Erin Ward Bibo’s Public Testimony Before the Committee of the Whole

Good afternoon Chairman Mendelson and Committee Members. My name is Erin Bibo, and I am Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at CityWorks DC, a nonprofit organization that is focused on ensuring that DC’s youth of color are better prepared for, hired into, and succeeding in the District’s good jobs. I’m also a Ward 6 resident and parent of three DCPS students. 

When I think of what I want for my own children and the youth of our city, it’s to be able to support themselves and their families in the city where they were raised and educated. Critical to that is securing and maintaining a good job - a job on a career pathway to a salary that can support a family in the high-cost Washington, DC area1 and offer conditions for stability and growth. I am here today to applaud the city’s recent investments and enhancements in opportunities that build our youth’s Career Assets and prepare them for the outcomes I described- specifically, the Advanced Internship Program, Advanced Technical Center, and youth Apprenticeship. 

In 2021, CityWorks DC partnered with Bain & Company to interview and survey nearly 1,200 DCPS and public charter school alumni to reflect on their early career outcomes, including employment status and income, as well as their reflections on their perceived financial stability, job fulfillment, and optimism about the future. What the study found is fascinating. Controlling for all other variables, alumni who had acquired career assets - the set of tools, skills, experiences, and competencies that help an individual successfully navigate the workforce - during school, had significantly higher incomes, and were more likely to report feeling financially stable, fulfilled in their career, and optimistic about the future. 

This is great news for two reasons: First: we know what the most effective career asset building opportunities are. They are Career Preparedness activities like Internships and Rigorous CTE Coursework; and Career Launch Opportunities like Modern Youth Apprenticeships. I’ve included a Work-Based Learning Framework CityWorks DC has designed to describe and differentiate these categories of work-based learning in the attachments section. 

The second reason this is good news is that the city has already taken significant steps to design, implement and scale Career Asset Building Opportunities. The Advanced Internship Program, Advanced Technical Center, and Youth Apprenticeships are excellent examples. The Advanced Internship Program and Youth Apprenticeship programs both provide youth with critical work-based learning experience because we know that students learn best about how to succeed at work when they are at work. The Advanced Technical Center is also a new innovative citywide CTE model that provides dual credit, so that students are earning high school and college credits, while working toward a career in healthcare or cybersecurity. We are excited by these investments because they make a positive difference in the early career outcomes of our youth, and we hope to see them sustain and grow over time. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. I’m happy to answer any questions.