Rider students lead training sessions to help Trenton residents enter workforce

Over two sessions in April, a group of Rider University students met with young adults from Trenton to help teach them the skills they will need to enter and succeed in the workforce.  Senior Bre'Quan Simon implemented the training sessions, which were held on April 24 and 30 in Rider’s Science and Technology Center, as a senior capstone experience for the Bonner Community Scholar program. "My overall goal for the program is to see as many people as possible placed into jobs," says Simon. "I also want to provide them with a positive impression of what it's like to be a college student." The residents who received training were part of the Summer Youth Employment Program for the City of Trenton, a public-private partnership that aims to help 100 Trenton residents between the ages of 16 and 21 develop the job skills required to an effective part of the workforce. The program is designed to help Trenton youth achieve two main things: establish a positive work history and obtain the necessary competencies to do so successfully. "As a senior Bonner Scholar, I was asked to help develop training that focused on work-related abilities that these students will need on the job,” says Simon. “This includes presenting a professional image, understanding conflict resolution, networking, giving and receiving criticism, just to name a few examples.”

The Rider Bonner Community Scholar Program is a community service leadership development scholarship program that exposes members to issues social justice while providing them hands on experience to impact their community. Rider has been a part of the national Bonner network of 87 American colleges and universities since 1999. To develop these training and coaching sessions, Simon worked alongside Joan Liptrot, the assistant director of Campus Life for Service Learning. Rider students contribute more than 30,000 total hours that community service each year. The Office of Service Learning helps promotes a strong culture of service by providing service experiences for all Rider students, staff and faculty through a variety of on- and off-campus opportunities.  Specifically, the office organizes campus-wide days of service and supports all campus clubs, organizations, and departments wishing to include a service component. Its initiatives strengthen the experiential development of Rider students as well as enhance the role of Rider as an agent of change in the Mercer County community. The Summer Youth Employment Program is the maiden project of the Trenton Workforce Development Initiative, which was established based on the findings of a needs assessment conducted by Trenton Area Stakeholders (TAS), a group that supports local youth and families. 

The program creates much-needed partnerships among Millhill Child and Family Development, the Trenton Mayor's Office, MID Jersey Chamber of Commerce and TAS. The overarching goal is to build and improve economic opportunities for Trenton's residents while creating an employable and robust local workforce for area employers.