Summer youth jobs program working out for all

Already 258 area youths have been placed into summer jobs through a stimulus program managed by the Workforce Development Board of Western Missouri.

The program has elicited 1,068 people between the ages of 16-24 interested in finding an internship in their field. More than 150 employers in the 13-county region also expressed interest in taking on the summer help.

Pati Carter, executive director of the Workforce Development Board of Western Missouri, said 258 of 300 available positions have already been filled with applicants who have started working. Their wages will be paid with $1.34 million in stimulus money.

“We are putting to work 300 youths who would not have had a job and providing funding for these opportunities,” Carter said.

The focus of the program is to find jobs for young people in their fields of interest, with a focus on positions in health care, renewable energy, broadband communication and advanced manufacturing sectors.

“This has been a great opportunity for young people,” Carter said. “We’ve matched the young people to their career goals with these jobs.”

The program, which runs through Sept. 30, will provide those enrolled with the chance to earn $2,644 this summer while providing them with valuable experience for their potential jobs in the future.

The response from participating students and employers has been overwhelming.

David Lake, vice president of support operations with Septagon, said the company currently employs two young people through the stimulus program. He said so far the program has worked out well for both Septagon and the two employees.

“It’s working out really well,” Lake said. “It’s two positions we hadn’t had in our revised budget.”

Thomas Piche, director of the Daum Museum at State Fair Community College, said his new employee, an SFCC art student, started last Wednesday. He was glad to take on the additional help from someone who is interested in the field and familiar with the college.

“He’s actually a student at State Fair in the Art Department, so it seems like a perfect match,” Piche said.

The timing is right too, Piche said. While the college is hard-pressed to bring on extra people, the added position funded through stimulus dollars has enabled them to take on some projects they have been interested in for a while, he said.

A host of other Pettis County companies are taking advantage of the stimulus program to take on additional employees for the summer, including Boonslick Regional Library, Bothwell Regional Health Center, County Distributing, Precision Computer, Body Vitalize, Sedalia Senior Center, the state fair, Sedalia Memorial Airport, Mid-Mo Humane Society, The Sedalia Democrat and ProEnergy Services.

“We have four summer interns, and I just found out today we’ll have four more,” said David Wolfram, director of human resources at ProEnergy.

Two of the ProEnergy employees work in the steel fabrication shop and two are in the accounting area, he said. The company is finding it hard to keep staffing high during its rapid growth, and he said they have been very satisfied with the interest and work ethic the new employees are demonstrating.

“These are great kids. It allows them to see what the business is all about, and there could be a job here in the future,” Wolfram said. “I have to give kudos to Pati Carter and all the folks we worked with, who have all been very good to us.”