Title
Provision of Internship Program for Youth
Action
Action:
A. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a contract with Road to Hire in the amount of $898,228 for provision of the Pathways program for students' internships and summer bridge experiences, and
B. Authorize the City Manager to amend the contract consistent with the purpose for which the contract was approved.
Body
Staff Resource(s):
Tracy Dodson, City Manager's Office
Pamela Wideman, Neighborhood Services
Explanation
* This initiative is in support of the city's on-going efforts to provide career pathways for Charlotte youth.
* Road to Hire (R2H) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that connects low-income young adults with onramps to sustainable careers through high school programming, paid training, college access, and life skills support.
* The City of Charlotte previously partnered with R2H on similar initiatives.
* In September 2020, the Department of Economic Development solicited a "Workforce Partner Support Grants" process. The intention was to use CARES Act funding to support initiatives by non-profits related to career resources and job placement assistance. One organization that applied and received assistance was R2H. R2H received $250,000 to support "Road to Hire Fellowships" which are apprenticeships that serve 18 to 25-year-olds in Charlotte.
* R2H has also partnered with the city in providing job training and access to jobs for the North End Smart District.
* R2H's Pathways program is designed to promote economic justice for students from Charlotte's highest-poverty high schools by investing in them from that critical last year before high school graduation, to and through college or apprenticeships, and into their first two years in high-growth careers.
* City funding will be used toward:
* Paid summer learning internships before senior year of high school: Students are paid so they can afford to spend time being exposed to high-growth career opportunities like...
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