Helping school Students

Workforce Development

CIW equips youth, women, and underserved families with the skills, confidence, and opportunities needed to succeed in the modern workforce. Through hands-on training, mentorship, and leadership development, we bridge the gap between education and employment for immigrant, refugee, African American, and low-income communities.

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ACE Program Academic & Career Empowerment

ACE (Academic & Career Empowerment) is CIW’s flagship youth workforce program designed to help high school students in grades 9–12 discover careers, build confidence, and gain the essential skills they need for future success.

Focus: Career discovery • Hands-on workshops • Youth mentorship • Workforce skills
 Tracks: Engineering • IT • Healthcare • Business • Construction • Manufacturing • Trades Law

ACE exposes students (grades 6–12) to real careers through:

  • Hands-on workshops in multiple industries
  • Résumé training and job readiness
  • Leadership development & positive identity
  • Mentorship from professionals and law enforcement
  • Mental wellness support and youth resilience

ACE helps students build vision, confidence, and direction.

ACE Program Academic & Career Empowerment

ACE (Academic & Career Empowerment) is CIW’s flagship youth workforce program designed to help high school students in grades 9–12 discover careers, build confidence, and gain the essential skills they need for future success.

Focus: Career discovery • Hands-on workshops • Youth mentorship • Workforce skills
 Tracks: Engineering • IT • Healthcare • Business • Construction • Manufacturing • Trades Law

ACE exposes students (grades 6–12) to real careers through:

  • Hands-on workshops in multiple industries
  • Résumé training and job readiness
  • Leadership development & positive identity
  • Mentorship from professionals and law enforcement
  • Mental wellness support and youth resilience

ACE helps students build vision, confidence, and direction.

ACE Program Academic & Career Empowerment

ACE (Academic & Career Empowerment) is CIW’s flagship youth workforce program designed to help high school students in grades 9–12 discover careers, build confidence, and gain the essential skills they need for future success.

Focus: Career discovery • Hands-on workshops • Youth mentorship • Workforce skills
 Tracks: Engineering • IT • Healthcare • Business • Construction • Manufacturing • Trades Law

ACE exposes students (grades 6–12) to real careers through:

  • Hands-on workshops in multiple industries
  • Résumé training and job readiness
  • Leadership development & positive identity
  • Mentorship from professionals and law enforcement
  • Mental wellness support and youth resilience

ACE helps students build vision, confidence, and direction.

ACE Program Academic & Career Empowerment

ACE (Academic & Career Empowerment) is CIW’s flagship youth workforce program designed to help high school students in grades 9–12 discover careers, build confidence, and gain the essential skills they need for future success.

Focus: Career discovery • Hands-on workshops • Youth mentorship • Workforce skills
 Tracks: Engineering • IT • Healthcare • Business • Construction • Manufacturing • Trades Law

ACE exposes students (grades 6–12) to real careers through:

  • Hands-on workshops in multiple industries
  • Résumé training and job readiness
  • Leadership development & positive identity
  • Mentorship from professionals and law enforcement
  • Mental wellness support and youth resilience

ACE helps students build vision, confidence, and direction.

Women’s Advocacy & Employment (Extension of ACE & MIT)

The Women’s Advocacy & Employment Program is CIW’s specialized workforce pathway that helps young women, immigrant women, refugee women, and minority women build the skills, confidence, and opportunities needed to succeed in today’s workforce.

It is a direct extension of the ACE and MIT programs, supporting girls as they transition from high school leadership into college, career training, and professional employment.

This program bridges youth empowerment → adult workforce readiness → economic independence.

    Focus: Women in tech • Construction • Public safety • Healthcare • Engineeringh

    This program prepares minority, refugee, and immigrant women for high-demand careers by offering:

  • Equal Pay and Career Advancement:
    • Digital literacy, résumé prep, and interview coaching
    • Mentorship from professional women
    • Career tracks in tech, trades, public safety, engineering, healthcare
    • Support for young women transitioning from ACE & MIT into adulthood
    • Transportation and job access support

It builds a continuous pathway from youth success → women’s workforce success → family stability.

Manager-in-Training (MIT) Business Shadowing & Leadership Development

The Manager-in-Training (MIT) program is CIW’s advanced workforce pathway designed for high school and college students who want to build real leadership skills and gain hands-on workplace experience. MIT prepares young people for supervisory, managerial, and leadership roles by placing them in real businesses where they can shadow professionals, complete work tasks, and develop practical skills.

