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Businesses Asked to Step It Up and Hire More Youth

By Kerri Provost

January 11, 2013

Despite a decrease in funding, the City of Hartford’s Youth Employment Program has managed to increase the number of summer slots for young people in the Hartford area. At the program’s Summer Youth Jobs Campaign breakfast this week, the Mayor said there were 1637 slots last year, which he’d like to see increased to 2013 this summer. To do this, he said that businesses would need to make a “substantial investment.”

A series of speakers, including youth, presented reasons for providing part-time jobs for teens and young adults. Trisana Spence, 17, told potential funders and employers that employment helped her to focus after moving to Hartford from Brooklyn, NY a year ago. Not only did she get more involved in the community as a result of her job with a law firm, but this experience helped to give her “a voice.”

Employers, like Dean Andrews, Senior VP Market Manager — Corp Social Responsibility at Bank of America, praised youth who have taken part in this program, saying “these students are always very attentive,” and they dress and act professionally. Charles Smith, serving as Chairman of the Board for Capital Workforce Partners, called the program “culture changing.”

Potential employers of youth can contact the Capital Workforce Partners; young people interested in working this summer can find out more in upcoming months.