The Brandeis Center for Youth and Communities recently received a $2.5 million grant from the Walmart Foundation that will directly support summer programs that employ, educate, and support young people, creating a national dialogue on enhancing youth employability. Locally, the Brandeis Center awarded funds to the San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP) to roll out the 2013 Summer Youth Employability Initiative program.
The program establishes an approach to preparing our region’s future workforce by providing meaningful paid work experiences in the nonprofit and government sectors. By aligning the career aspirations for young adults, ages 16-22 with organizations willing to provide the opportunity, together we can inspire and develop talent for San Diego’s current and future workforce.
“We are thrilled about this opportunity to continue to serve young adults within the San Diego region. They will benefit from this generous grant by gaining new skills and 100 hours of work experience over the summer, which WILL make them more employable. Youth training and employment is critical to our region’s current and future success,” said Peter Callstrom, President & CEO of SDWP.
Professor Susan P. Curnan, Director of the Center for Youth and Communities and study leader for many summer youth initiatives, underscores the power of a competency-based approach to youth employability development: “We describe our approach to the summer program as ‘100% work, 100% learning.’ Summers matter – over the long term, youth who participate in year-round programs or multiple summer experiences intentionally combining work, learning, and support can improve educational outcomes, are less likely to drop out, have less difficulty getting and keeping jobs, and have higher lifelong earnings than those who do not.”
Are you a local nonprofit or government agency looking to hire an intern this summer? If so, please contact Liann Page, Employer Contact Specialist, to learn more LiannPage@workforce.org or 619.228.2942.