Focus: Early leadership experience • Workforce placement • Supervisory skills
MIT prepares older youth for leadership through:

  • 6–12 week business internships
  • Job shadowing with managers and supervisors
  • Real-world leadership tasks
  • Communication, teamwork, and decision-making coaching

MIT helps students transition into supervisors, team leads, and future professionals.

MIT application MIT Doc

YELP Youth Empowerment Leadership Program (Ages 12–18)

YELP is CIW’s summer youth program designed for middle and high school students ages 12–18.

It provides structured, positive, and empowering summer experiences that help youth build leadership skills, develop confidence, and gain exposure to future careers.

The goal of YELP is to ensure that summer becomes a season of growth, not idle time, isolation, or risk.

Focus: Summer placement • Leadership training • Financial literacy • Career skills
YELP gives middle and high school students structured summer workforce experience:

  • Job placement with partner employers
  • Interview prep and résumé support
  • Leadership workshops & communication skills
  • Entrepreneurship & financial literacy
  • Community service & character building

YELP turns summertime into a season of growth and productivity.

PCI Partners with Many School Districts! Thank You for Being so Supportive!

School Districts

  • Appleton
  • Oshkosh
  • Menasha
  • Kaukauna

Workshops

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Ethnicities

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Grade Levels

Average Attended (%)

Aivor Story - Starting a Business

Aivor is a high school junior who has already started two new business ventures. One is a young entrepreneur’s organization called Vital, while the other is a clothing brand. Aivor initially wanted to get into business while young but was concerned nobody would take him seriously. He learned to increase his confidence and grow his business through PCI career workshops when he attended his first PCI Academic Career Empowerment program.

While at the program, he met with professionals through PCI who helped him learn to build his business, and he is now running programs through Vital and enjoying increased sales with his clothing brand. Aivor would have had a more challenging time achieving this goal without the professional help provided by PCI and the ACE program.

Pointters is still mentoring Aivor for his future planning.

Academic and Career Empowerment (ACE)

We integrate skills development into the curriculum, including hard and soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. We also offer workshops or courses that teach practical skills relevant to various professions.

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What WE DO

Pointters creates pathways for professional growth and economic stability while prioritizing our community’s mental and emotional health. We serve passionately to create healthier and more equitable economic opportunity systems in black communities. We lead by example with our strategic programs.

Mentoring

Mentoring high school students is a rewarding experience! PCI provides guidance and support during this crucial time by helping students discover their interests, explore different career paths, and provide information about various industries and professions.

Internships and Job Shadowing

We facilitate opportunities for internships, job shadowing, or apprenticeships to give students hands-on experience in different industries.We partner with local businesses and organizations to create meaningful internship programs.

STEM Education

We emphasize science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to prepare students for careers in these high-demand fields. PCI collaborates with STEM professionals and organizations like Microsoft to provide students with real-world insights and experiences.

Entrepreneurship Education

We offer entrepreneurship workshops to foster creativity, innovation, and an entrepreneurial mindset among students. We partner with colleges and universities to provide infrastructure to support the program.Students are encouraged to develop and implement their own business ideas through programs or competitions.

College and Career Readiness Programs

PCI implements college and career readiness programs, including assistance with college applications and scholarship opportunities.

Technology Integration

We incorporate technology and innovation activities into the program to ensure students are familiar with digital tools and platforms commonly used in the workplace. Programs like cybersecurity, software and hardware management, We offer coding and computer science hands-on workshops to enhance digital literacy.

Career and Job Fairs

As part of the programs we offer career and job fairs to expose students to a wide range of career and employment possibilities. We foster connections between students and professionals to provide networking opportunities.

Financial Literacy

Program offerings include financial literacy education to help students understand budgeting, saving, investing, and other financial aspects relevant to their future careers.

Testimonials

Thanks to OT and the team for their support with my employment. CIW team are good people, and they are ready to work

Archie C

Thank you, CIW Community Initiatives, for helping me with my resume

Modupe Akinpelu

CIW has been supporting me with counseling- I appreciate the team there…

Latrina A

CIW provides mentoring for me in my career. They are very dependable


Book an Appointment

Please get in touch with us - We are ready to attend to your needs. Your well-being is our top priority.

Pointters Team
920 509 2270
Official Address
1800 Appleton Road Menasha WI 54952
Opening Hours
Monday - Saturday ( 09:00 - 21:00) Sunday Closed

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