YouthWorks Spotlight: How Jacob Santos Built Skills, Confidence, and Career Direction

Across the YouthWorks program, mentorship plays a critical role in helping young people build confidence, explore career pathways, and navigate their early work experiences. Santos explained that his own connection to the program began through a community mentor who saw potential in him. “My journey with YouthWorks began about three years ago,” he said. “At the time, I was volunteering with a youth basketball league, and my mentor, Ed Caisse, encouraged me to apply to the program. I had no idea then how much that decision would change my life.”

YouthWorks is designed for moments like that. The program, administered in Holyoke through the MassHire Hampden Workforce Board & MassHire Holyoke Career Services, prepares teens and young adults for employment through paid job placements, mentoring, career pathway exploration, and a focus on soft skills such as communication, problem solving, teamwork, and adaptability. Participants also complete Signal Success, a career readiness curriculum that builds job readiness skills, strengthens communication, supports collaboration, and helps young people plan for future opportunities.

For Santos, the structure and support of YouthWorks helped him step into leadership quickly. “After enrolling, I was invited to become a Peer Leader. In that role, I’ve had the privilege of visiting youth at their job sites, helping them build confidence, and providing the same mentorship and guidance that helped me,” he shared. “Watching my peers grow and succeed, seeing their confidence rise, has been one of the best parts of my journey.”

As Santos grew in the program, his responsibilities continued to expand. YouthWorks exposed him to different workplace settings and gave him opportunities to support initiatives that strengthen career readiness for young people across Holyoke.

As he advanced, he also began taking part in broader MassHire activities that built his professional skills. He gained experience supporting workforce initiatives, assisting with youth caseloads, and developing the communication skills needed to guide young people entering their first jobs.

“Through YouthWorks and MassHire, I’ve learned skills that go far beyond the workplace,” he said.  “I’ve gained experience in leadership, communication, and teamwork.”

One of the most memorable opportunities came when he interviewed Secretary Lauren Jones during her MassHire 250 Workforce Innovation Tour this past summer. That interview was made possible through a partnership between Holyoke Media and MassHire Holyoke Youth Services, which provides real-world roles for young people in media production and workforce development through YouthWorks.

These opportunities helped him understand what it means to step into a professional environment and build the confidence needed to navigate a career pathway. “With these experiences, I didn’t just learn about career pathways. I lived them,” he proudly shares.

This year, Jacob has continued his growth as an intern with the MassHire Holyoke Career Services’ youth department, where he is learning how workforce programs support young people across the region. For his team, watching him speak at the State House was a proud moment. His supervisor, Deb Snape, Director of Youth Career Pathway Initiatives, summed it up simply. “We are so proud of him!”