The U.S. Forest Service’s Job Corps has trained another generation of wildland-management students through its 28 co-educational centers. In the last 12 months, the centers have graduated 4,263 students with approximately 80% of graduates starting new careers, enrolling in higher education programs or enlisting in the military, Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said publicly.

The Forest Service’s Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers are located across the country on 22 forests and grasslands in 18 different states, and enrollees come from urban and rural low-income communities. Students aged 16 to 24 who meet the economic criteria may obtain a high school or a general equivalency diploma, as well as vocational training. Training is offered in more than 30 vocational trades including wildland firefighting and forestry.

Tidwell commented that the centers directly contribute to the agency’s mission of conserving the nation’s national forests and grasslands. In fact, he said Job Corps students have fought “forest fires, planted trees, improved wildlife habitat and built or maintained recreation facilities and miles of hiking trails,” he said.

In addition, the program’s young people can be mobilized quickly to address national emergencies including wildfires, floods and hurricanes, said Tony Dixon, the National Director of Forest Service Job Corps.

“Forest Service Job Corps centers provide the education, vocational instruction, and job skills training necessary to obtain gainful employment and earn a living wage,” Dixon said. “Job Corps students are making Forest Service facilities and operations sustainable, lowering its operating costs, reducing our carbon footprint, and restoring terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.”

The training was done in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor.