California Jobs Challenge welcomes new class

One by one, the scholars pick up their luggage and maneuver up the concrete stairs. With each step, they are one step closer to a new dorm and one step closer to the rest of their life.

The fifty scholars, who arrived to Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, on Feb. 3, make up the California Jobs Challenge Class 4. The program is free 5.5 month post-secondary career technical academy and serves as a follow-on program for graduates, ages 17-21, of California’s three National Guard Youth Challenge Programs.

Over the next few months, scholars will live in a new program dorm on Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, while completing in-depth learning at nearby Long Beach City College. They will live and learn in a bubble-like atmosphere while following strict COVID-19 safety protocols as they work to earn nationally accredited certificates in a chosen career pathway including cyber networking, welding, healthcare, automotive, and construction.