Neurodiverse adults in the South Bay now have a new path toward paid work, thanks to a program that pairs individualized job training with real internships at companies ranging from Skechers to Goodwill. The Friendship Foundation announced the launch of its Vocational Pathways Program this month, aiming to help neurodiverse individuals find meaningful, long-term employment.
The program was created in partnership with Els for Autism, according to a release cited by morningstar.com, and pairs employment partners with students for paid internships, ongoing training, career development and support. It comes together after what the release describes as a successful pilot program and a year of development. As MyNewsLA.com reports, that pilot ran in 2025 in conjunction with the Verdugo Workforce Development Board.
Vocational Pathways works by first identifying a student's vocational interests, then building a personalized training program before matching that person with a business, nonprofit or community partner best suited to their goals, per the same account. Multi-dimensional workforce readiness includes career services, work-based training, paid internships, job coaches and peer mentorship. The stated goal, according to the release, is long-term employment and inclusion, with independence and economic mobility for adults with disabilities.
A Pilot Built On Shipping Docks and Native Plants
Before the formal launch, paid interns in the pilot program got hands-on experience in two very different settings. Interns worked with APM Terminals on shipping logistics, while others partnered with the City of Redondo Beach at Wilderness Park on native plant restoration work, the article notes. The Vocational Pathways Program itself was adapted from the Els for Autism Work Experience Program, which provides hands-on learning and skills development for adults with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities.
Per MyNewsLA.com, the list of participating organizations connected to the program now includes Skechers, Kinecta Federal Credit Union, Gensler, Lakeshore Learning and Goodwill, alongside the Verdugo Workforce Development Board, Rock N Brews, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, the South Bay Workforce Investment Board and the South Bay Parkland Conservancy. Yossi Mintz, Friendship Foundation executive director and co-founder, is identified in that reporting as calling the Vocational Pathways Program the linchpin of the organization's new campus — a program whose success will depend on business partners invested in helping it succeed.
A $70 Million Campus Opening This Winter
Vocational Pathways will be housed at the Friendship Campus: The Greenberg Family/Skechers Center, a 62,000-square-foot facility at 850 South Inglewood Avenue in Redondo Beach that is expected to open this winter, according to the release. Construction for the campus is estimated to cost $70 million, funded through private donations and grants, MyNewsLA.com reports. Vocational Pathways is organized as part of the Bhatia College for Professional Development, one piece of a larger campus meant to improve job-skills training for adults with disabilities.
Beyond the vocational program, the campus is also set to include a culinary arts center, a creative arts studio, a Friendship Café and work-based learning classrooms, per that same reporting. The Friendship Foundation already operates 88 Friendship Clubs across 23 school districts and offers more than 50 monthly social and recreational programs for youths and adults, according to the release cited by morningstar.com.
Part Of A Broader Push For Workplace Inclusion
The Redondo Beach effort arrives amid a wider national conversation about disability inclusion in the workplace. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in many areas of public life, including jobs and schools, according to adata.org. At the federal level, the Administration on Disabilities funds programs aimed at removing barriers so people with disabilities can learn, work, access health care and live in the community, per hhs.gov.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also maintains disability-related publications intended to help job applicants, employees, employers and medical providers understand disability-related issues in the workplace, according to eeoc.gov. For now, the Friendship Foundation's focus stays local: matching neurodiverse South Bay adults with training, internships and support ahead of the new campus's winter opening.
