Students Succeed in Summer Youth Employment Program

Program stimulates the economy and provides youth with connections to future career opportunities.

Two hundred and fifty youth earned over $140,000 in salaries and work incentives this summer as participants in the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). The young people were placed in a variety of meaningful career motivating jobs at over 110 worksites throughout the county. Worksites included the Boys and Girls Club, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Bucci Sunglasses, The Good Times, Santa Cruz Community Television, Faust Salon, Century 21 Realty, Ocean Air, West Side Beauty, the Santa Cruz School Districts, Sign Wave, the Mountain Resource Center, La Manzana, Community Bridges, Santa Cruz and Watsonville Parks and Recreation, Women’s Ventures, the County Office of Education, Central Coast Energy, the Homeless Garden Project, and Pioneer House – Resource Center for Foster Youth.

Through our partnership with the Community Action Board’s Community Restoration Program, Women’s Ventures Program and Summer Training and Employment Program, older youth were placed in a variety of green career pathways that focused on transferable occupational skills while beautifying and repairing the eco-systems of our community.

“Eight participants with the CAB/ Summer Training Employment Program stepped up to the challenges of the job and showed real progress in the development of their workforce skills. For most, this was their first real job. They not only worked hard to maintain Santa Cruz city parks, San Lorenzo River, and trail paths of non-native species but learned to communicate and work alongside people different from themselves.”
--Mireya Gomez-Contreras
Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Inc.

"We’re pleased to have the youth crew assisting in improving and protecting these city resources", said Dannettee Shoemaker, Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department Director

Save Our Shores (SOS) offered a unique experience as none of the new employees had much knowledge about pollution and its effects on wildlife and the ocean. The program began with an educational presentation to put the work in perspective and give it meaning. When shown pictures of birds that had died as a result of eating pieces of plastic, several of the youth did not believe the pictures were real and claimed the problem of pollution was exaggerated. During the beach clean up, young workers actually found a bird with a cigarette butt in its throat and another with plastic in its belly. They were astonished by this reality and the hands-on experience drove the message home about environmental protection and the social importance of this career pathway.

Young women were exposed to non-traditional career opportunities in the green building and trades industry through the Women’s Venture Project.

“I learned how to carry a ladder, wire a wall, use a jigsaw and Skilsaw, learned proper interview techniques”.

“I feel that this program is very well put together and gives women confidence in their work and themselves”.

“I learned a lot from this program. I feel like I can carry it on with me anywhere I go and anything I do, from daily life to a career”

“I learned what an apprenticeship is, electrical, how to build cob houses, different job opportunities”.

The focus of the Summer Youth Employment Program and the upcoming year-round Santa Cruz Internship Program (SCIP) is to match youth with worksites that are aligned with their career interests while engaging them in a variety of activities that will lead to higher paying jobs by connecting them with colleges, apprenticeships, job training programs or permanent employment.

The youth attend a series of career workshops focused on resume writing, interview skills, personal finance management, career research, job search skills and other topics. The goal of the Santa Cruz Summer Youth Employment Program is to make a life-changing impact through the quality of their job placements. Staff members who manage the program are passionate about helping youth. They do not want to simply tell the youth what they can be, but also guide them through the process of discovering who they are. Through this process, participants will be positively impacted into their adult life.

“Through the Summer Youth Employment Program I wanted to work as an Administrative Secretary and I was given a job aligned with my career goals. I learned so much from this placement that I have been given the opportunity to advance my career and apply for a permanent job at my worksite. Thank you so much S.Y.E.P. and everyone who was involved in helping me and other students get jobs over the summer.”
--MaryAnn Moya, SYEP participant

The Summer Youth Employment Program is funded through the Santa Cruz County Workforce Investment Board with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. The program is scheduled to continue with a year- round component named the Santa Cruz Intern Program beginning in October and a summer component beginning in May, 2010. The Santa Cruz Intern Program is available to 50 participants during the school year.

For more information, please contact our Santa Cruz Intern Program staff at 831/466-5709. The Summer Youth Employment Program 2010 will begin recruitment in early January 2010. Enrollment details will be available prior to January.

For information about Workforce Santa Cruz and other employment other ARRA employment projects visit their website.