Global

FUTURES AND OPTIONS INC.

Strand:
Employability

Urban adolescents, though motivated, eager to learn , and anxious about their future and the independence it entails, often lack access to the economic mainstream, connections to the workplace, and understanding of the culture of the workplace. All too often they fail to see the connection between what they have been asked to do in high school and what they can reasonably be expected to do as they move into maturity. They often have little realization of the opportunities available to them and, equally important, of what they have to do to take advantage of those opportunities, including what higher education they must have.

At the same time, employers, especially those in urban areas, decry the lack of qualified entry level employees. They seek the applicant who is willing to learn, aware of the need to arrive on time, to be a “team member” - in short, who possesses the “soft skills” of positive attitudes. But that candidate too seldom appears, in large part because our high schools today lack the resources to provide the programs through which these qualities are nurtured.

The mission of FUTURES AND OPTIONS INC. is to respond to these dual needs: the need of young people for connections and access to the economic mainstream and the need of the business community for well-prepared young employees. FAO Inc. does this by preparing high school students for placement in paid internships and then supervising them throughout the experience.

The partners in our program include :

the private corporations which provide the paid internships and the on-site mentors
the teachers and the schools and the NYC Board of Education which provide the students and one on-site teacher assigned to FAO Inc.
the Alliance for Downtown New York, which is the Lower Manhattan BID, which pioneered the program as a pilot project that has become an independent 501C3 that is FUTURES AND OPTIONS INC.
the foundations and corporate giving funds which have contributed to the support and the growth of FAO Inc.
New York City and New York State which have provided funding to place interns at not-for-profit organizations
the students themselves, more than 300 a year and growing,
FUTURES AND OPTIONS INC. itself, the staff of which prepare, monitor and supervise the students

The students benefit directly and the most through the development of skills and attitudes, the connections they make and the knowledge they gain about networking and careers. The employer/sponsor corporations gain employees and work; the on-site mentors, the educational staff, and the teachers gain a great deal of satisfaction.

The essential elements of the FAO Inc. program are

supervision and monitoring of the students during the internship by our part-time staff of experienced educators currently involved in the teaching and guidance of young people
relationships developed among these FAO Inc. staff, the interns, the on-site mentors, and the teachers in the schools from which the students come. It is a labor-intensive program which is outstanding in its results.
support by a significant segment of the local business community
tracking the alumni .We had a serious set-back in this when our field office, with all our records, went down at 1 WTC. Its reconstruction is underway, and it will be increasingly important in the expansion, evaluation and replication of the program.

The main factors in our success are the essential elements listed above, enhanced by the support and contacts of the Alliance for Downtown New York and of our President, who has had considerable experience in both business and in education Downtown.

Assessment/evaluation is of five kinds:

anecdotal: evaluations of interns by both FAO Inc. staff and the on-site mentors; letters of evaluation and commendation from participating sponsors; self-evaluations by interns; evaluations and comments by former interns, now at institutions of higher education and/or pursuing careers; reports of site visits by FAO Inc. staff; site visits by program directors of the foundations which support FAO Inc.
referential: comments and references by sponsoring organization to others who then seek us out; similarly, individual contacts by students who become aware of the program and seek us out.
statistical: we are currently re-building our data base of all alumni, lost in the events of 9/11. It is already giving us some meaningful numbers.
growth in placements: from 20 when we began in the fall of 1995 to 300 a year currently, for a total of over 1500.
continued involvement of site sponsors from one term to the next

The impact of the program is remarkable, attested to by the comments of current and former interns, mentors, and corporate sponsors as described above in the evaluation section. FAO Inc. has opened opportunity to hundreds of New York City students in career areas about which they knew little and to which they had no access. It has improved the employability in global markets of these young people because the “soft skills”, which the program develops to a high degree, are transferable and render the substantive skills, which the program enhances, more valuable in a global marketplace. They provide the basis for movement and growth and further learning, which are critical for liaison with multinational forces and organizations. Further, the program brings immigrant and minority students into the economic mainstream, where their knowledge of culture and language benefit themselves, the economy, and the markets. Thirdly, the diversity of the student population itself, under the guidance of FAO Inc. staff, fosters multicultural understanding and respect, fundamental to employability in a global marketplace.

Replication is entirely possible, because the program is highly adaptable; it builds on the strengths inherent in an individual area and on the relationships that can be developed in any area. In Downtown New York these areas have ranged from internships in the financial community to those in retail, maintenance, hotels, culinary arts, cultural institutions, non-profit organizations, architecture, technology and general business offices. A program that replicates FAO Inc. can and should begin with a small number of students and sponsors and grow according to the needs and opportunities of that area.

An underwriter who can validate our program is Mr. William Bernstein, of the Alliance for Downtown New York. Because the program started as a pilot project of the Alliance, Mr. Bernstein has been familiar with the administration, the funding, and the development of it. He has also had direct experience with our operations, having had a number of interns serve at the Alliance, and having hired several following their internship as both part-time and full-time employees.

