STREETLIGHTS

Organization Information:

Streetlights is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which, in 1992, started providing Job Training, followed by Job Placement and Career Advancement services for economically and socially disadvantaged young ethnic minorities.

Targeting underserved areas of L.A. County, our mission remains the same today, tapping into the well-paying Film, Television and TV Commercial workforce to create careers for this underrepresented population. At the same time, we are increasing diversity on the behind-the-camera crews in a previously closed Industry that is one of the area’s largest employers.

Streetlights’ overall goals are to:
• teach participants to compete and excel at jobs in today’s workplace
• increase access to employment in the Entertainment Industry for low income, marginalized individuals
• provide long-term careers as opposed to simply jobs
• enable parents to provide both financial and emotional support to their children
• provide the film industry with a skilled and motivated talent pool
• eliminate dependence on public assistance
• assist graduates in gaining Union membership or lower-level management positions, and therefore social and economic equality

It is one thing to successfully train the students for work in Hollywood and quite another to ensure that employment is available to the graduates during that difficult transition from a low-income or poverty level subsistence to earning a living wage. Many organizations claim hundreds of people served in their Outcome numbers, but statistics for actual job placement and retention is poor. Streetlights may serve fewer people annually, but each graduate reaches a better than living wage relatively quickly, each is assured - not only of making a decent annual salary - but knowing that advancing in their career is a reality.

Streetlights is like few other programs in that it takes these young minorities from Job Training to Job Placement, from Advanced Training to Career Advancement – at no cost. The Production Assistant (P.A.) Training Program teaches Industry specified vocational skills followed by freelance Job Placements and then, with experience, Career Advancement. Achieving entry-level jobs as Production Assistants in the world of production and then progressing into careers leads to both economic and social parity.
The Program maintains a viable and current curriculum, which is updated to meet Employer Sector demands.

The Streetlights Production Training includes life management skills, fast-track vocational/technical training specific to this Industry, immediate and continuous placement into highly paid jobs and career advancement services leading to long-term careers, which offer financial stability and employment benefits.

Streetlights graduates are so thoroughly prepared that they are noticed and requested back over and over, and after one year are allowed to start working on an Apprenticeship in the department they want to make their career or have moved up in the companies at which they have been on staff.

All students accepted into the program receive the full complement of Streetlights’ services which can take them from entry-level employment to Union membership to on-staff/lower-level management positions – at no cost to them or employers.

The professional education and practical experience provided by Streetlights allows ALL graduates (veterans and nonveterans alike), to achieve socioeconomic advancements and financial stability.

Project / Program Description: Streetlights Production Training Program

To achieve our goals and fulfill the mission, Streetlights has created a multi-level career continuum for maximum achievement.

LEVEL 1–JOB TRAINING–New Trainees (No experience), receive 240 hours of intensive vocational training, providing both work readiness and technical skills necessary for Job Placement in an Industry difficult to access, particularly for minorities. Training includes:
• Life Management Skills—one week intensive soft skills training facilitated by a licensed MSW: emphasis is on teamwork/meeting employer expectations, etc.
• P.A. Training—three weeks of practical instruction taught by Industry Professionals: equipment usage, set procedures/protocols
• On the Job Training—120 PAID hours on working Industry sets followed by employer evaluations
• Emergency financial support is provided on a case-by-case basis
Streetlights provides all classroom training books and supplies as well as gas and lunch money. We also furnish the equipment professionals need to stay job-ready: work gloves, tool belts, appropriate work attire and, if necessary, money for vital emergency expenses. Since a car and a cell phone with voicemail, email and texting capabilities are employment requirements for all P.A. jobs, in the first stages we also help with minor unexpected car repairs and portions of cell phone bills if the individual situation warrants.

LEVEL 2–JOB PLACEMENT–New Graduates (0-12 months of experience) receive guaranteed job placements in the early months, allowing them to make essential employer contacts in a freelance industry. As Streetlights facilitates ongoing freelance job placements, each graduate grows more confident and self-sufficient; they begin tapping into new contacts that may continue to hire them. During this period, graduates work with each of the behind-the-camera departments with the goal of selecting one field for their career.

The freelance aspect of the industry makes continuous job placements essential in the six months after graduation. Streetlights differs from most traditional job training programs in that it recognizes that job placement, ongoing career advancement services and transitional financial support are the best means for participants to gain the firm foothold in their new careers that will engender a positive change in their lives.

These Job Placement efforts have dramatically shortened the time it takes for graduates to rise from the ranks of the working poor to earning a decent wage and for employers to have access to increasing numbers of qualified minority employees. The ability of a non-profit entity to procure jobs in the entertainment community is a formidable task in itself, and even more difficult for minorities. We believe connecting this population to such a difficult-to-access industry is a major accomplishment.

LEVEL 3–HIGHER LEVEL JOB PLACEMENT AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT-Moderately Experienced Graduates (12-24 months of experience), have reached economic self-sufficiency and are building contacts. They are now learning more about specific departments, gaining knowledge and skills to move up the career ladder. They continue to receive Job Placements, earning income as P.A.’s while completing Pre- Apprenticeship assignments or gaining management skills.

The core of Level 3 is the Commercial Diversity Initiative (CDI). Since 2000 Streetlights has partnered with Major Advertisers and Ad Agencies (Ford, Facebook, Procter& Gamble, Walmart, Amazon, GSD&M, etc.) to create Union Traineeships on their crews. Each CDI partner pledges to use one Union Trainee and two P.A.’s on every commercial filmed in Los Angeles. The Advertiser/Agency pays an extra wage for this additional crew member. After 30 working days, the Apprentice is eligible to join a Union.

LEVEL 4 – ELEVATED CAREER SERVICES-Seasoned Graduates and Apprentices (24+ months of experience) continue to receive Advancement Services. Seventy-five percent will have advanced into management track/staff positions, Union Apprenticeships or will have achieved Union Membership. Career counseling is ongoing and particularly crucial as the experienced graduates move into their behind-the-camera careers and begin to climb the ladders of professional success and sustainability.