Atlanta Launches Third Summer of Mayor’s Youth Jobs Program

High school students like Cassipea Stith, who interned at the mayor’s constituent services office while she was in the program last summer. In the fall, she will attend Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

While working on Trinity Avenue, she served Atlantans by helping to organize events such as the Mayor’s Midnight Basketball Program and Senior Prom.

“Now it’s your turn,” she told prospective interns during the signing day at the Accenture Innovation Hub in Midtown. “The reason this program is focused on young people is because they need young minds to solve the complex problems in our society. You are all culture, so bring it to your internship this summer.

The program is also part of a broader effort by the Dickens administration to keep young residents busy during non-school months and reduce the number of youth delinquencies. Since the program began, the mayor said, more than 8,000 Atlantans ages 14 to 24 have landed paid jobs over the summer, averaging about $17 an hour.

“In an ideal world, the summer opportunities available to our young people will help shape the next generation of leaders in these different fields,” Dickens said Wednesday.

That includes jobs in Atlanta’s booming tech industry, at places like Accenture. Director Chloe Barzey, director of the company’s Atlanta office, said the program helps build a future workforce for employers while supporting young people.

“As an employer, this program is fantastic because it gives us exposure to talented young people, while also providing them with access to opportunities,” she said.

More than 150 employers participating in the program over the past two years have contributed more than $5 million in wages, according to the city. Atlanta Public Schools Deputy Superintendent Erica Long said it’s a far cry from her first summer job at the Six Flags amusement park where, at the time, she earned $4 per hour.

“I’m happy to see that today’s Atlanta youth have even greater opportunities,” she said. “Supervising our students is a collective responsibility. Their success is best achieved by collaborating with the entire community.