Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer in Michigan and that means summer job season is just around the corner.

Several CMF members are supporting efforts around the state to connect youth, particularly underserved youth with employment opportunities.

As MLive reports the Grand Rapids Racial Equity Initiative, supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), just held a job fair in Grand Rapids for summer employment. One of the focus areas for the initiative is increasing job creation in low-income and/or diverse neighborhoods to help reduce racial disparities in the city. 

Grow Detroit’s Young Talent (GDYT), supported in part by several CMF members, recently wrapped up its application process. Now in its fifth year, the citywide summer jobs program is aimed at connecting more than 8,000 local youth ages 14 and 24 with summer employment opportunities.

“Grow Detroit’s Young Talent is all about showing your young people that they matter and that all of these business, civic and philanthropic partners are unified in their efforts to help them develop their talent and get on a career path,” Mayor Mike Duggan of the city of Detroit said.

Connecting underserved youth with such opportunities is the focus of a recent policy brief by Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan.

The brief examines the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), a partnership between Washtenaw County, MichiganWorks! and the University of Michigan.

The program employs youth to work in county jobs or in departments at U of M. It is largely focused on engaging diverse youth in high poverty areas where university enrollment has historically been low.

The brief shares how this partnership aligns with U of M’s diversity and inclusion strategic plan and how similar partnerships can connect youth with opportunities and exposure to colleges.

Key takeaways from the brief:

• All participants received six hours of professional development training and were given 10-week job placements at 20 hours per week.

• U of M employees received mentoring through success coaches, paid skill development sessions and employer training.

• 82 percent of participants lived in the two county zip codes with the highest child poverty rates.

• Two-thirds of participating students identified as African American.

• In the first year of the program 108 youth confirmed they would participate but 29 dropped out before the first day of work and at the end 75 completed the program. In year two SYEP provided a stipend for pre-employment orientation activities which improved early drop out rates.

• Following the program, 84 percent of the participants said they felt more prepared to apply for college.

• This year the program plans to expand to serve as many as 200 youth.

“As universities across the country seek to bridge long-standing community-university economic divides, and broadly invest in the economic mobility of our next generation, engagement in county summer youth employment programs represents a promising opportunity,” the brief states.