The county of Los Angeles announced the Summer Kick-Off of Youth@Work, a regional initiative to prepare youth ages 14-24 for 21st century careers in the local economy.

Supervisors announced a regional goal to hire 25,000 youth and highlighted major efforts underway to expand and enhance youth employment opportunities across the county.

“We are united for Youth@Work because we are unstoppable when government, the private sector, and local communities come together to benefit our youth,” Supervisor Hilda L. Solis said. “As a former secretary of labor, I know how important it is to ensure that all youth have meaningful employment opportunities and career pathways. As the largest employer in the region, the county is leading the way, along with our partners, to improve outcomes for at-risk youth.”

“Thanks to Los Angeles County’s partners in the public and private sectors, thousands of young people not only have the chance to earn a paycheck, they will also get work experience that will hopefully turn into future careers,” Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said.

Youth@Work pairs paid work experience for youth with a comprehensive and strategic set of employment, training and support services provided through a network of America’s Job Centers of California that are guided by Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services. Youth@Work targets priority populations with the highest need, including foster youth, justice-involved youth, youth experiencing homelessness and CalWORKS youth.

Activities are implemented through a regional partnership that includes the county and city of Los Angeles, Workforce Development boards, businesses, educational entities, community organizations and other partners.

This year, the county launched the Countywide Youth Bridges Program to provide work experience for Youth@Work participants with county departments as a pathway to permanent employment in key industries such as health care, recreation, social services and more.

Between July 2018 and June 2019, the county is committed to providing paid work experience to approximately 1,000 youth and we intend to grow this commitment to 2,400 youth by 2021. The Department of Human Resources is leading this effort.

For information, visit workforce.lacounty.gov/youth-services.