LOS ANGELES : Job Training Center Graduates 160 Students

A corporate-backed school-to-work program born of the 1992 riots graduated its largest class Thursday, sending 160 South-Central Los Angeles high school students to college or the work force.

The Youth Services Training Center, sponsored by the Shell Oil Products Co., offers students paid work experience with mentor companies ranging from Motown Records to Continental Cable. About 70% of the students continue in part- or full-time jobs with their companies after graduating, and more than half also attend college, said Melba Jackson Carter, coordinator of the center.

Youngsters admitted to the program, which is open to students with at least a 2.2 grade-point average, spend one day each week at the center learning computer and job search skills and several hours during the rest of the week as clerks, cashiers or laborers in their chosen field. Shell pays half of the students’ salaries for the first six months of the program.

At a separate ceremony, officials from Toyota Motor Sales USA and the Los Angeles Urban League celebrated the two-year anniversary of the Automotive Training Center, a facility designed to teach mechanical skills to the unemployed and underemployed. About 200 people have graduated from the center’s two- to four-month classes, which also teach job search skills such as how to write a resume. The center places 86% of its graduates in part- or full-time jobs, said Nancy Hubbell, a spokeswoman for Toyota, which is investing $3 million in the project.