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5,594
Detroit
youths
to have
employment
thanks
to Grow
Detroit’s
Young
Talent (GDYT)
17,000
began
application
process;
Mayor
Duggan
urges
businesses
to hire
those
that
GDYT
couldn’t
place
this
year.
DETROIT
- This
summer,
5,594
Detroit
youths
ages
14-24
will
have
work
experiences
that
will
provide
them
invaluable
training,
professional
contacts
and a
potential
career
path
thanks
to the
overwhelming
success
of Mayor
Mike
Duggan’s
Grow
Detroit’s
Young
Talent
program
(GDYT).
More
than
17,000
youths
entered
the
application
process.
During
the 2014
Detroit
Regional
Chamber
Mackinac
Policy
Conference,
Mayor
Duggan
pledged
to
securing
employment
for
5,000
youth.
Through
a
collaborative
effort
between
the
Mayor’s
Office,
City
Connect
Detroit,
Detroit
Employment
Solutions
Corporation
and the
philanthropic
and
business
community,
GDYT was
able to
significantly
surpass
that
goal in
the
program’s
first
year.
While
Mayor
Duggan
praised
the
first-year
effort,
he is
urging
local
businesses
to hire
more of
the
roughly
12,000
Detroit
youths
who
started
the GDYT
application
process.
“The
community-wide
response
to our
challenge
to
create
5,000
summer
jobs for
our
youth
has been
incredible,”
Mayor
Duggan
said.
“This
sends a
powerful
message
to the
young
people
of this
city
that
there is
opportunity
here for
them and
that the
entire
community
is
committed
providing
them
access
to those
opportunities.”
Major
sponsors
have
come
forward
to
provide
nearly
$7
million
of
dollars
in
funding
for the
program,
of which
the city
of
Detroit
pledged
$1.5
million
of
community
development
block
grant
funds.
Among
the
major
sponsors
were:
•
Skillman
Foundation
•
Kellogg
Foundation
• Bank
of
America
Charitable
Foundation
• DTE
Energy
Foundation
•
JPMorgan
Chase
Foundation
•
Marjorie
S.
Fisher
Fund
• Fifth
Third
Bank
• The
John S.
and
James L.
Knight
Foundation
• Wayne
Metropolitan
Community
Action
Agency
•
Detroit
Wayne
County
Mental
Health
Agency
“Giving
a young
Detroiter
a summer
job is
one of
the
fastest
and more
direct
ways
those in
the
private
sector
can make
an
impact
on the
life
trajectory
for a
young
person,
all
while
contributing
in an
immediate
and
meaningful
way to
our
regional
economy
and by
building
a
prepared
workforce
for the
city’s
future,”
said
Tonya
Allen,
President
& CEO of
the
Skillman
Foundation
“The
success
of the
2015
Grow
Detroit’s
Young
Talent
is a
fine
example
of the
Kellogg
Foundation’s
belief
in what
works
best in
Detroit:
young
residents
from
across
the city
spoke
loud and
clear
about
seeking
work
experiences
and the
lack of
summer
jobs
open to
them,”
said Ed
Egnatios,
Program
Officer
for the
W.K.
Kellogg
Foundation
and
Chair/Co-Founder
of the
Detroit
Youth
Employment
Consortium.
“Then,
philanthropy,
employers,
youth
service
providers
and
government
representatives
sat down
together
to learn
and to
take
action –
together,”
Egnatios
added.
Businesses
step up
to
provide
opportunities
Meanwhile,
local
businesses
large
and
small,
such as
Detroit
Manufacturing
Services
(DMS),
Belfor
and
Errol
Service
make up
the more
than 170
new
employer
partners
who have
committed
to
providing
placement
and
financial
support
to hire
youth
over the
summer.
"We're
excited
to be
working
with
smart,
young
Detroiters
during
the
earliest
stages
of their
careers,
helping
them get
the
training
and
experience
they
need to
thrive,”
said
Andra
Rush,
CEO,
Detroit
Manufacturing
Systems.
DMS is
the
program’s
single
largest
summer
employer,
having
committed
to
hiring
100
youth at
Rush’s
facility
in
Detroit.
Throughout
the
months
of May
and
June,
youth
applicants
were
selected
based
upon
both
employer
request
and a
random
selection
process
among
the
applicants.
Orientation
sessions
preparing
GDYT
youth
for the
workplace
have
taken
place
over the
past two
weeks
and
included
12 hours
of work
readiness
training
at a
worksite,
as well
as 24
hours of
ongoing
training
throughout
the
summer.
The work
experience
begins
July
6th.
5,000
jobs
this
year.
8,000
next
year?
The only
thing
that
out-matched
the
response
from the
philanthropic
and
business
community
was the
response
from
youths
themselves,
Mayor
Duggan
said.
“More
than
17,000
youth
started
the
application
process
and more
than
11,000
completed
it,”
Duggan
said.
“We have
a lot of
great
young
talent
in
Detroit
and
clearly
they
have the
strong
desire
to work
and gain
professional
experience.
Our
challenge
now is
to
provide
even
more
opportunity
next
year.”
Based on
the
success
of
GDYT’s
inaugural
year,
Mayor
Duggan
said he
feels
the
capacity
exists
to
expand
his
original
goal
from
5,000
summer
jobs
this
year to
at least
8,000
next
year.
Any
business
or
organization
wishing
to hire
youths
not
placed
by GDYT
can
contact
City
Connect
Detroit
at
313.967.5641
or
youthjobs@cityconnectdetroit.org
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