While San Francisco has been under increasing scrutiny for its mismanagement of a growing homelessness problem and affordable housing crisis, it appears they are finally doing something right. Mayor London Breed is quickly gaining buy-in from local business partners on a new initiative to provide paid internships and job-training programs for all San Francisco high school students by the summer.
Breed first launched her Opportunities for All initiative back in October to “fight systemic inequality by connecting high school students to paid internships, employment, training, and educational opportunities.” Her hope is that all young people can be a “part of San Francisco’s thriving economy.”
The mayor hopes to bridge the skills gap that young people face in the modern economy and receive work experience in their home city. In the program, high schoolers will work an average of four weeks at $15 per hour, receive mentorship, and “visit local businesses to help them identify careers of interest and begin to plan for their future.”
“It’s about building those relationships, building soft skills, getting kids used to showing up on time, what attire to wear — that’s the beginning of getting an entry-level understanding of what it is to work,” said Sheryl Evans Davis, executive director of San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle.
About a third of the new internships will be designated for disadvantaged youth who may require more intensive training prior to entering the workforce.
Taking a page from President Trump’s playbook, Breed is working to help young people prepare for careers through work-based programs.
Breed hopes the initiative will break the cycle of poverty and violence in urban neighborhoods. In her younger years, she completed an internship at the Family School, which she claims marked a turning point in her own life. She hopes this program will provide similar opportunities for the city’s youth, who have faced high unemployment rates.
City officials have received interest from many businesses, including Airbnb, Dolby, and other businesses, in providing 20-hour-a-week summer jobs. They have also raised one-third of the program’s $2 million goal, thanks in part to sizable donations from Google and Alaska Airlines.
This public-private partnership is a great example of helping people help themselves, and Breed’s own journey from poverty to success makes her the ideal catalyst for it.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is writer from California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.
