St. Paul, Ramsey County partner on $24.8 million in investments for young workers

At a time when desperate employers are offering signing bonuses for even seemingly menial entry-level jobs, many young people still can’t find work. Their primary roadblock? A lack of a driver’s license.

With school-based driver’s education programs dwindling, young people are being turned away from ample job opportunities in construction, park maintenance and trade industry because they’re not licensed drivers, according to a growing number of employers.

“We’ve heard it time and time again,” said Ling Becker, director of Ramsey County’s Workforce Solutions department, which plans to devote some $500,000 in city and county money toward a new driver’s license academy for workers ages 18 to 24. “We want to make sure we’re working with our community partners, centering it on youth.”

The funding, which will target young people in specific career tracks such as nursing or construction, will come from nearly $25 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act relief dollars newly designated by the city and county toward workforce initiatives.

On Wednesday, Becker joined St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough and other officials to announce the funding partnership for a dozen new and existing workforce investment programs, most of them centered on young workers. Carter said St. Paul will devote $15.3 million in ARPA funds and the county will match that with $9.5 million.

Under ARPA rules, the funds need to be expended by the city and county by the end of 2026.

THE INITIATIVES

Among the initiatives:

• “Learn and Earn” occupational training to subsidize wages, books, tuition and technology for workers 18-35 involved in occupational training, $14.65 million.

• An expansion of St. Paul’s Right Track and Right Track Plus youth internships in public and private employment, $3 million.

• A online career pathway and resource hub for young adults, $1.5 million.

• A “Low or No Barrier Jobs” program for the homeless, $1 million.

• A Public Health Career Pathways program will support Ramsey County staff currently making less than $21 per hour to pursue post-secondary education in registered nursing or community health work, with the expectation of being offered county positions in those areas in the future, $1.1 million.

• The “Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential” (LEAP) program, which focuses on readying young people ages 18-30 for the workforce after they’ve experienced homelessness or have been involved in the criminal justice system, $1 million.

• A “Driver’s License Academy” that will focus on young people ages 18-24 already in the process of seeking employment in trade programs, nursing or other designated career tracks through the city and county’s nonprofit partners, $500,000.

Becker said the driver’s license academy will begin a “soft roll-out” Thursday, with the goal of tracking and fine-tuning understanding of where young workers who lack a license face the greatest barriers. “Is it the fees they need to pay to take the test, is it the tutoring, is it the behind-the-wheel time?”

Carter said the goal from an employer standpoint was barrier removal, and for the youth, a shift toward “thinking about their driver’s license as a work credential, because that’s what it is.”

The lack of a driver’s license can have other repercussions. Kristy Snyder, a director with the Minneapolis-based nonprofit Youthprise, said as school-based driver’s ed programs dry up, youth advocates have noticed an uptick in young workers cited for driving without a license.

CHILDCARE, FOSTER CARE SUPPORTS

With the goal of boosting childcare options for families, the Ramsey County Early Childhood Academy will receive $750,000 in ARPA funds toward scholarships and additional financial supports for residents pursuing a Child Development Associate credential and licensing for a new childcare facility. Ramsey County Commissioner Mary Jo McGuire was in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to participate in a panel discussion on the program during a workforce summit at the White House.

The city and county will devote another $600,000 to create an employer network intended to support Right Track and Right Track plus, design a city-county youth work readiness credential and establish a youth and employer “inclusive workplaces” council.

Another $250,000 will back County Case Plus, an initiative aimed at helping young people involved in foster care, the juvenile justice system or housing and homeless services navigate career paths and connect with employers.

The School Affiliate Partnerships will receive $200,000 toward staff time, resources and new programs to connect schools to workforce initiatives. Those efforts will include a new Workforce Barrier Removal Fund to support students who need financial assistance accessing employment.