Corporate Voices for Working Families played a key role at the January 5, 2012, White house Summer Jobs Plus Summit. The event marked the launch of President Obama's challenge to businesses to commit to provide low-income youth with summer employment and other pathways to success. The president, who was on hand for the launch, stated that "America's young people face record unemployment, and we need to do everything we can to make sure they've got the opportunity to earn the skills and a work ethic that come with a job. It's important for their future, and for America's." The president then asked the businesses in the room to call on their colleagues, competitors and supply chains to join them in making a commitment to provide pathways to employment for these young people.
Recognizing that in a difficult economy not every business is in a position to hire, the administration's new Summer Jobs Plus initiative, launched at the Summit, supports not only businesses that hire youth, but also those companies that provide additional pathways for youth, such as internships, mentoring and other programs. Summer Jobs Plus identifies three strategies for companies to connect youth to a better path to employer - Life Skills, Work Skills and Learn and Earn - while simultaneously deriving benefits for their businesses, such as increased employee engagement, customer loyalty and employee retention.
The White House also released a toolkit which provides employers with a roadmap for how they can develop these strategies. Recently, Corporate Voices has been honored to worked with Gap Inc. and McKinsey by providing content and information for the toolkit "A Toolkit for Employers: Connecting Youth & Business." The tool provides employers with a roadmap for how they can use different strategies, such as Life Skills, Work Skills and Learn and Earn initiatives to provide opportunities to America's young adults.
Corporate Voices is pleased to see the "plus" added to the White House's Summer Jobs effort, because it represents a broadening of understanding that there are a range of ways employers can play a role in supporting on-ramps for these young adults. A number of businesses have already committed to providing our nation's young adults with jobs, internships and other pathways to opportunity, including the following Corporate Voices' partner companies:
- Bank of America
- Baxter International, Inc.
- CVS Caremark
- Deloitte
- Expeditors
- Goodwill Industries International
- H-E-B
- JPMorgan Chase
- Wells Fargo
To find out how you can join this exemplary list of companies by making a commitment, click here.
For more information on the Corporate Voices New Options Project and how to get involved in policy efforts, like Summer Jobs Plus, please contact Elyse Rosenblum.