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City Seeks to Place Teens in Summer Jobs By KEVIN P. O'CONNOR Standard-Times correspondent April 24, 2008 6:00 AM NEW BEDFORD - The city picked up another $78,000 to pay for summer jobs on Wednesday. Mayor Scott W. Lang said that is a good start, but he is looking for more. The mayor gathered friends at City Hall on Wednesday to introduce Suzanne M. Bump, the state secretary of labor, and to promote the fourth annual Youth Career Expo to be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Greater New Bedford Career Center. The goal, Mayor Lang said, is to get teenagers into jobs this summer. "We have too many young people who want to work but can't find work," Mayor Lang said. "Two years ago when I took office, it became clear that summer jobs were not something we could take for granted." The gathering Wednesday was designed to thank local organizations and businesses that have offered to hire summer help, and to seek contributions to the mayor's stipend program, which pays teenagers, most of them 14 or 15, $250 for participating in city projects during the summer. Mayor Lang said he hopes to raise $100,000 for the fund this year. The fund moved closer to its goal when Stephen J. Hickox, senior vice president of the engineering firm CDM, presented him with a check for $10,000 for the effort. Ms. Bump also announced Wednesday that the state will provide $238,000 to the city this year to pay for this summer's youth jobs. That figure is $68,000 more than the $170,000 the state provided last year. The money will be used to train and pay teenagers who work with government agencies and nonprofit organizations through the summer. It is money well spent, Ms. Bump said. "The greatest predictor of whether a person can hold a job as an adult is whether they had a job as a teen," she said. "So it is in society's long-term interest to promote jobs for teens." Last year, the state money financed summer jobs for 143 teenagers in New Bedford. The money should provide jobs for more this year, Ms. Bump said. "Holding a job helps teenagers make the connection to the workplace and it helps them understand why we want them to succeed academically," she said. A glance at the statistics supports the need for programs to place teenagers in jobs, Ms. Bump said. "The participation of teens in our labor force is at an all-time low," she said. The number slid from 57 percent employment among teenagers in 1999 to 39 percent in 2006. "Participation has been even more reduced in gateway cities such as New Bedford," she said. "My early work experience came about through connections from my parents. In a community with a high immigrant population, those connections aren't always there." The city is involved in a two-phase campaign to get teenagers into jobs this summer. The Career Center will hold its expo at 618 Acushnet Ave. It expects more than 300 job seekers, ages 16 to 21, to meet with 18 employers who are looking for workers. New Directions, the arm of the Career Center that works with younger job seekers, has been running classes all week to teach applicants how to write a resume and make a good impression at a job interview. Mayor Lang also asked city businesses and organizations to call his office if they have summer jobs to be filled. Leonard Coriaty, executive director of the city's Workforce Investment Board, will match workers with jobs. "If you have a job, we need to know about it," Mayor Lang said. "If we can help you create a job, we will." 227 Union Street, Suite 206, New Bedford, MA 02740-5946 PH 508.979.1504 • FAX 508.979.5680 E-mail: Webmaster@gnbwib.org |