[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[August 24, 1992]
[Pages 1414-1416]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



White House Fact Sheet: Youth Skills Initiative
August 24, 1992

    The President announced today his Youth Skills Initiative, a new 
strategy to prepare our Nation's non-college-bound youth for success in 
the rapidly changing workplace. The President's Youth Skills Initiative 
consists of four major elements:
    Youth Training Corps (YTC). A new residential and nonresidential 
training program for economically and socially disadvantaged youth;
    Treat and Train. A comprehensive youth drug treatment program that 
will tie rehabilitation together with the Youth Training Corps to ensure 
that rehabilitated kids get the training needed for a new start in life;
    National Youth Apprenticeship Program. A comprehensive school-to-
work transition training program for high school juniors and seniors.
    Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC). Doubling the size of 
the existing voluntary instructional program for high school students 
that emphasizes self-discipline, family and social values, citizenship, 
and personal responsibility.

The Problem

    Put simply, the United States needs an increasingly better trained 
and skilled workforce for the remainder of this decade and the next 
century. International competition, the expansion of new and complex 
technologies into the workplace, and a dynamic labor market require a 
well-trained and highly-skilled work force. One of our greatest 
challenges in creating such a work force is to facilitate the transition 
from school to work for non-college-bound youth.
    Of the students enrolled in the 11th and 12th grades this fall, 
approximately 40 percent will not immediately go to college. Of

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those who do attend, half will fail to complete their first year. 
Moreover, roughly one-fifth of American high school students either drop 
out or do not complete high school graduation requirements on schedule.
    These young Americans need to acquire the vocational training and 
workplace skills that will allow them to compete successfully in the job 
marketplace.

The President's Proposal

    In January, the President announced a comprehensive initiative to 
streamline the Federal job training system designed to implement ``one-
stop shopping'' for job training in every community. Building upon this 
concept, the President has proposed a comprehensive plan to expand and 
improve job training for non-college-bound youth.
    The President's Youth Skills Initiative consists of four major 
elements:

Youth Training Corps (YTC)

    The Youth Training Corps will provide economically and socially 
disadvantaged youth with intensive vocational training and workplace 
skills. This training will be combined with community service and 
conservation work in rural areas and on public lands.
    The Youth Training Corps will create 25 new YTC centers patterned 
after the Job Corps' 30 existing Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) 
centers to create a total of 55 residential YTC centers nationwide.
    These residential centers, located primarily in rural areas, will 
utilize converted Department of Defense facilities, where appropriate.
    Hiring preference for YTC staff will be given to individuals leaving 
military service. This will allow the YTC to take advantage of the 
military's high level of leadership and training expertise.
    The President's proposal will add 29,600 new training slots that 
will help 43,000 additional kids each year. Of these additional slots: 
16,600 slots will be residential, located at the 25 new YTC centers; 
13,000 slots will be non-residential, located at existing Job Corps 
centers.
    The President's proposals will serve an additional 43,000 
disadvantaged youths (ages 16 to 21) annually. This will bring the total 
number of youths served annually by both the YTC and Job Corps to 
113,000: 18,700 additional youths would be served at the 25 new YTC 
centers; 24,300 additional youths would be served on a non-residential 
basis at new or existing centers.
    The YTC will utilize an expanded Job Corps model, relying on a 
combination of remedial education, technical training, life-skills 
training, counseling, and other support services.
    The YTC participants will spend an average of 7 months as a resident 
at the Youth Training Corps center and receive both applied learning 
experiences and basic job training. Participants will work to help 
improve parks, recreation, or community facilities, and public/low-
income housing.
    The YTC would have an initial, start-up cost of $200 million (FY 
1994 and FY 1995), expanding to $385 million per year when fully in 
place.

Treat and Train Program

    This initiative will strengthen existing youth drug treatment 
programs and complement the Youth Training Corps. The President's 
proposal will fund 10,000 new drug treatment slots at intensive drug 
rehabilitation centers. Two-thirds of the new slots will be residential. 
Participants stay in the residential centers an average 9 months. One-
third of the new slots will be out-patient. The President's proposal 
will serve an additional 28,000 youths annually, increasing the number 
of youth served by Federally-funded treatment by roughly 30 percent. 
Successfully completing the treatment program will give participants 
priority status for admission to the Youth Training Corps (YTC). The 
program will cost $150 million per year beginning in FY 1994.

National Youth Apprenticeship Program

    This initiative will substantially expand the President's ``National 
Youth Apprenticeship Act of 1992,'' which was initiated in January as a 
component of the Job Training 2000 proposal and transmitted to the 
Congress in May. This plan is a comprehensive, voluntary program for 
high school juniors and seniors that combines classroom in-

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struction with a structured, paid, work experience program. The 
Department of Labor will provide community organization funding, 
planning, and curriculum design using the current six-State 
demonstration program as a model to expand the program to all 50 States. 
Students who successfully complete the program receive a high school 
diploma and a widely-recognized certificate of skill competency. 
Students will also have the opportunity to continue training at the 
post-secondary level. The Targeted Jobs Tax Credit will be available to 
employers to cover participating students that meet current TJTC 
economically disadvantaged eligibility criteria. The National Youth 
Apprenticeship program will cost $100 million per year beginning in FY 
1994. The TJTC expansion will cost an estimated $10 million in FY 1994 
and $160 million over 5 years.

Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC)

    This initiative will more than double the size of the present JROTC 
program, a very successful and popular partnership between the military 
services and the public and private schools. JROTC emphasizes self-
discipline, values, citizenship, personal responsibility, and staying in 
school among high school students, and provides an alternative to drugs 
and gangs. The President's proposal will add 1,500 new JROTC units to 
the present 1,482 units, and will include as many as 225,000 more high 
school students. The program will emphasize increasing the number of 
inner city high school JROTC programs initially, but plans call for 
JROTC to be made available to every high school across the country that 
requests it and qualifies. The goal is to establish 2,900 units by 1994. 
JROTC is a low-cost education program that provides those who 
participate in it with positive incentives to stay in school. Well-
trained, highly motivated former military personnel serve as 
instructors. This initiative will provide job opportunities for highly 
qualified personnel retiring from military service. The Department of 
Defense will help local school systems absorb some of the costs for the 
new inner-city school JROTC programs.