SAN DIEGO (May 21, 2014) – CONNECT2Careers (C2C), a youth summer employment initiative administered by the San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP), has announced it reached its goal of 1,000 youth applicants for its 2014 summer program. Additionally, on May 20 the San Diego City Council approved $40,000 in Community Projects, Programs and Services (CPPS) funds for C2C. The funds will provide work-readiness workshops for the applicants and program support to assist employers hiring youth this summer.
CPPS funding was allocated from the following districts:
- Councilmember Sherri Lightner, District 1 – $20,000
- Councilmember Myrtle Cole, District 4 – $5,000
- Councilmember Mark Kersey, District 5 – $5,000
- Councilmember Lorie Zapf, District 6 – $5,000
- Councilmember Scott Sherman, District 7 – $5,000
Funding for C2C has also been included in Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s “One San Diego” budget.
“As Mayor, one of my top priorities is job creation, but we must also make sure that we fill those jobs with good San Diego talent,” Faulconer says. “CONNECT2Careers is a fantastic program that helps prepare San Diego’s youth for the future jobs that we are working to create. That’s why I was pleased to include $200,000 for the program in my “One San Diego” budget proposal.”
“The objective of C2C is to place young adults, ages 16–21, in quality summer jobs with employers from all sectors,” says Peter Callstrom, President and CEO of SDWP. “C2C provides young adults with invaluable opportunities to explore career options, develop important work-readiness skills and bring home a paycheck. The fact that our applications doubled from last year tells us that San Diego’s youth want to get to work.”
San Diego City Council President Pro Tem Sherri Lightner is calling on local business owners to provide jobs and work-readiness experiences to help train the future workforce and close the skills gap by employing our young people this summer.
“CONNECT2Careers provides a great way for businesses to give back to the community while helping to train our emerging workforce, which is critical to growing our local economy and competing in the global marketplace,” Lightner says.
The C2C program staff connects the applicants with local employers, who conduct interviews and hire the candidates directly. Callstrom adds that 55 companies are currently participating in hiring C2C youth. “We’d like to double that number,” he says.
CONNECT2Careers
An initiative of SDWP, C2C prepares our region’s future workforce by providing youth with the education, skills and support necessary to obtain and maintain a job and by connecting them to meaningful paid work experiences. For additional information on how to support, partner or hire a C2C job candidate this summer, please visit http://c2csd.org.
San Diego Workforce Partnership
The San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP) is the leader for innovative workforce solutions in San Diego County. It funds job training programs that enable adults and youth to develop the skills and knowledge needed for careers that are in demand. SDWP also provides current and projected labor market research on the region’s workforce trends and key industries. Its vision is to ensure that every business in our region has access to a skilled workforce and that every job seeker has access to meaningful employment. For more information, visit www.workforce.org.
Contact:
Heather Milne Barger
619-228-2904
heathermb@workforce.org