Westchester County and the Business Council of Westchester have teamed up once again on a private sector summer jobs initiative, to match youth with businesses looking to find an intern for the summer or beyond.
Businesses are being asked to hire at least one young adult 18 to 24 years old for six to eight weeks.
The program, which is in its fourth year, is a collaboration of the Council and the Westchester-Putnam Investment Board, whose members are appointed by the county executives of Westchester and Putnam.
"The youth of Westchester County are diverse, talented and motivated," said Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of The Business Council of Westchester. "It is our responsibility to stop the flight of youth from Westchester by creating an environment where it is attractive for young people to grow their careers and their personal lives."
Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino agreed, saying: "We urge corporations to join the growing list of businesses and service partners who want to help this initiative. A lot of our energy needs to be devoted to selling our youth on the benefits of working in Westchester County."
Since 2010, the Private Sector Summer Jobs Initiative has placed 370 youth through more than 55 businesses. This year, the program's goal is to have 200 youths placed in summer jobs and to increase participation by businesses. There are no public subsidies to this program, as the businesses pay the salaries. In some cases there are tax incentives to the businesses.
Businesses interested in participating in this initiative may contact Ebony White at The Business Council of Westchester at (914) 948-2110 or list a summer job at www.westchestersummerjobs.com.
Youth can enroll in this program by calling the youth agency in and/or nearest their community: City of Peekskill Youth Bureau; City of Mount Vernon Youth Bureau; SER of Westchester; City of White Plains Youth Bureau; and the Westchester Community Opportunity Program, Inc.
Some examples of businesses that have participated are: Business of Your Business, Tarrytown House Estates, Candela Systems Corporation, Collins Brothers Movers, Eco Bags, Bilinguals, Inc., Best Web and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
Led by The Business Council of Westchester, sponsors also include: African American Chamber of Commerce of Westchester & Rockland Counties; Co-Communications, Inc., Concorde Staffing Group; Food Bank of Westchester; Harquin Creative Group; Hospitality Resource Group, Inc.; The Volunteer Center of United Way; and Westchester Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.