[Newark, NJ – May 5, 2016] – This past week, Newark Public Schools (NPS), the City of Newark, Newark One Stop and the Office of Expanded Learning Time hosted a job fair for students interested in summer youth employment at the Marion A. Bolden Center. Over 150 students attended the job fair, which was held on Friday, April 29 and Monday, May 2, with potential employers such as the City of Newark, NPS, the Newark YMCA and Nike, among others.
“The district is working hard to provide summer youth employment opportunities for students so they can gain skills and knowledge that will help them as they continue to pursue their education and a career in the future,” said Superintendent Cerf of NPS. “This week’s job fair was extremely successful, and I am encouraged by the number of students who are looking to get involved in our community and the number of employers who are willing to provide opportunities for them.”
Newark residents ages 14 – 24 were invited to attend. NPS set up 20 stations at the fair with Google Chromebooks for students to complete applications. For the first time this year, students 14 years of age are now eligible to earn income by attending Summer Plus, the NPS Summer School program. The NPS Summer Plus program is offering 33 high school paid internships and 11 college paid internships.
“The students that attend the Bolden Student Center regularly for the afterschool program are always on the lookout for job opportunities,” said Sarah Cruz, Special Assistant of Extended Learning Time at NPS. “It’s exciting that we can offer them a place to get access to a wide variety of summer jobs.”
This is the second year that NPS’ Office of Expanded Learning has held a summer job fair. As a result of last year’s job fair, 30 students were placed at various jobs throughout the city, including internships at Audible and GlassRoots.
“I was extremely excited to see so many students and their parents coming out prepared for employment,” said Marsha Armstrong, Program Coordinator for Newark Youth One Stop. “What I loved most about it was many of them were well dressed in their professional attire. It just lets us know that all the hard work we’re putting in is paying off. We’ve got some awesome students rising up.”
For more information about summer youth employment, students or families can contact Marsha Armstrong at armstrongm@nullci.newark.nj.us or call the Youth One Stop and Career Center at 973-273-6064. For more information about summer programming visit: www.nps.k12.nj.us/summerprograms/program.