Target demographics: OBT serves youth and adults, 17-55+ from the Brooklyn communities of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick, Sunset Park, and Williamsburg, as well as Jamaica, Queens and Mott Haven, the Bronx. The ethnicities of our service population is 55% Hispanic, 43% African-American, and 2% other. The average poverty rate for their communities is 30%; the foreign born population is 31%, and the unemployment rate is as high as 16%, which is double the national average. The school districts of these communities have some of the lowest reading and math scores, and the highest dropout rates in New York City. OBT’s participants have one or more of the following barriers to gainful employment: deficiency in basic academic skills, no marketable job skills, underdeveloped social or soft skills; lack of a high school diploma or HSE; poor communication skills due to a need for ESOL; single parenthood; dependence upon public financial assistance; chronic unemployment or sketchy work history; low self-esteem; poor work ethic; past substance abuse and/or juvenile offender records. The reference base for the majority of our participants is “the street,” influencing their speech, behavior, communication skills, and compromising their career growth in mainstream companies.
Direct beneficiaries per year: 4,000
Geographic areas served: New York City
Programs: OBT provides a wide range of job training and support services to young adults, adults and immigrants. We have six program sites in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Our programs include:
• Youth Education & Job Training Program (signature program) provides youth with business-skills training in a simulated corporate environment. The curriculum includes Business English, Business Math, World of Work, Computer Training, Public Speaking and Communication, and High School Equivalency (HSE) preparation. Youth also attain professional credentials - the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification and the National Retail Federation’s Professional Certification in Customer Service, and also take part in an intensive College Access Program. They are placed in customer service and administrative-support positions in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, finance, legal services, and high-end retail.
• Young Adult Internship Program provides five weeks of business-skills training, an eleven-week paid internship at worksites in a variety of industries, and job-placement services
• Medical Administrative Assistant Program provides ten weeks of clerical training, preparation for the Certified Medical Administrative Assistant credential, a five-week internship at a healthcare institution, and job-placement
• Web Design and Coding Fundamentals (focuses on preparing youth for jobs in the rapidly growing Information Technology sector; provides 15 weeks of training including coding fundamentals (HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP); graphic design via Adobe Photoshop; online marketing and social entrepreneurship concepts. Participants gain real-world experience by creating websites for local businesses and agencies. Youth earn the Adobe Certified Associate in Visual Communication using Adobe Photoshop (ACA) credential serving 60 young adults ages 17-24 annually;
• Adult Education and Literacy Program provides classes in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Adult Basic Education, and Adult Secondary Education/HSE, and job-placement
• Adult Job-Placement Program offers core vocational services (resume assistance, interview preparation, and access to computers for job search) and job-placement services
• Bushwick Workforce Resource Center (BWRC) provides job-training and job-readiness classes, including the Computer and Clerical Skills Training Program, as well as OBT’s Office for New Americans (ONA) program, which provides citizenship preparation and entrepreneurial support for immigrant residents of Bushwick, Brooklyn and Ridgewood Queens
• Maura Clarke–Ita Ford Center (MCIF) provides five levels of ESOL classes and computer-skills training to immigrant women (and a few men)
