Schumer applauds jobs program
Youthbuild at risk of losing $5 million under Trump’s budget
Schenectady U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer was in Schenectady on Monday touting the benefits of a jobs training program that is facing a potential funding cut under President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget.
The jobs program is called Youthbuild. It is typically run through nonprofits that get federal grants and targets youth aged 16 to 24 to get them their high school equivalency and train them so they can get jobs.
Under the Trump budget, Youthbuild’s budget of $89.5 million this year would be cut to $84.5, a $5 million, or 6 percent, reduction.
There are Youthbuild programs in Troy and Schenectady, both of which have received Department of Labor grants in recent years and have trained 1,000 at-risk students in the Capital Region.
The two groups are now collaborating on a $1.1 million DOL grant that was announced in February.
“With such a proven track record of success, Youthbuild
is exactly the type of program that the federal government should be boosting funding for, not slashing,” Schumer said.
Jennifer Lawrence, executive director of the Social Enterprise and Training Center that is run by Youthbuild Schenectady on State Street, said that federal funding for Youthbuild programs across the country usually only pay for a percentage of the programming that the Youthbuild programs provide. But the DOL funding is critical in attracting funding from other sources such as nonprofits and businesses.
Youthbuild Schenectady also helps fill jobs at local companies such as Apollo Heating and Cooling, Precisions Valve & Automation, Mallozzi’s Restaurants and Catering and the Golub Corp., which operates the Market32 and Price Chopper supermarket chains.