Atlanta highlights success of summer youth employment program, giving nearly 6,000 teens a jumpstart
Atlanta city officials are touting the impact of their summer youth employment program, which has helped almost 6,000 young people secure jobs and gain valuable work experience this season.
Mayor Andre Dickens announced the milestone this week, highlighting how the initiative is setting Atlanta's youth up for long-term success. The program connects teens and young adults with paid job opportunities in a variety of fields, ranging from the arts to public service.
One success story is Zan Harris, a recent high school graduate from Bankhead. Eager to turn his passion for the arts into a career, Harris joined the city's job placement initiative and landed a role as a production assistant with Broadway on Bankhead, a youth theater company.
"Graduating high school, summer time's here, finding yourself not doing anything. You have your passions, your dreams sitting in your head, and you really just want to put that stuff to work," Harris said.
Through his work, Harris ran rehearsals, managed staff, and coordinated stage elements and lighting. The experience proved pivotal. "This program certainly gave me a ladder up," Harris reflected.
Now, Harris works for Broadway on Bankhead full time—a testament to the program's lasting impact.
"It's not just a side job. You know, people get a little summer job, you know, they flip burgers and then they go back to what they really want. But our youth in the program really want to do performing arts, and they have a lot of talent in it. They've got a lot of experience and a lot of history," said Senitra Heath, Executive Director of Broadway on Bankhead.
Heath said the city's partnership allowed them to pay youth staff $600 a week throughout the summer, a vital boost for both the company and its participants. "We were actually very much in need of youth to help us with the program and be able to help cover the payroll and everything like that. So that's kind of how we started with the city," she said.
Theresa Austin-Gibbons, Atlanta's Commissioner of Labor and Employment Services, emphasized the broader benefits of youth employment: "It's important that we start them early. They learn these work readiness skills. They learn how to be team players, and they continue that on up until they're adults."
For Harris, the program has set him on a path toward his ultimate dream—running his own fine arts school one day. "I just know that for a program like this to continue going on, this will impact teachers and students generations to come," he said.
City officials say registration for this year's summer youth employment opportunities will open soon.