they're responsible for. Under our equity and justice track, our program manager Elijah McCutcheon manages a cohort of around 100, our partners, and businesses that align with work connected to work focused on equity issues like access to affordable healthcare, Racism as a public health issue, public policy, and legislation. And I work to ensure we have highly skilled trainers to engage with our young people."

 

With the support of its CEO, Stephanie Hightower, the Columbus Urban League opened a dedicated space for the WRTU program in April 2023. Course instruction, guest talks, and project work all take place at the WRTU center, providing academic support for students returning to school in the fall.

The program, which became a year-round operation in 2021 after being awarded a grant from Franklin County, has sights on incorporating the cohort model and its immersion in skill tracks throughout the academic year.

 

"Halfway through our summer program, we are planning to release information on how to enroll in our program year-round," said Martin-King. "That will be after school, weekends, and special trips we'll be taking, including college visits and out-of-state and international learning opportunities. We also plan to offer some courses online so that students can access content from wherever they are."

 

Managing WRTU's growth is an all-hands-on-deck team process. Elijah McCutcheon, WRTU Equity and Justice Program Manager has taken on a leadership role in recruiting students and ensuring that all applicants can engage with the program throughout the year.

 

"This year, we have a set pipeline on how exactly students are admitted, how they stay qualified to stay in the program, and for students who aren't admitted in the first summer wave can engage with us in the fall," said McCutcheon. "I also lead on-the-ground recruiting. I've attended events at Columbus City Schools, including their senior day, to spread the word about the program, and doing blasts on social media helps get the word out."

 

As the WRTU grows, the CUL team is laser-focused on ensuring the program exposes young people across Columbus to professional opportunities and prepares them for work.

 

"Our goal is for our young people to be credentialled," said Martin-King. "Whether it's manufacturing, cosmetology, data, and cybersecurity, my job is to ensure that we bring in the best talent and best instructors to help them build careers that are on pace with what our city needs. And for students who graduate high school and still need support on their career journey, we keep them in the Urban League database to support them directly through our workforce programs so properly align people to their personal success.”

 

To learn more about the program or join the WRTU team today, visit https://www.cul.org/initiatives/work-readiness-training-university-wrtu/.