Mayor Nutter Plans To Expand Summer Jobs Program
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Mayor Nutter's new budget calls for 3.9 million dollars for the Summer Jobs program, which is an increase of about 1.5 million over the current year.
Parks and Recreation Commission Michael DiBerardinis says the extra cash will allow more 18 to 24 year olds to get summer employment with the city.
More importantly, the program will offer year-round job counseling: "This will allow us to elevate that experience, where they get hard skills as a rec. leader or an administrative person and we'll try to track them into a career, whether in government or outside of government, in the appropriate fields." Says DiBerardinis. "So we're really excited about it. It is going to focus us. We usually bring kids in and give them a good job experience. Now we're going to do skill development, job readiness, and career tracking. We're try to build their chances of getting a real job after they work for us."
For more information about the Summer Jobs program go to www.phila.gov/youthprograms.