SummerWorks 2016 a success with more employers, thousands of jobs for youth

Last Thursday, Mayor Greg Fischer announced that more than 4,200 young people ages 16-21 – many of them lower income or disadvantaged – were placed in jobs by SummerWorks this year. And more than 110 companies and organizations partnered with the city and KentuckianaWorks to provide those jobs. 

Watch the full SummerWorks 2016 press conference below, which features remarks from Mayor Fischer, JCPS Superintendent Dr. Hargens, President and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc. Kent Oyler, and some of the program's top employers and youth participants. 

You can also scroll through a gallery of photos from the event below. 

Mayor Fischer checks in with SummerWorks youth on their first day on the job

When citizens ask me ‘What can I do to help make our city stronger?’ I tell them to hire a young person for a job in the summertime...it’s something that literally almost every company can do.
— Mayor Greg Fischer

Earlier this week, Mayor Fischer stopped by the Humana Digital Experience Center to visit with their group of 2016 SummerWorks interns. He offered them words of encouragement and emphasized how important a summer job can be in the life of a young person. Mayor Fischer also acknowledged the program's consistent growth since its first summer in 2011.

"In our first summer we had 200 kids go to work in the community, and this year in 2016, through the support of wonderful companies like Humana, I'm pleased to announce that we're going to have more than 2,700 youth in our community participate in our SummerWorks program."

Mayor Fischer reminded the group that the SummerWorks program doesn't just help young people begin their careers - it also plays a important role in developing the city's future workforce and addressing structural inequalities.  

See media coverage of the day below.

Insider Louisville: "SummerWorks program expands to 2,700 interns"

Wave 3 News: "6th annual Mayor's SummerWorks kicks off"  

SummerWorks 2016 launch media coverage

Mayor Greg Fischer announces the launch of SummerWorks 2016 at UPS Worldport.

Mayor Greg Fischer announces the launch of SummerWorks 2016 at UPS Worldport.

The mayor is challenging every company in Louisville’s private sector to either hire or sponsor a youth for the 2016 SummerWorks program, which Fischer officially launched Monday morning.
— Courier-Journal
In 2011, the program’s first year, we placed about 200 kids in summer work. Last year, we employed more than 2,500. That’s great progress by any measure, and we have one of the best programs in the country. But we need to do much more.
— Mayor Greg Fischer, Op-Ed
A recent study showed that young people who have participated in SummerWorks go on to the workforce and to pursue higher education in greater numbers than those who did not participate.
— Insider Louisville
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer says there will be a stronger focus this year on placing students in jobs that match up with what they are learning in school.
— WDRB News
The SummerWorks program gives students real world experience not only to help them build their resumes but earn money while they learn.
— WHAS11

Mayor to businesses: SummerWorks is ‘crucial’

For Immediate Release:

LOUISVILLE (March 7, 2016) – UPS will provide jobs to more than 100 young people this summer through a public-private program designed also to keep them on track to finish high school and go on to college, Mayor Greg Fischer announced today in launching his SummerWorks jobs program for 2016. 

“Summer jobs are critical building blocks for young people, and SummerWorks is crucial for the health of the local economy, because it creates a pipeline of future talent,” Fischer said.  “We want it to be the business culture of our city that every company, large and small, hires or sponsors summer jobs for youth.” - Mayor Fischer

Fischer also announced that several major companies will hire SummerWorks youth for the first time this summer, including Humana and Kindred Healthcare. Fischer urged companies that can’t directly hire youth this summer to instead sponsor jobs. A donation of $2,500 creates a summer job at a non-profit organization or city agency.
 
UPS this summer will employ high school juniors, as young as 17, to work at its Worldport shipping hub. In their senior year, the students will be able to transition into the School-to-Work program, where students attend high school in the morning, work at UPS later in the day and take college courses. After graduating high school, students have an opportunity to stay employed with UPS and be part of the Earn & Learn or Metropolitan College programs, which pay their college tuition while they work part-time at UPS.
 
Working closely with Jefferson County Public Schools, Fischer said there will be a stronger focus this year on placing students in jobs that match up with what they are learning in school and jobs in the key business sectors the city is focused on growing such as technology and healthcare.

“The SummerWorks program not only offers our students a real-world application of the skills and training they’re receiving in the classroom, but it allows them to earn critical job experience and networking tools so they can graduate prepared, empowered and inspired to reach their full potential,” said Dr. Donna Hargens, superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools.

Fischer also announced that a new website, www.summerworks.org, has been created, making it easier for employers to sign up to hire, and for young people to register for a summer work opportunity.

The Mayor launched SummerWorks right after taking office in 2011, in response to the elimination of federal funding for summer jobs.  In that first year, the effort placed 200 young people in jobs. Last summer, 2,500 youth found summer work through the program, which was recognized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2014 as one of the nation’s best summer jobs programs for young people.

Fischer said a new study confirms the value of the effort. Young people participating in SummerWorks are more likely to stay in the workforce and pursue postsecondary education, according to a newly completed analysis of the program by the Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics.
 
Michael Gritton, executive director of KentuckianaWorks, which operates SummerWorks, said the program team works directly with employers to make sure they are matched with candidates who best meet their needs.

“We’re working, for example, to identify students at the JCPS 5-Star career theme schools that have skills in growing business fields, such as technology, finance, health care, manufacturing and skilled trades, and bring those skills to summer jobs at local businesses,” Gritton said.

In addition to UPS, other businesses returning this year to hire SummerWorks youth include the Belle of Louisville, GE, GlowTouch Technologies, Harland Clarke, Louisville Urban League, Louisville Zoo, Norton Healthcare, Speedway, Thorntons and YMCA of Greater Louisville.

You can hear Mayor Fischer discuss what SummerWorks means to our city in the short video clip below.

2015 Recap: Mayor’s SummerWorks program helps 2,500 youth land quality summer jobs

For the fifth consecutive year, Mayor Greg Fischer’s SummerWorks program has grown and this summer is placing 2,500 youth, ages 16-21, in jobs at companies and organizations throughout the community. This year’s numbers include 200 jobs for low-income youth funded by $500,000 provided by the state Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.

“It’s exciting to celebrate a fifth year of increasing summer jobs and this year making jobs available to more low-income youth thanks to the TANF funding from the state and other generous private donors,” Fischer said. “For many of these youth, this is a first work opportunity, which can be a life-changing experience. When we hear the stories of these young workers and talk to their employers about the value they receive, we know this initiative is making a real difference in their futures and the future of our community.”

Read more: https://louisvilleky.gov/news/mayor%E2%80%99s-summerworks-program-putting-2500-youth-jobs-summer