Youth Job Center (YJC) has partnered with CareerQuo, an online social video platform to provide youth and young adults throughout Chicagoland and beyond with virtual career advising and mentorship, making sure that young people have the support they need to find and obtain meaningful employment with career advancement potential.
CareerQuo has developed a virtual system through which youth and young adults can schedule and participate in personalized career exploration and advising, employment skills training, professional mentorship, and more. Due to COVID-19 and the unprecedented levels of unemployment it has caused, this type of support is more vital now than it has ever been. Young people today are entering a job market with significantly decreased opportunity and in which they will be competing against older, more experienced, and more skilled individuals. To make things even more difficult, many young people are hesitant to engage with in-person training and mentorship opportunities due to concerns over the virus. Through the partnership between Youth Job Center and CareerQuo, youth can get the skills training, mentorship, and personalized career services they need without ever having to leave the safety of their own home.
Derrick Reives, Co-Founder and CEO of CareerQuo puts it best, “I know I would not have succeeded in school, my career, and quite frankly my life, without the many people that helped me along the way. Those folks are my village. This is why we decided to build a place for anyone to reach out to others in their own community, as well as around the world, to get the advice they need through life challenges, giving people their own village to have.” Co-Founder Venkatesh Mandapati also added, “Our mission at CareerQuo is to help everyone learn and grow together in a positive virtual community through the power of mentoring and engagement.”
In addition to providing a platform through which Youth Job Center can continue providing its full suite of employment services, CareerQuo facilitates youth to connect with mentors in their field, both in their community and across the country, helping young people expand their professional network and gain insight into their industry of choice, both of which are essential to young people who are just beginning their careers.