Chamber's Teen Summer Employment Affords Youth Essential, Real-Life Skills

Now that the Fourth of July is in the books, and summer is in high gear, it is time to focus on getting the young people of our city a quality work experience during their time off from school. Today is the official first day of the 2012 Middletown Summer Youth Employment Program. 

Every year since 2006, the Middletown Summer Youth Employment Program, administered by the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, has placed at least 25 Middletown students into summer employment, and as many as 70 in 2010, when the federal stimulus package provided support for youth employment.  As state and federal funding has decreased in recent years due to budget constraints, our placement list of student workers has grown smaller while our waiting list has grown considerably larger.

The Chamber has the capacity through our dynamic membership to place these youngsters into subsidized employment in a wide variety of professional fields for six weeks in the summer months, at 15-20 hours per week. Six weeks might not seem like a long time but it provides a solid foundation and a great glimpse into what life in the workforce is like and the effort it takes to thrive in it. 

Program applicants are put through a comprehensive pre-employment screening process which takes into account their hobbies, interests, work experience, future plans, comfort level on the computer and on the phone and other important factors such as transportation and availability in the summer months.  

Our host sites come from the government sector, the non-profit sector, and most notably the private sector. This program teaches our young people not only the fundamentals of employment, such as getting to work on time ready to contribute, but also the pride that comes with putting in a solid work week and receiving a paycheck, that was earned through hard and honest work. 

This year the Chamber has once again received the grant funds necessary to administer this program. The Youth @ Work grant is designed for students in local school districts who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, as defined by the CT. Department of Labor. 

The primary funding source for this program is Workforce Alliance, the Workforce Investment Board for the state’s South Central Region, based in New Haven.  Every year, due to the strong demand for youth employment in Middletown, we have had a waiting list that is at least as long as our placement list. 

This year, thanks to the strong financial support of the City of Middletown, Liberty Bank Foundation, , The Peach Pit Foundation, , Middlesex County Community Foundation, MiddleOak, Middlesex Coalition for Children, Main Street Market and Centerplan Companies, we are able to employ three times as many students as last year. 

Program participants are put through an orientation process prior to the start of employment. The orientation process includes a detailed explanation of what is expected of the employees, an in depth look at time card policies and procedures, a breakdown of the youth employment program’s schedule and key dates, and a detailed look at the process for picking up paychecks. Follow-up visits are made to each host site on a weekly basis and the Friday visit doubles as time card pickup.

By the time each student is placed this year, we will have over 75 Middletown students enrolled in the program. Jobs in the Middletown Summer Youth Employment Program range from office positions to maintenance positions to custodial positions to stocking/inventory positions, and even camp counselor and youth development positions. 

Host sites in this program represent the private, nonprofit, and public sectors and include hotels, business organizations, retail businesses, and social service organizations. Our employees do everything from filing and answering phones to cleaning hotel rooms to processing inventory and stocking shelves. 

We also have participants uploading digital photos onto real estate property listing websites and researching available properties. Data entry is very common in this program.

In addition to the on the job work experience, there is also a very strong educational component to this program. Students learn such skills as how to fill out tax and withholding forms, time cards and check pickup sheets. Program participants also must read, understand and sign a code of conduct. These are real-life skills that are critical to youth development in 2012.

I would like to take a moment to recognize and thank all of the host worksites in this year’s program:

Seasons Federal Credit Union, Howard and McMillan Counselors at Law, Universal BACH Transportation Services, Liberty Bank, Pegasus Manufacturing Inc., Stonegate Apartments, Inn at Middletown, NORA Cupcake Co., Trevor Davis Commercial Real Estate LLC, The New England Emporium Eatery and Marketplace, Middlesex County Community Foundation, Re/Max Marketplace, ReStore, Middlesex County Historical Society, Strike-A-Pose Hair & Body Salon, Cross Street AME Zion Church, Centerplan Companies, Wesleyan University, One MacDonough Place, Nxegen, Northern Middlesex YMCA, Luther Ridge at Middletown, Godfrey Memorial Library, Allstate Insurance, ABC Women’s Center, North End Action Team, Pamela Roose Specialty Hand Knits, Prudential Connecticut Realty, Downtown Business District, Mike's Barber Shop, Walgreens, ID Mail Systems, Ryan Woods Autism Foundation, Connecticut Valley Hospital, Charles Computer Services, Chef's Palate Catering, State Education Resource Center, Oddfellows Playhouse and Middletown Goodwill Store & Donation Center. 

Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank our funders. Without them, this whole program would not be possible. I want to especially thank Workforce Alliance Executive Director Bill Villano, Mayor Dan Drew and members of the Middletown Common Council, Liberty Bank President Chandler Howard, Liberty Bank Foundation Executive Director Sue Murphy and Associate Director Betty Weintraub, Middlesex United Way Executive Director Kevin Wilhelm, Betsy Sommers, VP for Staff Development and Robyn Swanson, Chief Marketing Officer at Seasons Federal Credit Union, Gary Vallo, CEO and Tom Ford, Vice President at MiddleOak, Middlesex County Community Foundation President and CEO Cynthia Clegg, Betsy Morgan, Director of the Middlesex Coalition for Children and Sharon Griffin of the Peach Pit Foundation. 

This program is developing the workforce of tomorrow and nothing is more important to the business community. 

On another note, I want to commend the Mayor, members of the Common Council, the Police Department, the Fire Department, Middletown Park and Rec, Department of Public Works staff and everyone involved, for putting on a great event last Tuesday evening. 

I was thrilled to the see the huge crowds all over downtown for the fireworks display and I am very proud of the way the city came together and showed itself to be a true community.  Our downtown restaurants were all full as thousands of people visited the Central Business District to listen to great music and watch the outstanding fireworks show. 

Editor's Note: See the city's fireworks video and pictures

I was fortunate to attend a function at the at Harbor Park put on by Rich Jukonski and Gerry Daley. It was a first-class event and the entire night was a fitting celebration of our country and our city. 

For more information on Chamber events and activities, please contact Jeff Pugliese at jpugliese@middlesexchamber.com.