by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
There won’t be any summertime blues for this year’s participants of the Mayor’s Seeds of Change Summer Job Program. That’s because they’ll be too busy working.
To kickoff the summer program aimed at helping area high schoolers land short-term jobs while out of school, over 200 juniors and seniors from nearly a dozen high schools in Duval County attended an open enrollment for training classes Monday at the Main Library. Annette Davis, program coordinator and the chief of training and organizational development for the City, said the number of students that attended exceeded the number expected.
“It was a great turnout,” she said. “And there were a lot of repeat participants from last year.”
At the event, student employees were briefed on the program and its expectations, and also learned about work ethics, customer service and safety. The training classes they enrolled in will feature different guest speakers who will cover workplace and life skills such as job retention, conflict resolution, civics, accountability, financial literacy and essentials of teamwork.
“This is my first time participating in the program,” said Curtis Dabney, a Forrest High Senior. “I think the classes are going to be helpful and interesting.”
The Seeds of Change Summer Jobs Program was started by Mayor John Peyton in 2006 and pairs full-time students ages 16-21 with summer jobs offered by local business partners of the City. About 200 students were originally hired for the six-week program and Jacksonville’s business community was challenged to create an additional 300 positions for students, according to Temeka Bridges, business consultant with Youth Services for WorkSource.
“So far, businesses have opened up about 100 additional positions (including Winn Dixie and Florida Community College at Jacksonville) and we’re going to continue to try and secure more,” she said.
WorkSource, along with the Jacksonville Children’s Commission, would provide training to private businesses’ summer employees through the duration of the program.