Stl Youth Jobs Summer Employment Program Kicks Off With Job Fair for Youth

Young people, ages 16-23, who have been admitted to the program will have an opportunity to meet with potential employers and gain exposure to local businesses and a variety of industries.

Thirty local employers are registered to be present to meet with this summer's class of Stl Youth Jobs young adults. The event will take place at the St. Louis Dream Center, 4324 Margaretta Ave., at 5 p.m.  Area employers, such as Bailey's Restaurants, Swiss American, Tech Artista, the City of St. Louis, Circuit Attorney's Office, and the United Way will be in attendance. 

"The job fair provides an opportunity for young people to meet employers and ask questions in a relaxed environment," Hillary Frey, executive director of Stl Youth Jobs, said. "For many of our program participants, this is their first job, so talking to an employer can be intimidating. The employers we partner with really believe in helping to train and mentor young people, so they are very approachable and open to talking with the youth who attend."

The idea for Stl Youth Jobs came from Mayor Francis Slay's St. Louis Regional Youth Violence Prevention Task Force to give a hand up to at-risk young people. Stl Youth Jobs is the collaborative effort of the City of St. Louis, MERS Goodwill, Incarnate Word Foundation, and the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation. The program, launched in 2013, partners with local employers to provide meaningful work experience for program participants. Since its inception, the program has provided more than 600 summer jobs for area youth.

"We have to start thinking about the future of our workforce, Patrick McCulloch, Stl Youth Jobs Program Coordinator, said. "If we aren't preparing our young people for the workplace and the jobsof tomorrow, we won't see growth in our region."

Since transportation is often a barrier to employment, Stl Youth Jobs will hold two job fairs, one in the North St. Louis area and in the South St. Louis area:

Wednesday, May 13, 2015from5-7 p.m.

St. LouisDreamCenter

4324 Margaretta Ave

Thursday, May 14, 2015from5-7 p.m.

Dunn-MarquetteRecreationCenter

4025 Minnesota Ave

For more information on our program please visit www.stlyouthjobs.org, follow on Twitter @stlyouthjobs or visit facebook www.facebook.com/stlyouthjobs.