William Bernstein
Senior Financial Officer
The Alliance for Downtown New York
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271

Phone: (212) 835-2777
Fax: (212) 566-5707

bbernstein@downtownny.com

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		FUTURES AND OPTIONS INC. Strand: Employability Urban adolescents, though motivated, eager to learn , and anxious about their future and the independence it entails, often lack access to the economic mainstream, connections to the workplace, and understanding of the culture of the workplace. All too often they fail to see the connection between what they have been asked to do in high school and what they can reasonably be expected to do as they move into maturity. They often have little realization of the opportunities available to them and, equally important, of what they have to do to take advantage of those opportunities, including what higher education they must have. At the same time, employers, especially those in urban areas, decry the lack of qualified entry level employees. They seek the applicant who is willing to learn, aware of the need to arrive on time, to be a “team member” - in short, who possesses the “soft skills” of positive attitudes. But that candidate too seldom appears, in large part because our high schools today lack the resources to provide the programs through which these qualities are nurtured. The mission of FUTURES AND OPTIONS INC. is to respond to these dual needs: the need of young people for connections and access to the economic mainstream and the need of the business community for well-prepared young employees. FAO Inc. does this by preparing high school students for placement in paid internships and then supervising them throughout the experience. The partners in our program include : the private corporations which provide the paid internships and the on-site mentors the teachers and the schools and the NYC Board of Education which provide the students and one on-site teacher assigned to FAO Inc. the Alliance for Downtown New York, which is the Lower Manhattan BID, which pioneered the program as a pilot project that has become an independent 501C3 that is FUTURES AND OPTIONS INC. the foundations and corporate giving funds which have contributed to the support and the growth of FAO Inc. New York City and New York State which have provided funding to place interns at not-for-profit organizations the students themselves, more than 300 a year and growing, FUTURES AND OPTIONS INC. itself, the staff of which prepare, monitor and supervise the students The students benefit directly and the most through the development of skills and attitudes, the connections they make and the knowledge they gain about networking and careers. The employer/sponsor corporations gain employees and work; the on-site mentors, the educational staff, and the teachers gain a great deal of satisfaction. The essential elements of the FAO Inc. program are supervision and monitoring of the students during the internship by our part-time staff of experienced educators currently involved in the teaching and guidance of young people relationships developed among these FAO Inc. staff, the interns, the on-site mentors, and the teachers in the schools from which the students come. It is a labor-intensive program which is outstanding in its results. support by a significant segment of the local business community tracking the alumni .We had a serious set-back in this when our field office, with all our records, went down at 1 WTC. Its reconstruction is underway, and it will be increasingly important in the expansion, evaluation and replication of the program. The main factors in our success are the essential elements listed above, enhanced by the support and contacts of the Alliance for Downtown New York and of our President, who has had considerable experience in both business and in education Downtown. Assessment/evaluation is of five kinds: anecdotal: evaluations of interns by both FAO Inc. staff and the on-site mentors; letters of evaluation and commendation from participating sponsors; self-evaluations by interns; evaluations and comments by former interns, now at institutions of higher education and/or pursuing careers; reports of site visits by FAO Inc. staff; site visits by program directors of the foundations which support FAO Inc. referential: comments and references by sponsoring organization to others who then seek us out; similarly, individual contacts by students who become aware of the program and seek us out. statistical: we are currently re-building our data base of all alumni, lost in the events of 9/11. It is already giving us some meaningful numbers. growth in placements: from 20 when we began in the fall of 1995 to 300 a year currently, for a total of over 1500. continued involvement of site sponsors from one term to the next The impact of the program is remarkable, attested to by the comments of current and former interns, mentors, and corporate sponsors as described above in the evaluation section. FAO Inc. has opened opportunity to hundreds of New York City students in career areas about which they knew little and to which they had no access. It has improved the employability in global markets of these young people because the “soft skills”, which the program develops to a high degree, are transferable and render the substantive skills, which the program enhances, more valuable in a global marketplace. They provide the basis for movement and growth and further learning, which are critical for liaison with multinational forces and organizations. Further, the program brings immigrant and minority students into the economic mainstream, where their knowledge of culture and language benefit themselves, the economy, and the markets. Thirdly, the diversity of the student population itself, under the guidance of FAO Inc. staff, fosters multicultural understanding and respect, fundamental to employability in a global marketplace. Replication is entirely possible, because the program is highly adaptable; it builds on the strengths inherent in an individual area and on the relationships that can be developed in any area. In Downtown New York these areas have ranged from internships in the financial community to those in retail, maintenance, hotels, culinary arts, cultural institutions, non-profit organizations, architecture, technology and general business offices. A program that replicates FAO Inc. can and should begin with a small number of students and sponsors and grow according to the needs and opportunities of that area. An underwriter who can validate our program is Mr. William Bernstein, of the Alliance for Downtown New York. Because the program started as a pilot project of the Alliance, Mr. Bernstein has been familiar with the administration, the funding, and the development of it. He has also had direct experience with our operations, having had a number of interns serve at the Alliance, and having hired several following their internship as both part-time and full-time employees. William Bernstein Senior Financial Officer The Alliance for Downtown New York 120 Broadway New York, NY 10271 Phone: (212) 835-2777 Fax: (212) 566-5707 bbernstein@downtownny.com Return to Index