New York City’s ambitious summer jobs program — a priority of Mayor Adams — is falling short of connecting young people with high-paying industries, thanks to managerial missteps and bureaucracy that deter employers from stepping up, said a report released on Thursday.
Fewer than 1% of companies that participated in the Summer Youth Employment Program last year were in the business and finance or technology sectors, the Center for an Urban Future found. By contrast, the study said, 15% of the companies participating were day care centers or camps.
“There’s nothing wrong with a job at a summer camp, but there ought to be a lot more opportunities with higher-wage companies,” said Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the think tank.
“If young people don’t get exposed to those careers, many won’t see that this is in the realm of possibility for their future careers,” Bowles said
Soon after Adams took office, his administration began growing the program to a point where it has persuaded employers to hire 100,000 young people across the city.
Last summer, the program offered jobs at more than 18,000 work sites — including some sites run by large corporations who have hired participants to permanent positions.
Adams has framed the program as a way for youth to gain paid work experience and career exposure, while staying occupied during the summer when crime historically surges.
Summer employment is also a proactive step toward reducing violence and crime, the mayor has said.
“We knew that if we wanted to make our city safe, it cannot be just with policing. It has to be being proactive and interactive,” Adams said at Summer Youth Employment Program’s kickoff event last week in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
