On Thursday, Workforce Solutions Borderplex (WSB), along with partners from the Borderplex Alliance, El Paso County, the City of El Paso, the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, launched three youth employment initiatives for 2017; Hire El Paso Youth Summer Work Program, Summer Earn & Learn, and The Texas Internship Challenge.
The Hire El Paso Summer Work Program will subsidize 100 percent of a paid work experience for 122 youth between the ages of 16-24 for 20-40 hours a week and for up to 12 weeks.
Summer Earn & Learn will subsidize 100 percent of the paid work experience for 78 youth with disabilities between the ages of 14-22 for 30 hours a week and for up to 7 weeks.
The Texas Internship Challenge, a partnership between the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Education Agency and The Higher Education Coordinating Board, is aimed to increase and promote paid internships for students with Texas employers. In this case, the employers will commit to covering the costs for internships.
“Together we, and our partners, understand the value that summer work experience offers the future workforce. Hiring youth not only helps them gain important workplace training but also builds self-esteem while earning money for themselves and their families. In return, employers can expect to get productive employees,” said Joyce Wilson, CEO of Workforce Solutions Borderplex.
Employers who participate in the programs will benefit from hiring motivated young adults in their workplaces, while providing crucial career building opportunities. Employers participating in the Summer Earn & Learn Program will receive insights and recommendations as to how to best serve customers with disabilities and learn how to easily adapt workplaces to employ persons with disabilities.
In total, WSB has committed to subsidizing 200 summer jobs at 100 percent (zero cost to employers). Youth who participate in the program will attend a Dynamic Futures foundational skills boot camp to better prepare them prior to starting at their worksites.
