By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Marlborough – For the third summer, the city of Marlborough in conjunction with Partnerships for a Skilled Workforce (PSW) offered a six-week youth jobs program for residents ages 16 to 19. This summer, 19 students entering 11th or 12th grade worked the part-time jobs. Those students and their employers gathered Aug. 14 for a luncheon at Whitcomb Middle School.
They were welcomed by Kelley French, director of the Young Adult Employment Initiative at PSW.
“In 1999, one out of two kids could get a job; now it's one out of four to five,” she shared. “They'se looking for jobs, but not always getting them. Now that it's becoming more difficult, we'se having a hard time teaching our young people how to work.”
Mayor Arthur Vigeant also addressed the program participants.
“This is something we put in place both to give students experience in the work field and to get jobs done that sometimes in our real lives we just don's have the time to get done,” he said. “We want this program to include both the private industry and part of the municipal government.”
The city departments that provided jobs were Community Development, Council on Aging, Engineering Division of Public Works, Information Technology Systems and the Public Library. The private employers were Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA), Boys & Girls Clubs of MetroWest, Embassy Suites, Geisel Software, Hologic Inc., LCI Paper Company, and Universal Window and Door.
Charlotte Broussard, CEO of Universal Window and Door, has hired a student each of the program's three years. This summer, her business hired Nicole Wynne as she prepared to enter junior year at Marlborough High School (MHS).
“This program has been great for us,” Broussard said. “This student was exceptionally bright. She put the salesmen to shame on the quoting.”
Over 60 students from MHS, AMSA and Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School applied for the program. Each applicant was interviewed by Ashley Waddicor, career specialist at MHS, who received feedback from the employers.
“A lot of supervisors said that these students were very proactive, and went above and beyond,” she noted.
Marlborough also offers a public service internship program for college students.