Indy’s business community is charged to employ and engage young adults tor the betterment of the future economy

With school nearly out for Indianapolis students, attention for many young adults turns to summer jobs and Mayor Joe Hogsett’s youth jobs program, Project Indy. In an effort to spread awareness about opportunities, as well as the important role that our local employers play, Mayor Hogsett and EmployIndy are proclaiming “Hire Indy Youth Week” from April 29 through May 3.

The proclamation announcement was hosted by Crew Carwash, where afterward two young staff members showed Mayor Hogsett how to handle incoming vehicles as a wash associate. Crew Carwash was the recent recipient of the Excellence in Youth Employment award at the Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity luncheon earlier this month for their emphasis on providing employment opportunities to young adults, hiring 94 young adults in Indianapolis last year.

“Youth employment often starts as a fun high school job – in my case lifeguarding,” said Mayor Hogsett. “But it was more than suntans and blowing whistles. It was looking out for others, showing up on time to relieve the guard ahead of me, learning how to earn and save money. These all proved to be valuable lessons for the jobs I have held ever since.”

Lessons like customer service, reliability, punctuality, conflict resolution, and more have a big effect on young workers, setting them up with experiences and competencies to carry into future careers. Research from JPMorgan Chase & Co. supports this idea, with their findings showing that for every year that a young adult works, they earn 14-16% more money in their 20’s.

For the business community, hiring young people can address short-term talent needs while also preparing the future workforce with the needed skills for our local economy’s success. With a looming skills gap in Central Indiana, local employers stand to directly benefit from an investment in the future workforce of Indianapolis.

“As more employers provide work opportunities to young people, we will see a long-term payoff: the collective upskilling of the workforce of our future economy,” said Angela Carr Klitzsch, EmployIndy president and CEO. “Achieving broad results requires intentionality and action – so, for Hire Indy Youth Week we are calling on all Indianapolis employers to find ways to get involved.”

There are different ways for businesses to get involved in youth employment, including posting summer, part-time, and full-time jobs through Project Indy. However, for employers who are not in a position to hire, EmployIndy can help facilitate engagement opportunities such as site tours, classroom speaking, and internship support to help young adults learn more about the industries and opportunities available locally.

Organizations are encouraged to share their stories with the hashtag #HireIndyYouthWeek, sign up to post jobs on projectindy.net, or reach out to EmployIndy to learn about other ways to get involved in the future of our workforce.