Today 16 teens from Hearts & Homes for Youth will participate in Camp Old Navy where they will shadow their “sellebrities” and develop the skills necessary for job readiness. The Camp is a great opportunity to learn about the workforce, develop professional skills, and possibly be recruited!

Camp Old Navy is a partnership between Gap Inc. (Old Navy’s parent company) and local youth development programs. The program brings teens into Old Navy stores for a half-day job shadow experience that helps them develop job readiness skills and explore career opportunities. The teens get to experience firsthand what it’s like to work in retail and to try out new experiences like searching for merchandise using  a retail computer system and learning how to work a cash register to make transactions, all in a supportive, educational environment.

Youth from 3 of our programs will spend the day learning the ins and outs of the popular retail chain at an Old Navy store in Laurel today. They will learn about what it’s like to have a job in apparel retail and experience hands-on training in retail management, sales and merchandising, working the sales floor alongside actual employees. Just like regular employees, the teens will be expected to learn the specifics of how “their” store worked and was laid out, as well as learn a little about what the company expects from its employees and how it wants its stores run.

Our youth will have the opportunity to work the cash registers, run the fitting rooms and “RAD” the store. They will also learn about loss prevention and the customer service values of the company.

Camp Old Navy’s purpose is to offer young people job readiness, helping teens prepare for entering the work force. Old Navy staff wants teens to walk away from this experience knowing that working at Old Navy can be a lot of fun. It can be a great first job opportunity that the youth can turn into a career.