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Thanks to State/Local Internship Program Grant from Governor Tom Wolf, 190 additional youth and young adults will receive a summer work experience with increased wages and more hours

March 20, 2019

PHILADELPHIA – The city’s Workforce Development Board, Philadelphia Works, released details on expanded summer work experiences for Philadelphia youth (ages 16-24) today.  Thanks to a $730,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry through its State/Local Internship Program (SLIP), Philadelphia Works and its contracted providers expect to provide enhanced summer work experiences for an additional 190 youth.

“Summer jobs are a key transition point for young people who are preparing to enter the workforce,” said H. Patrick Clancy, President and CEO of Philadelphia Works. “WorkReady® Philadelphia provides employment and growth opportunities for thousands of young people across the city each summer. We are grateful to our partner employers who understand the community-wide impact of youth being employed through the summer months.  We are also grateful to Governor Tom Wolf whose support, along with this grant, will allow us to offer Philadelphia youth an enhanced summer work experience.”

The SLIP funding, which is provided through the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), helps young adults across the Commonwealth develop workforce preparation skills and provides many participants with their first work experience.  In Philadelphia, a typical WorkReady® summer experience consists of approximately 20 hours per week at $8.50 per hour for six weeks.  SLIP funds provide an advanced opportunity which will allow youth who have some work experience to work up to 40 hours per week and earn $10.35 per hour for eight weeks, greatly increasing the experience through more hours on the job and higher wages for the participant.

“We are thrilled to receive this investment from Philadelphia Works and the State, which will provide a new type of youth employment experience,” said Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network. “We look forward to working with 1199c, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, the School District of Philadelphia, and the Urban Affairs Coalition to provide increased opportunities for young people this year, as part of WorkReady® Philadelphia.”

Philadelphia Works will allocate funding to the Philadelphia Youth Network for utilization. The funding will also allow specific partner employers to leverage their own commitment and create up to 115 additional internship slots, bringing the potential number of young people served to more than 300.

Preparing youth for real-world work experiences is a key pillar in Fueling Philadelphia’s Talent Engine, a citywide workforce development strategy released in 2018.  The strategy calls on the School District of Philadelphia, the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Works, Philadelphia Youth Network, and other stakeholders to work in partnership with the business community to increase the quantity and quality of work experiences available to high school students as they prepare for graduation and beyond.

“It’s never too early to take the idea of employment and make it a reality for our young people,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “We are intentional about bringing together a wide array of stakeholders to address, head on, the challenges faced by city residents.  We know the best anti-poverty program is a career, and with this funding, we will be able to assist employers in building pathways to employment for young adults.”

The Philadelphia Youth Network is still accepting applications from youth for summer WorkReady®, as well as employer sponsors for summer work experiences.  More information can be found at http://www.workready.org/.

About Philadelphia Works

Philadelphia Works is the city’s Workforce Development Board, investing in solutions and services to grow Philadelphia’s economy by connecting employers to workforce talent and career seekers to jobs. We influence the public policies that support economic growth and optimize funding and resources to invest in regional solutions to build a skilled and thriving workforce. For more information about our dedicated board members and staff, workforce research, labor market data, services and initiatives, and to view current opportunities to engage, please visit philaworks.org.