The Lackawanna County Workforce Development Board and Pennsylvania CareerLink seek teenage applicants for a summer jobs program allowing eligible county residents ages 14 to 18 to work up to 25 hours per week on projects in the community.
Participants in the grant-funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Summer Youth Program will earn $12 per hour doing light maintenance and similar work at one of several local project sites, including Nay Aug Park, the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail, McDade Park and possibly a fourth site in the Carbondale area, officials said.
Applicants must be county residents whose families meet income eligibility requirements; those chosen for the program will work weekdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting July 1 through Aug. 22.
Workforce Development Board Operations Manager Gina Parise said the program caters to young people who want to work but might be too young or lack appropriate experience for more traditional employment opportunities.
“We teach them some basic job skills: showing up on time, doing your work, participating,” Parise said. “In addition, they also learn some financial literacy. We have people go out and talk to them about how to save your money, what to do with your paycheck, little things like that.”
Spots in the program are limited, with completed applications taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications are available at the CareerLink office, 135 Franklin Ave., Scranton.
Officials are also looking to hire seasonal summer work crew leaders to supervise the youth labor crews and a summer project coordinator for the program.
Crew leaders must be 25 years of age or older, have a driver’s license and a reliable vehicle and maintain the appropriate clearances to work with kids, though program officials will pay for applicants to obtain their clearances if need be, Parise said. The crew leaders will work 30 hours per week and earn $23 per hour without benefits, per a recent public notice.
Interested applicants should send an introductory email and resume to CareerLink Site Administrator Cathy Gerard at c-cgerard@pa.gov. Those interested in the project coordinator job, which also pays an hourly rate of $23 and requires the appropriate clearances, should send their resumes to Gerard at that email address.
Internships
Opportunities are also available for college students looking for paid internships. Qualifying applicants ages 18 to 24 must live in Lackawanna County, have already completed at least one year of a two- or four-year college program and meet other eligibility requirements, officials said.
Internships would pay an hourly rate of $12, with interns working up to 25 hours a week, per program information. Applicants must meet income-eligibility requirements, but only the student’s own income, rather than family income, is considered, the county noted in a press release.
“We would work with any college students that have at least one year of college that want to be matched with businesses to get work experience over the summer,” Gerard said. “Because that’s creating a pipeline for our local businesses.”
For information on the internship program call 570-871-4780.