West Marin, with its limited local businesses and internship opportunities, leaves local tweens and teens with fewer ways to learn workplace norms, build professional networks and kickstart their careers compared to neighbors over the hill. A new program hopes to change that.
The Dance Palace, in collaboration with the Tomales Bay Youth Center, is launching the Young Leaders Club, a forward-looking program taught by Marin business leader Leonard Weingarten. The eight-week course will explore entryways to the workforce and higher education using interactive lessons on entrepreneurship, interview skills, first impressions and managing work relationships. It’s a holistic approach that ties into self-awareness and confidence, and it’s designed to prepare youth for the pivotal years of their education, extracurricular activities and job prospects.
“I want to talk about skills that employers are looking for and how you can put your best foot forward,” Mr. Weingarten said. “When you go into an empty classroom, everyone immediately goes to the back of the room. I want to encourage you to take a chance to take that first step in saying, ‘I’m going to sit at the front.’”
The directors of the youth center said they recognized the need for soft skills development. While the center has sturdy programming in arts, culture and sports, it lacks courses that specifically empower youth to enter the workforce. Michael Campbell, a youth program assistant at West Marin Community Services, which runs the youth center, will help recruit students for the course and run portions of the program with Mr. Weingarten. He said the club offers a unique opportunity to gain skills that aren’t offered elsewhere in West Marin.
“At my high school, there was a business and hospitality class where we learned about these kinds of things,” he said. “If there are not these kinds of courses—mentorship programs where kids can learn from a professor with a lot of experience—you have to sort of learn as you go along.”
Mr. Campbell said one focus will be on managing emotions in the workplace, a vital skill when dealing with stress and anger. He will also facilitate mock interviews, teaching students how to stand out from the initial handshake to the post-interview follow-up.
Mr. Weingarten was the director of business development at the San Rafael Chamber of Commerce for 10 years. There he managed a youth entrepreneurial program for Marin and Sonoma that reached over 1,200 students. According to him, a confidence boost and being cognizant of one’s progress can go a long way for someone entering a workplace.
“I want them to start writing down, ‘What did I do today to improve myself, what am I proud of, what did I do today to help others?’” he said. “It doesn’t have to be big—just small steps along the way are helpful to tracking progress and understanding your strengths.”
The Young Leaders Club will meet every Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m. for eight weeks starting on Sept. 14. The program is limited to 10 students in grades seven through nine. The cost is $80, but scholarships are available. To sign up, go to https://dancepalace.org/young-leaders-club/.