Green Ways to Green Careers
Summer Jobs Program for Youth
On Monday, June 21, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II, Fifth District–Missouri, and Governor Jay Nixon visited the Green Impact Zone to announce a statewide summer jobs program for youth. The program, which will employ approximately 4,800 young people across Missouri this summer, is funded by an $18 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Approximately $5 million, more than one fourth of the grant, will support 1,200 jobs for qualified young people ages 16-24 in the Fifth District, which includes the Green Impact Zone.
Participants will get real-world, on-the-job experience in green careers while earning approximately $10 per hour and working 40 hours per week. Each Friday, the youth will participate in "Green In-Service Days" that will include field trips and presentations given by leaders in the green and sustainability career fields. The Green Impact Zone will employ a team of young people and a supervisor to work with community ombudsmen in zone neighborhoods.
The Full Employment Council will handle recruitment, vetting and paychecks for participants. Young people interested in applying for a job should visit www.feckc.org or call the Full Employment Council at 816-471-2330.
