Kathryn Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer of Workforce Alliance, said “Workforce Alliance will fund the employment of approximately 1,000 eligible youth and young adults aged 18 to 24 at employer sites in Palm Beach County for a six week period beginning on July 6^th. The wages for the youth will be provided by Workforce Alliance and the work will be done for local companies and municipalities.”

Ms. Schmidt added, “Businesses and municipalities are encouraged to participate by providing supervised, safe and meaningful employment opportunities for the participants. There will be no cost to the organization as Workforce Alliance will also provide Workers’ Compensation costs. The participants will be expected to provide their own transportation and will work approximately 30 hours per week.”

Businesses, municipalities and other potential employer partners can apply on line by filling out and submitting an employer job order form and an employer agreement form available at the Workforce Alliance website, www.pbcalliance.com.

Youth and young adults aged 18 to 24 can apply for the program at the same web site and are invited to visit one of the Workforce Alliance Career Centers, if necessary, for assistance with the on-line application process. Applicants must be Palm Beach County residents and meet eligibility requirements.

Selected youth participants will be required to attend a three-day orientation that will include work readiness training. The mandatory three-day orientations will be scheduled for groups of qualified applicants from June 15^th through July 3^rd. Employment at worksites will begin on July 6^th and end on August 14^th and participants will be paid for the orientation period as well as the employment period.

Workforce Alliance has established a toll-free Summer Youth Employment hot line, 1-866-841-0225, to respond to questions and provide information.

Workforce Alliance is the organization chartered by the State of Florida to create, develop and retain a quality workforce system in Palm Beach County. It operates three Career Centers and Professional Placement Centers and offers professional services to all employers and job seekers in the County. The Career Centers are located in Belle Glade, Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach and the addresses and phone numbers are listed on the website, www.pbcalliance.com.