County government officials kicked off the fifth annual private sector summer jobs initiative this week with the goal of securing 225 paid summer jobs for the county”™s young adults.
There might not be any subsidies available to hire summer interns, but to make the hiring process easier for businesses, the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Investment Board will prescreen and match candidates who might be a good fit.
“Just as challenging as it is to find a job, it”™s difficult for employers to find employees,” said Marsha Gordon, president of The Business Council of Westchester. “These will be prescreened candidates. ”¦ We”™ll make sure they”™re ready to go.”
At a time when many young adults are unemployed, living with their parents and saddled with college debt, the program is an attempt to encourage businesses to hire young people and jumpstart their careers.
About 15 percent of those ages 20 to 24 are unemployed in Westchester, according to a Business Journal analysis of 2012 Census data.
“To put it frankly,” Gordon said at a White Plains kickoff event, “this program provides a bridge from being a student to being in the real world.”
Last year, 208 young adults found employment at 122 businesses through the program, up from 160 the year before. The program helped generate $325,000 in wages and 15 landed permanent positions at the end of the summer last year.
Businesses and job applicants can sign up for the program at westchestersummerjobs.com, through the Westchester Putnam One Stop Employment Center.
Businesses that sign up are not obligated to select an intern from the program and have the final say about who they hire.
This year, a new video Web chatting tool will be available to expedite the process and avoid scheduling conflicts for students away at college. For applicants who donӪt have much on their r̩sum̩s yet, a video can be an opportunity to shine, organizers said.
A 2013 graduate of Port Chester High School, Sabdy Arellano said she signed up for the program last spring quickly after hearing about it. A week later, she landed an internship at Apple Maintenance Services, a commercial cleaning company in Elmsford.
“This program was really easy and fast,” Arellano said. “I was lucky enough to work with Dorothy and Manuel (her supervisors). They”™re kind of like a family to me.”
Arellano, now 19, Â was one of the 15 students to be offered a job at the end of the program. She”™s a part-time administrative assistant, responsible for opening and closing the office, reception and other administrative duties.
With the encouragement of her supervisors, she”™s also enrolled in nursing school, which she said she might not have done right away otherwise.
“I’ve been very fortunate,” she said.
