Employment

Employment – a summer or part-time job while in school – is very important to urban teens.

A job may last just a few weeks, but it can profoundly impact youth in many ways:

99% of our teens live in poverty, so a teen's income matters a lot to the family
The job provides a constructive opportunity and a safe environment
Teens develop important job experience and the foundation to the next job
Teens learn first-hand about a career path and whether they want to pursue it
Many teens receive mentoring and other benefits from their supervisor or others

Each year, hundreds of teens enroll in Y.O.U. programs in order to secure such a job, and each spring, thousands of teens register at our website in hopes of getting a summer job.

Employment Services

All Y.O.U. comprehensive programs include these employment-related services:

Curriculum on job-seeking and job-retention skills, including these Y.O.U. elements:
Seven-Step Process culminating in Job Placement
Session where Business Volunteers guide youth through creating a business resume
At end of first week on the job, Triple-A check for the three things employers value most

Employment services are also provided on contract to districts or schools. For example, Y.O.U. provides students at Euclid HS with employability skills and job placement.

Y.O.U. employment programs achieve several critically important results:

Teens learn the skills they need to obtain a job and – equally important – to retain it
Teens find that employers expect academic skills
Once they qualify, teens are placed in entry-level jobs and receive follow-up for success
Teens discover career pathways that, with more education, lead to rewarding careers

Frank G. Jackson Youth Summer Employment Program

In 2006 Mayor Jackson had the idea to hire Cleveland teens in the Division of Water during the summer to paint fire hydrants. The teens did such a great job that they ran out of paint!

As a result, teens now work on many types of jobs in the Division of Water and also in the Port Authority, Division of Water Pollution, Cleveland Public Power, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District.

MyCom Jobs and Internships

Y.O.U. is proud to be a part of MyCom, a community-wide collaborative serving youth from birth to age 21. Y.O.U. leads the summer jobs youth workforce component.

Y.O.U. works year-round with agencies in the 8 key MyCom Neighborhoods in Cleveland and inner-ring suburbs, connecting their youth, 14-18 to summer jobs with nonprofit, public, and private-sector employers. Y.O.U. makes a special effort to recruit employers in the private sector. The entire community benefits!