The City of Alexandria’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) celebrated a successful season during its closing ceremony on Friday, August 4. During the program, 202 Alexandrians aged 14-21 gained over 30,000 hours of cumulative paid work experience and learned skills to prepare for the job market. Program participants, business partners, and City leaders attended the closing ceremony.
“Developing real-world skills early is critical in today’s labor market,” said Mayor Justin Wilson. “The Summer Youth Employment Program is setting our youth up for long-term success. I’m proud that we have Alexandria businesses ready to pitch in and make this a reality and I’m inspired by the work of these young people.”
The SYEP, managed by the Department of Community and Human Services’(DCHS) Workforce Development Center (WDC), provides school-aged residents the opportunity to work at businesses around the City. This year, 55 businesses took part, spanning industries from healthcare to automotive, finance to education. Participants attended workshops and webinars and completed virtual learning modules on topics such as financial literacy and mental health in the workplace.
In addition to the businesses that employed program participants, AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. received awards for their support.
AT&T received the Empowering Youth Opportunities Award in recognition of a donation that helped sponsor more youth participants in the SYEP. Comcast, through its Project Up initiative, donated 100 laptop computers to the program’s graduating seniors and juniors, as well as participants who were nominated for superlative awards by their supervisor. It was presented with the Tech for Youth Philanthropy Award.
“I want to thank everyone who made this program possible,” said City Manager James Parajon. “From our business partners to the DCHS staff who worked tirelessly to ensure that these young people would get the opportunities, those efforts are changing lives for the better.”
For more information about the City’s Summer Youth Employment Program, please visit the SYEP webpage.
If you prefer communication in another language, free interpretation and translation services are available to you, please call 703.746.3961 or email genevieve.babecki@alexandriava.gov.
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