ALBANY COUNTY — The county is setting up a year-long program to get high school students ready for careers.

The program will focus on at-risk students, students learning English as a new language, unemployed youth, and those entering the workforce.

The county legislature has issued a request for proposals, asking qualified, community-based organizations or service providers to “develop, facilitate, and deliver a youth leadership and pre-workforce development program designed to prepare young adults for career success.”

The program, starting in December, will have at least eight sessions, providing participants with practical job and life skills, financial literacy, professional conduct, and effective communications.

Proposal submission details are available through the county's Purchasing Division Office or the Empire State Bid System website at http://www.empirestatebidsystem.com.

The deadline to submit a proposal is Aug. 15.

“Not everyone has someone in their life to show them all of the little things you need to do to become a professional,” said Wanda Willingham, deputy chairwoman of the county legislature, in a release announcing the program.

“There are a lot of life details that are easily overlooked and ignored when a role model isn’t in place and this is especially so for young people in communities that have been underserved for years,” Willingham went on. “We want to equip our young people with the tools they need to lift up their communities, their families, and, most importantly, themselves.”

“Becoming a professional is an ongoing journey of progress, not an instant transformation into perfection,” said the legislature’s chairwoman, Joanne Cunningham, in the release. “This program will help young people in Albany County take their first steps into a larger world.”