For young adults who graduate from high school without a clear plan for what comes next, the path forward can be challenging. College may not be the right choice, and trade school requires choosing a career. Houston’s PX Project was created to fill that gap, giving young adults space to explore, develop workplace skills, and plan for the future.
Founded in 2020, PX Project is a career exploration and workforce development program that uses food and hospitality to teach students employable skills. Fellows spend 18 weeks gaining paid work experience while learning communication, teamwork, time management, conflict resolution, and other durable skills employers value. The program has graduated 68 fellows, and participants typically earn $13 an hour, plus the opportunity for performance bonuses.
“The idea was to build a space for young people who need to enter the workforce but don't really know what they want to do or how to get there,” says Meredith Davis, founder and executive director. “Rather than being a trade school and teaching the technical stuff, PX Project gives them space to practice the skills that 90% of employers are saying they're looking for.”
The kitchen provides a natural training ground. Fellows rotate through four stations: prep cook, line cook, barista, and porter. Cesar Cano, executive culinary director, spends the first four weeks teaching everything from knife skills and recipes to equipment and kitchen operations.
“It’s really about building, giving them the skill set and then giving them the opportunity to practice that skill set,” Cano says.
That practice happens at PX Cafe, where fellows serve real customers and handle actual orders. Cano says the number of diners they have in the cafe directly affects the training experience. “I can teach them everything,” he says, “but if they never get the opportunity to practice it in real time, they cannot fully develop those skills.”
Fellows leave with six-month, one-year, and five-year plans designed to give them direction. Just as important, they leave with a network of mentors, peers, and alums who can help them navigate what comes next.
Davis says the biggest transformation she sees is confidence. “They really start to trust themselves.” For the PX Project, the kitchen is the starting point for helping young adults discover what they can do and giving them the tools to move forward. pxproject.org
“It really is just showing the young people all the opportunities out there, helping them identify which ones they want to go for, and then figuring out how they want to go about getting there.” – Meredith Davis, Founder and Executive Director of PX Project.