Youth Jobs Connect

This prize would allow me to continue to iterate on our youth facing jobs platform which aggregates information on jobs, employment programs, career services, life services all in one place for our most vulnerable young people ages 14-24. So often the biggest hurdle for disconnected youth is getting connected with programs and services to help them navigate their post secondary pathways. We've built inequitable systems for 400 years and done a poor job of outreach to ensure our most vulnerable young people can access these systems & programs. I want to change that by building technology to help the underbelly of this ecosystem while engaging young people to advise on the design & function of our platform to work for them and with them. This money would allow us to not only continue to build the platform but also build out the team to work with the public & private sector to create more hybrid & virtual job opportunities as the current ecosystem only meets the need of 20% of youth eligible for these programs. Companies have tried building this technology but often fail in the outreach. Youth Jobs Connect is building a national awareness campaign to connect them in.

How can a person with a background in event production, executive consulting, and business development pivot into founding a workforce readiness non-profit? Well...a pandemic...a social reckoning and 20 years of bringing people together at the intersection of tech, community, social justice, and workforce development to facilitate impactful and collective change. I'm known for my ability to connect people, businesses, platforms across multiple disciplines, sectors, and locations to foster partnership and impact. Last summer as I watched people spill into the streets protesting for their lives I was awestruck at the number of young people showing up advocating for themselves. At the time I was focused on diversity & inclusion work in the tech sector yet felt like I was nowhere close to doing anything...moving any needles. 

Youth Jobs Connect was founded in response to the COVID-19 economic crisis and a current inequitable system marred with racial injustice. Youth were disproportionately impacted as Youth Employment Programs were forced to cancel or dramatically cut their program offerings in the Summer of 2020. As designed, Youth Employment Programs were unprepared to respond to the demands of today’s labor market, let alone the added demands of a pandemic. Youth Employment Programs are rooted in old systems that do not map to the skills needed for the Future of Work.

Youth Jobs Connect is mapping opportunities for youth with access to digital, blended, and COVID-ready jobs; foundational skill development for the Future of Work; and mentors and job coaches.

We’re connecting the dots. There are so many great organizations already doing impactful work, but the connections are limited, which means youth, dependent on their zip code, receive different experiences and exposure, yielding varying outcomes. Youth Jobs Connect is connecting all of the stakeholders in our ecosystem -- youth, program administrators, employers, and government. With shared knowledge, innovative technology, and a centralized marketplace to provide youth experiences that consistently prepares them for the Future of their Work.

We don't have all the answers. We are partnering with cities, national organizations, influencers, corporations, government officials and more to incorporate hyper-local solutions while also building national consistency, all while having young people at the table. We’re listening and observing programs to understand the pain points and solve with systems that help with:

• Youth applications

• Job matching

• Coach pairing, coupled with skill development for coaches in need

• Participation tracking

• Nationwide mentorship program

• Digital curriculum for the future of work skill development

And most importantly we are involving youth every step of the way. Youth will help us design our jobs platform and will be the voices behind our national campaign on the importance of youth employment opportunities. 

Early work experience — such as that provided by summer jobs — can keep teens out of trouble, improve soft skills, and provide alternative post-secondary pathways for youth. Recent research has demonstrated that SYEPs develop skills among youth that lead to better long-term academic, criminal justice, and employment outcomes. Yet the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has placed these programs in jeopardy when youth unemployment rates are high, particularly for youth of color.

Summer jobs are widely believed to foster positive traits such as independence and responsibility, and teach interpersonal skills that can enhance their future employment prospects and earnings potential — especially for youth living in low-income households or under-represented minorities (URMs). Research shows that even when the labor market
is relatively strong, youth who are placed with an employer through the summer jobs program are more likely to work, work more hours per week, and have more meaningful work experiences.

By increasing access to summer jobs by building a platform to find these jobs and creating more job opportunities we can help more young people from underserved communities access programs and services to help them chart their dreams.