Success for young people—in the workplace and in life.
Youth Job Center is a leading provider of employment-related services for youth in Evanston and Chicago, serving more than 20,000 young people during our 40+ year history. YJC was founded on the belief that young adults are an undeveloped community asset— a valuable, untapped source of energy, talent, and productivity in the workplace.
Our vision
Youth Job Center envisions a future where all young people have the support they need to build meaningful careers and fulfill their potential—and for the last four decades, we have worked to make that vision a reality.
Our work
Youth Job Center is a workforce development and job placement agency that prepares young people, ages 14-25, for success in the workplace and in life. We do this by providing our clients with Workforce Readiness Training, personalized career advising, job placement, and barrier reduction services. YJC’s offices are located in Chicago Heights, Englewood, Evanston, and Pilsen, which allows us to serve young adults throughout the Chicagoland area.
Youth Job Center knows that it’s not enough to simply help youth find a job; we must provide them with the tools needed to be independently secure so that they can continue to grow and become lifelong learners.
Our commitment to equity
As a collective, YJC ensures everyone has access to the same opportunities. YJC recognizes that barriers and advantages exist that may prevent full participation. Our goal is for YJC to proactively provide the tools and support required to ensure our clients, staff, and stakeholders have equal opportunity to professionally thrive, contribute, and develop regardless of their identity and actively call out and prevent policies and actions of discrimination and implicit bias.
Our values
Youth Job Center promotes and supports a healthy and inclusive culture where our clients and current and future team members thrive. We do this in the following ways:
Develop and maintain a strong internal culture balancing support and high expectations, defined and measured in our policies and practices
Provide exceptional and individualized support for clients
Use our voice and presence in the community to influence positive change
YJC’s staff and board embrace our individual and collective responsibility to support every person who enrolls in our programs, regardless of barriers. We believe work has the power to shape futures and change lives. Young adults are able to achieve employment success when the playing field is made equitable in access, skill-building, network-building, and advancement opportunities
Our history
Flip through the interactive timeline below to journey through Youth Job Center’s momentous first 40 years.
