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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston-based teenagers looking to make the most of their summer career-wise may be in luck with the City's Summer 2022 Youth Employment Program.
The City of Boston Department of Youth Engagement & Employment and Mayor Michelle Wu launched the SuccessLink Youth Employment Program for teenagers aged 14 to 18 last month, offering opportunities in job fields like the arts, government, STEM, sports, childcare, and education.
Though applications for the Youth Employment program closed on Sunday, the City still hosts multiple job opportunities listed by neighborhood on their website for teens via the 2022 Summer Grant Jobs program. Prerequisites for the program ask that applicants be teenagers, Boston residents, and legally permitted to work in the United States.
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Mayor Wu says that there are 6,000 jobs opportunities for Boston youths for this summer, a thousand more than there were available last year. But the City is still looking to recruit more private sector businesses to join in on the program.
"We need adults to step forward to supervise young people this summer. Young people are feeling down- it's been a rough time to be a teenager, and our job as team leaders, as well as adults who care about them, is to get them to step out into places where they may not feel comfortable," Executive Director of the Boston Private Industry Council Neil Sullivan.
The purpose of the program, city officials say, is to connect youths and young adults to opportunities for personal and professional growth.
14-year-old Yunis tells WBZ's Karyn Regal that she is excited for the opportunity, after two years of a pandemic where there weren't many options.
"It really makes me feel warm inside because that just opens up a whole new door for more youth," Yunis said.
WBZ's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports.
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