“This is very special to me,” said Commission Loretta Smith, as she thanked the staff from Worksystems, who came this week to brief Multnomah County commissioners on the teen employment program SummerWorks.
The program began in 2011 to help teens find summer jobs that could help open doors to careers and college.
“Look where we are today. We’ve gone from 25 jobs to 250 jobs,” she said. “And I just want to say thank you for being great partners.”
Worksystems, which manages the program, received 1,700 applications last year and found jobs for 482 Multnomah County teenagers. Of those jobs, 250 were funded by the county. The private sector, which included Boeing, doubled the number of applicants they accepted.
“This is more than just a summer job,” said Andrew McGough, executive director of Worksystems. “We see this as an important part of a broader strategy to position citizens of Multnomah County for success. We think programs like this really do have a lasting impact.”
Four-out-of-five teens successfully completed the program this year; that means they finished and earned good reviews from their employers. And nearly 90 percent said they had an “outstanding” experience.
“Summer jobs help teens launch careers,” said Barbara Timper, of SummerWorks. “They need skills, exposure to professional environments, they need to learn their own interests and talents. So many youth I talk to, they say, ‘I didn’t know I would like this kind of work’ or ‘I know I hate this kind of work.’ So that is huge.”
Worksystems anticipates being able to offer about 700 positions in 2016; the online applications will go live March 28.