Cleveland Fed and Y.O.U. to host job skills boot camp for teens

On Friday, May 2, 2014, nearly 60 Cleveland-area high school students will participate in a half day intensive skill-building workshop at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. The Boot Camp is being hosted by the Reserve Bank and Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.).

Thirty Y.O.U. and Federal Reserve volunteers and staff will teach job-seeking and job-retention skills to at-risk youth in a fast-paced, engaging format. Each teen will create a resume with guidance from the business volunteers, who will also conduct mock interviews. The Boot Camp will also offer advice on employer expectations and keeping a job.

The students participating in the Boot Camp attend four northeast Ohio schools: Horizon Science Academy in Cleveland; John F. Kennedy High School in Cleveland; Shaw High School in East Cleveland; and Thomas H. Harvey High School in Painesville.

About the Y.O.U. Boot Camp

Employment – a summer or part-time job while in school – is very important to urban teens. A job may last just a few weeks, but it can profoundly impact youth in many ways:

• 99% of our teens live in communities that are high poverty, so a teen's income matters a lot to the family
• The job provides a constructive opportunity and a safe environment
• Teens develop important job experience and the foundation to the next job
• Teens learn first-hand about a career path and whether they want to pursue it
• Many teens receive mentoring and other benefits from their supervisor or others

Each year, hundreds of teens enroll in Y.O.U. programs in order to secure such a job, and each spring, thousands of teens register at the Y.O.U. website in hopes of getting a summer job. Y.O.U. operates a wonderful program, E CITY, that provides an entrepreneurship curriculum to about 150 youth. Because E CITY is now part of the Y.O.U. program family, the E CITY Boot Camp was developed so youth participating in Y.O.U.’s E CITY program could have the same employability skills training and job development services that other Y.O.U. programs enjoy.

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.

The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

Media contact

Doug Campbell, doug.campbell@clev.frb.org, 513.455.4479