Caudill does so by incorporating CHARACTER COUNTS! principles, such as the Six Pillars of Character (trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship), into TCWIB’s Job Readiness Workshop. Teens learn how to write professionally, fill out a job application, create a resume, prepare for an interview, dress for success, and behave responsibly on the job.

Character lessons are infused through role-playing exercises. For example, students are shown that if they’re working at a video rental store, it’s unethical to loan videos to friends. Many of the scenarios ring true to the kids, even in those who have already made bad decisions in their life.

Ethics Works
In Tulare County`s Office of Education, youth development specialist Marilyn Willers helps teens not only get a job but make the right choices while on the job. She oversees the Services for Education and Employment (SEE) Youth Program and, in particular, the Workplace Ethics Workshops, which present students with a valuable certificate upon completion of an ethics class. Such a distinction on a young person`s resume is priceless.

"I remember one young man who got a job through our program at a retirement village in Visalia and then got his certificate," Willers recalled. "When his work grant ran out, his boss wrote a reference letter praising him, saying `His work ethic is better than most adults.` From that letter, we were able to place the boy in a country club."

The Path to Adulthood
The TCWIB also works with foster youth who have aged out of the system. "These teens are looking for caring adults to be role models and to help them not to screw up again," Caudill said.

She told of one typical young man whose life had become a series of bad decisions. "He wasn’t in a gang, but he was hanging with them. He was smart, but he was failing in school. We got him into our program, and it clicked with him. We helped get him a job and get into community college. He got involved in student government. He looked at his life honestly and changed his friends. He even started dressing like the staff, in slacks and a tie! He’s now a CC! trainer. All the girls love him, and the guys listen to him because he talks their talk."

Indeed, there can be poetry in showing teens how to become more ethical, and thus more employable. Sometimes it’s just a matter of interpretation. Shakespeare would understand.

[The Tulare County Workforce Investment Board sponsors and funds local job search, training programs, and career information at www.tcwib.org.]

Six Ways to Steer Teens in the Right Direction
1. Show you care. Teens know if you’re sincere or if you’re just paying lip service.
2. Give them ownership. The TCWIB’s transitional housing program for teens allows the kids to set their own rules. Chaos? Hardly. They’ve instituted a curfew and regularly inspect the property to ensure everyone is living up to their potential.
3. Encourage responsibility. Although young people may struggle with it, it’s something they all want.
4. Be upfront. Surrounded by parents who bend the rules, business leaders who cheat, and sports stars who lie, teens relish and respect straight talk.
5. Adapt to their world. Use their language when speaking to them and encompass their situations when relating to them.
6. Lead them. Nudge kids in the right direction, and they won’t just follow you; they’ll set a new pace.