It’s a huge task to hire 9,000 youths for summer jobs. Perhaps even more difficult is ensuring that the hiring is equitable. But a new policy brief demonstrates how the Community 2 Community (C2C) impact accelerator at Northeastern University and the city of Boston accomplished these tasks and can continue to do so in the future.
“It’s very hard to get your foot in the door to get those first employment opportunities,” says Alicia Modestino, associate professor in economics and in the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs and research director for the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy at Northeastern. “This program is one of the few things that levels the playing field among young people to ensure that everyone gets that first employment opportunity and builds skills.”
Boston’s Summer Youth Employment Program is a nearly $10 million annual program to provide thousands of youths with summer jobs with hundreds of local employers. The program has two primary goals: to provide young people with the tools and experience necessary to navigate the job market on their own; and to reduce inequality of opportunity across different racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups by increasing access to early employment experiences.
