Baltimore’s annual YouthWorks job program will be offered virtually this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young announced Wednesday.
Starting July 13 and running for five weeks, the program will offer jobs for 4,000 youth and young adults ages 14 to 21. Participants will work four hours per day, five days a week learning job readiness, career exploration and essential skills training, Young said.
“Our young people have had their worlds turned upside down due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Young said. “Providing as many young people as possible with an opportunity to earn valuable experience, along with a paycheck, is very important for the thousands of households across our City that depend on YouthWorks.”
The program is being scaled back this year due to the pandemic. YouthWorks had gotten 14,000 applications by February from students hoping to take part in the program, which has grown to provide as many as 8,000 jobs to young people each summer. Half as many were offered jobs this year, although city leaders hope to add more if additional donations and partners can be found, said Jason Perkins-Cohen, director of the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Emily Opilo over at The Baltimore Sun
