Summer Youth Employment
Real experience, real success.
The purpose of Y Careerwise is to provide young adults ages 14-24 with real world work experiences. Our aim is to provide relevant learning opportunities that help young adults build solid basic work skills and with develop realistic career plans.
Y Careerwise – YMCA Youth Employment Initiative
Y Careerwise has three tiers:
1. Career Pathways (Work-Based Learning)
Provides 11th and 12th grade students with the opportunity to gain real work experience through community based internships. Students complete a semester-long paid internship. The goal is to prepare students to become permanent employees of the partnering company.
2. Career Camp
Younger youth ages 14 to 16 report to a designated location for a period of six weeks, not to exceed 120 hours during the summer.
Students who attend:
- Learn Basic Employability Skills
- Develop a Career Plan
- Learn Introductory Financial Literacy Skills
- Plan and Provide a Community Service Project
- Career Exploration
- World to Work Tours
- Attend Career Speaker Presentations
- Conduct Online Research
- Learn Entrepreneurial skills
3. Internships
Youth ages 16-24 are placed with local businesses to complete internships based on their career interests. Historically, students are placed July through August and work for 6 weeks completing a maximum of 120 hours. It is the goal of the Metro Youth YMCA to turn these internships into permanent placements.