Baltimore Business Leaders to Seek New Strategies for Boosting Youth Employment
Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) April 20, 2015 -- Business executives and community leaders from the Baltimore region will gather at Legg Mason’s downtown headquarters April 24 to discuss how to boost the region’s long-term economic health through stronger youth employment strategies.
Urban Alliance, a national nonprofit that connects local under resourced youth to paid internships and job training, is hosting “Youth Employment Matters! Cultivating Baltimore’s Next Talent Pipeline,” which will gather executives from the Cordish Companies, Baltimore Metropolitan Council, and the Center for Urban Families to mobilize the broader business community’s support of youth employment initiatives in the city. Joseph Jones, President and CEO of the Center for Urban Families will deliver the keynote address.
“Nearly a quarter of 16 to 19 year olds in the Baltimore area are unemployed. If we do not address this, it could have devastating effects on the talent pool available for local employers in the near future and ultimately the long-term economic viability of the region,” said Stephanie Amponsah, Executive Director of Urban Alliance Baltimore. “We know that Baltimore businesses want the best workforces possible and the best way to ensure that is through their involvement and support of the city’s young people.”
Job growth in Baltimore has outpaced national averages in recent years and several key business sectors are predicted to add ten thousands more jobs in the next decade, according to the Opportunity Collaborative. Yet, unemployment amongst youth in Baltimore still remains higher than the national average.
Urban Alliance has been successful in preparing Baltimore City teenagers with the skills needed to compete for those jobs, including area youth involved in the child welfare system. One hundred percent of the youth enrolled in Urban Alliance programs graduate high school, with nearly 80 percent of those youth enrolling in college.
A consortium of regional governments, planning agencies, and anchor institutions have outlined several specific strategies to address the gaps in employment in the Baltimore area. The Youth Employment Matters forum will give businesses the opportunity to use these strategies to lift up their future workforce.
To register for the event, visit Youth Employment Baltimore.
Urban Alliance prepares youth from under-resourced communities in Baltimore, DC, Chicago and Northern Virginia for the world of work and a life of self-sufficiency through training, mentoring and meaningful paid internships. The organization trains students on how to obtain and retain meaningful employment, supports their aspirations for higher education, and helps participants develop concrete plans towards achieving their career goals.
For more information, visit http://www.theurbanalliance.org. Follow Urban Alliance on Facebook and Twitter for event updates.
Wendy Dixon-Dubois, The Urban Alliance, http://www.theurbanalliance.org, +1 2024594311, [email protected]
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