Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is asking Detroit area businesses to offer at least 5,000 summer jobs in 2015 to Detroit teens and young adults.
He addressed more than 100 business leaders yesterday at the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce.
"For every dollar a business puts in to employ a young person, the mayor will match," said Kristen McDonald of the Skillman Foundation, one of the sponsors of the newly re-launched Grow Detroit's Young Talent program.
The program will offer young people more than a job and a paycheck, said McDonald. "They're also receiving support and mentorship opportunities to help teach them work readiness skills," and they will receive bus passes to get to work.
McDonald said the program will offer new services to attract employers, including managing recruitment, handling payroll, creating a data base to match employers and summer job applicants, and providing ongoing mentoring to each youth throughout the summer.
"It's really important that we have a work force that is ready to fill the jobs that are coming," said McDonald. "It's also really important that our young people see a future for themselves in Detroit."
The typical job will be 20 hours per week for six weeks, and the full cost per youth will be $2,000.
-- Virginia Gordan, Michigan Radio Newsroom
