I have some great news for young people in Hamilton County – we’re taking our former summer youth jobs program and growing it into the year-round Hamilton County Youth Employment Program. We’ll still help people 14 to 21 find summer jobs, but we’re also going to help them find out what they’re good at and help them remove whatever barriers are keeping them from achieving their career goals.

We’re investing $5 million in the Hamilton County Youth Employment Program. We’re able to do that thanks to voters who supported our Children’s Services levy last fall. Boosting employment services and giving more help to older teens were two of the things we promised to do with levy dollars, so we are making good on those promises. We continue to be so grateful for that community support.

To be eligible, young people should have barriers that hinder them from keeping and sustaining employment and/or meet the 200% federal poverty level guidelines We’re working with Talbert House and Harbor to offer jobs in all kinds of industries, including customer service, urban farming, automotive, the arts, technology and construction. Jobs will pay $13 an hour plus offer incentives and bonuses.

At the end of the program, each participant will receive a written plan, a roadmap they can follow to stay on track toward their desired career. These plans will include a new resume as well as information on what training classes are offered at local schools and when, and data on how much money they can expect to earn with each achievement.

I’m really excited about the changes we’ve made to this program and the help we can provide to the younger members of our community. If you’re an employer, please consider hiring some of these young people. Go to hcjfs.org/youthemployment to find out more.

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