EDC Connects Low-Income KCMO Youth to Jobs

In Jobs, KC News by EDCKC Staff

The Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Mo., recently announced it will help place 1,500 Kansas City, Mo., low income youths in jobs through a state-funded summer jobs program developed by the Missouri Office of Community Engagement, in partnership with the Full Employment Council, Inc. and the Eastern Jackson County (EJC) workforce investment board.

The Missouri Office of Community Engagement will work over the coming months with employers that can offer rewarding, high-impact work experiences for young people to help put them on track to success. “The EDC strongly supports this youth employment initiative and will work to promote the hiring of youth in the Kansas City business community,” said Pete Fullerton, EDC president and CEO. “The EDC will leverage the connections we have with local companies and work in collaboration with local workforce investment boards to help identify quality places for these youth to develop meaningful and career-oriented work experience.”

The summer jobs program is part of a comprehensive effort to put every Missouri child on the path to adult economic independence. It will use $4.5 million of existing federal block grants to provide wages of $8-an-hour, for up to thirty hours a week, for 1,500 Kansas City youth from low-income families during the summer of 2015. The program will also provide resources for supporting services such as mentoring and case management.

“Our youth are the future of our community in greater Kansas City and the state of Missouri as a whole. Being employed teaches young people the value of hard work, responsibility, social and career-related skills and provides them with valuable business contacts for the future. We thank the Governor and the state of Missouri for this opportunity,” said Bridgette Williams, EDC board chairwoman.

If you have jobs to offer, or are interested in participating in this program, please contact Bernardo Ramirez at 816-691-2116.

Media contact:  Michelle Cheesman 816-235-7725

Read Gov. Jay Nixon’s official press announcement here