Executive Order to Form Summer Youth Employment Task Force

Published on February 14, 2014

For Immediate Release

Pittsburgh, PA – Mayor William Peduto issued an executive order today announcing the creation of a Mayoral Task Force on Summer Youth Employment Opportunities in order to assess the City of Pittsburgh's Summer Youth Employment Program. The task force will be charged with presenting concrete recommendations and an action plan for expanding access and improving the quality and diversity of placement opportunities.

I want to ensure that every young person in the City of Pittsburgh who wants to has both the opportunity for meaningful career development and the ability to earn a little extra money through this program, said Mayor Peduto. Through this Task Force, I will engage the business community, labor, nonprofits, foundations, and partners at the national level to help us reimagine this program to serve more young people and provide a clear pathway to their future success.

Currently the Summer Youth Employment Program serves approximately 400 young people out of nearly 1,000 who apply. Cities across the country have successfully engaged their corporate and philanthropic communities and the federal government in expanding similar programs and offer the option for specialized training in high-tech STEM jobs as well as vocational and office work.

The recommendations and action plan devised by the Task Force will be submitted to Mayor Peduto no later than April 30, 2014 so that the administration can review and begin implementing them this year.

The text of the executive order follows:

Executive Order

WHEREAS, the City of Pittsburgh's (the City) Summer Youth Employment Program (the SYEP) is a program designed to provide meaningful workforce training and development to low- and moderate-income youth; and

WHEREAS, one of the surest ways to reduce poverty is to provide low- and moderate-income youth with workforce development opportunities that will lead to family-sustaining careers; and

WHEREAS, currently the SYEP can only accept about half of the nearly 1,000 youth applicants who apply to participate; and

WHEREAS, through the support of city taxpayers, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and Highmark the SYEP, in 2013, received approximately $800,000 in funding; and

WHEREAS, given the strength of our job market, the need for skilled employees in a variety of fields, and the dedication of our philanthropic, labor, and business communities to the success of our city and its residents we have the opportunity to work together to ensure a spot for every eligible youth who applies for the program; and

WHEREAS, we must seize this opportunity and work collaboratively to reassess and reinvigorate the SYEP in order to better align the work opportunities offered through the program to the careers available in the city.

THEREFORE, by the power vested in me as the Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh, I do hereby order as follows:

An executive task force, The Mayor's Task Force on Summer Youth Employment Opportunities (the Task Force), shall be formed by the Mayor to assess the current SYEP including work placement sites and funding streams and provide recommendations and an action plan for expanding and improving it.

The Task Force shall be co-chaired by the Chief Administration Officer and the Chief Education and Neighborhood Reinvestment Officer and shall include ten (10) additional members including a least one representative each from the philanthropic community, the business community, organized labor, and the Pittsburgh Public Schools and at least two (2) members of Pittsburgh City Council.

The Task Force shall be named within fourteen (14) days of the communication of this Executive Order and shall provide recommendations and an action plan to the Mayor and City Council by April 30, 2014.

The recommendations and action plan shall specifically identify new ways to expand access to the program, new placement sites to expand youth career development opportunities, and strategies for ensuring continuity of new funding streams and placement sites from year to year.

Current funding levels for the SYEP shall be maintained pending the Task Force review and recommendations.