Youth Employment Program in DC
Staff Writer
2011-03-02
.dmvblogspot.bloggieblog.com .
Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced today that his “One City Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)” has exceeded its application goal after the first weekend for which applications were open. Mayor Gray stressed that the program’s application and vetting process will be more rigorous than in past years, and encouraged other young people to continue applying for the program’s wait list because some of the early applicants may not qualify.
The application process opened Friday, Feb. 25, and remains open through March 11. DOES officials said that as of Tuesday, March 1, more than 12,000 applications had been received. Nearly half of the applicants are youth residing in Wards 7 and 8. Employers have already expressed early interest in creating 5,200 summer jobs to date through the program. Of that figure, more than 70 percent are positions outside the D.C. government. The employer list includes private-sector businesses, non-profit organizations and the federal government.
“We are very excited by the large number of applications received thus far,” said Mayor Gray. “This is a testament to the tremendous outreach efforts undertaken by many of our partner District agencies and community-based organizations and it demonstrates the importance of the program.”