We wish we could put every interested teen to work through our program! Unfortunately, we usually have more teens apply than we have funding to support. Additionally, our funding sources have different eligibility requirements and different numbers of positions available, which don't always align with demand. This means that teens can be placed on a waitlist even when they apply and interview well before our deadline.
Our mission is to level, clear, and widen the path to flourishing adulthood. "Level" is all about equity, so when we have more demand for jobs than funding, we prioritize the teens who need our program most. Across our funding sources, we prioritize teens who are:
- 14 and 15, since these teens have the fewest opportunities to find paid employment elsewhere
- First time workers, because our program provides extra support to those new to the world of work
- Facing multiple barriers to employment, who are less likely to be able to attain employment on their own
- Experiencing structural inequality and/or from historically marginalized groups, because structural inequality and marginalization have been and continue to be present in the world of work
- Available and able to prioritize work for the majority of the summer, with limited vacations
If you are placed on a waitlist for the Summer Jobs Program or are *likely* to be placed on a waitlist, we will let you know as soon as we can. If possible, you should still submit the required documents to us, because waitlisted teens are often matched to jobs closer to their start dates, and we want to make sure we can get you on our payroll in time. In the month of May, as we begin matching teens to jobs, we develop a clearer sense of our waitlists and the likelihood that any individual teen will be matched or not.
You can always reach out to our office to touch base about your status with our program, and we'll do our best to give you an up-to-the-minute reflection of your likelihood for a match. Likewise, if you apply to YES and then decide to pursue a different opportunity this summer, please let us know so we can remove your application from consideration.
