The Work First Fellowship is now the America Works Fellowship!
Since its inception 8 years ago, the work first fellowship has nearly doubled in size and spread to 5 states across the country. We are very excited to announce that the fellowship is once again evolving and growing into its next chapter.
For questions about the America Works Fellowship and to receive an application, please reach out to awfellowship@americaworks.com
About the Fellowship
The Work First Fellowship is a service year program geared towards young professionals and recent graduates who want to make a direct impact on urban poverty. Through direct service in workforce development programs and research projects, Work First Fellows gain experience working with individuals living below the poverty level to help them find employment and become self-sufficient.
The Purpose of the Fellowship
Realizing that too many policymakers have limited experience actually working with the very individuals impacted by the policies they create, the Work First Foundation created a fellowship program to address the disconnect between public policy and low-income individuals, especially public assistance recipients. The Work First Fellowship is designed to give young professionals who are interested in becoming leaders in their fields, informing and creating policy, or simply just serving individuals from marginalized and disadvantaged backgrounds a tangible year-long experience working directly with underserved populations.
By working full-time in offices that administer employment and workforce development programs, Work First Fellows serve low-income individuals on public assistance, gain a deeper understanding of how policies are implemented, and see firsthand how policies impact the people they are meant to help.
What do Work First Fellows do?
Teach Employment Skills
Fellows who work as job readiness trainers provide skill-building and job readiness training for individuals living on public assistance to help them find employment and achieve self-sufficiency. They gain experience by providing classroom instruction leading classes on a variety of workforce development topics, including Computer Literacy, English as a Second Language, Employment Skills, and Financial Literacy.
The Work First Foundation encourages fellows to be leaders in the classroom by designing and implementing new curricula. In the past, Fellows have developed curricula for classes on HTML/CSS, storytelling, and nutrition. This on-the-ground work helps fellows begin to form relevant and substantive research questions.
Casework Management
Fellows who are placed in casework positions provide crucial support to adults living on public assistance during the job search process. They gain experience engaging with clients one-on-one in order to help them develop a plan to gain long-term and sustainable employment.
Fellows provide support to clients through job search activities, resume and cover letter reviews, mock interviews, and connecting clients with the resources they need to take care of their basic needs.
Policy Research Project
Fellows conduct a year-long research project that explores a workforce development program, issue, or policy with guidance from the Work First Foundation and advisors. After reviewing workforce development literature, Fellows write and submit a research proposal, literature review, and collect and analyze data gathered from America Works clients. At the end of the fellowship, Work First Fellows are given the opportunity to present their research findings to policy experts, business leaders, and workforce development stakeholders at the annual Research Symposium.
Program Overview
A year-long commitment typically from beginning of July to end of June, exact dates vary.
Work full-time in America Works offices conducting job readiness trainings and/or case management services.
Placements in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, Orange County, CA, Milwaukee, WI, Washington, DC, and Baltimore, MD.
Opportunities to attend policy discussions and professional development events
Competitive salary and optional benefits, with a $5,000 award upon completion of individual research projects.
Read the full job description here.
Professional Development
Work First provides Fellows with the opportunity to take advantage of professional development events. Fellows have attended events hosted by New York City Employment and Training Coalition, Manhattan Institute, New York University, Network After Work, City University of New York, Concordia Institute, and NationSwell, among other think tanks, universities, and institutes.
Alumni Network
Graduated fellows are now lawyers, policy experts, teachers, social workers, academics and business leaders. Fellowship Alums are connected to incoming fellows to share experiences and guide new fellows in the next chapters of their lives.