For a handful of students in a job-skills training program in New York, graduation -- and the first step toward a new career -- came last week.

The aim of the Technology Service Corps program run by NPower NY, a New York nonprofit group that provides technology consulting to other nonprofits, is to give low-income youths the skills and resources to land jobs in information-technology support. Most are hired by nonprofits, but some win jobs at big corporate employers.

The title of an NPower outline for the program, "From the Streets to Geeks," hints at the demographic most of the students fit -- among the groups hardest hit by job losses recently. Most participants are young men who come from low-income families and have little or no schooling beyond a high-school diploma. The program accepts men and women between the ages of 18 and 25, so long as they have finished high school or earned an equivalency degree.

Andrew Sum, an economist who directs the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, says that almost half of the jobs lost in the U.S. between 2000 and 2004 were held by people between 16 and 24 years of age. This group has also mostly been excluded from new job growth, he says. Many recently created jobs have been related to rising self-employment or are contract positions for highly skilled workers, or they are off-the-books jobs, frequently taken by new immigrants. "Most kids are dependent on regular wage and salary payroll jobs," says Mr. Sum.

Low-skilled young workers are likely to fare even worse now that job growth is slackening. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that employers added just 32,000 jobs in July, which fell far short of many economists' predictions for growth of at least 200,000 jobs during the month.

The NPower program, which since 2001 has graduated 57 students, can't make a dent in larger job trends by itself. But many people suggest that programs like it are becoming essential for young workers with few skills whose career opportunities have dwindled in the past few years. Viewed up close, the program shows it can create job opportunities and sometimes even change lives.

"I would like my team not to feel like this is an end at all," said Luis Burgos, at a small graduation ceremony at the NPower offices last week. In a speech that brought applause and tears, Mr. Burgos, 20, told his fellow graduates to recall how little they knew about "technical stuff" when they entered the program and how far they had come, as they studied and then took on internships. "I [gave up] my job to stay with NPower NY, but I gained so much more," he said. "A bunch of new skills, another family and a career."

It is tough to get into the NPower program, which typically accepts a little more than half of applicants, and tough to graduate -- about three-quarters of students complete the course work. The most recent class started with 11 students, but three dropped out or were asked to leave the program. During the program, students learn computer networking and basic Web site design, among other skills. The average salary for students before entering the program is $9,834 a year. After graduation, the figure jumps to $22,956.

In addition to bridging a digital divide, people associated with the program say, teachers and mentors from nonprofits and companies help students cross a cultural gap. Students typically work jobs without long-term growth opportunities before entering the program. For these students, visits to the sleek Manhattan offices of lead sponsors Accenture Ltd. or J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. can be eye-opening.

"I think we're demystifying work and the private sector for these kids," says Chris Wearing, managing partner of Accenture's New York office, who also sits on NPower's board. He says that while students learn to feel comfortable in a corporate setting, the program is also "a huge morale booster" for Accenture staffers who spend a full day with the NPower students shadowing them at work.

Sometimes the contrast between the corporate work world and students' neighborhoods is stark. "In the projects, what you see is drugs and crime, and people tell you that's the only way to get money," says Ethan Richards, 22, who graduated from the program in April. "The options there are death or jail, to be honest." He now works at the Abyssinia Development Corp., a nonprofit group in Harlem, where he earns $10 an hour for providing PC support and $65 an hour for work on special projects.

So far, seven of the eight students from the most recent class have full-time jobs or internships lined up. Marvin Mendez, 23, who worked for a pharmacy at night and on weekends throughout the program, landed a three-month internship with Accenture and plans to go to college, perhaps to pursue an interest in cryogenics.

"I had drive in me," says Mr. Mendez, "and just needed a little spark to get it going."