Job Market Booms for Local Teens

            The Grow Detroit Youth Talent had a simple goal, yet a lofty one, to hire more than 8,000 young teens for the city workforce. The program, which has been in place over the last few years is continually upping the ante on the number of jobs provided to today’s youth in the area, beginning with a little over 5,000 and now adding a few thousand more to that total, making this one of the most successful youth marketed programs in the city, and one that probably benefits them the most.

            The GDYT program is all about bringing our local area youth, aged 14-24, the necessary work experience, and networking capabilities that come with a summer work program. Those who know the toils that come with trying to find a job today is that experience, or lack thereof, can be the number one barrier of entry to most individuals, and aim to bring a change to that measure when it comes to our future workforce. Giving local area teens the ability to step up and start working on their own, teaches them a wide variety of skills and benefits that will help them in the long term.

            With Detroit’s aching economy since the recession, it’s good not only to see there being a focus on bringing back valuable labor workforces to our city, but also trying to make the change for the future that will keep jobs in the area. With a strong market in the city, there is a better chance at long term living and thereby bringing up our local economy one step at a time. Those who participated in the first summer job program are already of the age to enter the workforce of today with valuable experience alongside them.

            There are over 500 different job sites planned to host these local area youths,making just under to just around minimum wage for the next 6 weeks, and it’s through a series of local area donors and grants from the city itself that allows for these hires to take place without impacting our current job market. Whether the position they get placed in is training, or just on the job experience, it is something more valuable than a standard summer program, and one that aims to bring more back to the city in the long run.
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            Whether you have children in the program or ones looking forward to next year’s installment, with the roaring success that it has shown, it looks like one that will be staying around for some time to come. This is great news not only for our growing children, bringing them valuable contacts and experience, but also for the city itself, because a city that invests in its youth gets much more in return. With our ambition to move forward we need more programs like this, to come together as a community, and lift ourselves out of the quagmire and back to our place as an industry leader. ​