Through investing in the summerworks summer youth employment program, WSW aims to engage opportunity youth who reside in clark, cowlitz, and wahkiakum counties in skillbuilding workshops, career…

Through investing in the summerworks summer youth employment program, WSW aims to engage opportunity youth who reside in clark, cowlitz, and wahkiakum counties in skillbuilding workshops, career exploration activities, and paid work-based learning experiences. Summerworks participants receive on-going career support to ensure a positive exit of the program into post-secondary and/or employment because we recognize that the region faces staggering long-term economic costs if prospects for these youth remain unchanged. Activities performed summerworks provides youth with the opportunity to participate in 1) work-readiness workshops, comprised of resume building, interviewing skills, financial literacy, self-advocacy instruction, post-secondary exploration, and leadership development, 2) career exploration activities, including informational interviews and job shadows, and 3) paid 100-hour workbased learning experiences. These three elements of the program, along with on-going guidance and holistic support, help ensure program completion and positive outcomes. Deliverables with these funds, we anticipate serving 40 youth in summer 2023, 80 youth in summer 2024, and 80 youth in summer 2025. Each of the 200 total youth will have the opportunity to complete: 1) work-readiness workshops, 2) career exploration activities, and 3) a paid 100-hour work-based learning experience. As the subrecipient responsible for program delivery, EQUUS has agreed to meet or exceed wioa state, federal, and local performance measures connected to employment, earnings, credential attainment, measurable skills gains, and serving employers, as detailed in the project narrative. Intended beneficiary the funding provided through this grant will allow US to provide summerworks summer youth employment experiences to 200 opportunity youth who are ages 16 to 24, neither in school nor working, and reside in clark, cowlitz, and wahkiakum counties. 100 percent of youth will represent diverse and underserved communities (e.g., low-income youth, youth with disabilities, lgbtqia+ youth, foster youth, unhoused youth, etc.) and at least 30 percent of them will represent historically underserved racial communities (including black, latino/a/X, hispanic, asian, pacific islander, indigenous communities). Subrecipient activities workforce southwest washington currently contracts arbor E & T, DBA EQUUS workforce solutions (EQUUS), to facilitate, oversee, and provide services to summerworks participants in clark, cowlitz, and wahkiakum counties. EQUUS staff provide work-readiness training, coordinate career exploration activities, and coordinate and provide oversight for the workbased learning experiences, including preparation of the job site and providing support to the employer host site and participants during the placement. As the EQUUS staff member responsible for oversight of the summerworks contract, keely christ, the director of southwest washington's next one-stop youth career center, has submitted a letter of commitment, highlighting their desire to continue to facilitate, oversee, and provide services to summerworks participants connected to this grant funding in summers 2023, 2024, and 2025.