About the Founder & Instructor

JobStart was founded by entrepreneur and business owner Jay Birkholz, whose career has been shaped by more than four decades of hands-on business experience. Beginning in his early twenties, Jay built and operated several successful businesses, working with employees, serving thousands of clients, navigating changing markets, and experiencing firsthand the challenges and rewards of building a business.

Those years gave Jay a unique perspective on the qualities that consistently separate dependable, successful employees from those who struggle in the workplace. He saw firsthand the attitudes, habits, communication skills, and character traits employers value. He also recognized that many young people enter the workforce without ever having been taught these essential skills.

After retiring, Jay believed his professional career had come to a close. But an unexpected conversation with a young man preparing to enter the workforce changed that perspective and ultimately inspired the creation of JobStart.

Jay's background is in business rather than education. As JobStart developed, he recognized that understanding the workplace was only part of the equation. He also wanted formal education in working with and teaching young people. He has since pursued professional development focused on youth development, social and emotional learning, working effectively with young people, and understanding the adolescent brain.

Professional Development

• Youth Work Matters — Certificate of Completion
  University of Minnesota

• Social and Emotional Learning in Practice — Certificate of Completion
  University of Minnesota

• Dilemmas in Youth Work — Certificate of Completion
  University of Minnesota

• Understanding the Adolescent Brain — Certificate of Completion
  Washington University in St. Louis

Today, JobStart brings together decades of real-world business experience with focused education in working with young people. Jay's goal is simple: to give young people the confidence, practical skills, and professional habits they need to enter the workplace prepared and become the employees employers remember.