QUEENS CHAMBER MEMBER NEWS Supporting Young Adults and Local Businesses

By Charles Franchino, Senior Job Developer at Queens Community House

Every year, Queens Community House (QCH) connects with many young adults who struggle during the pivotal transition period from childhood to adult life. Hurdles include family economic hardship, anxiety and depression, peer pressure, and more. Unfortunately, these obstacles make it difficult for many young adults in Queens to see themselves finding a career in the future. QCH works to ensure that all young people in the borough have access to the same opportunities by providing an array of employment services that prepare them for success in the workplace.

Since 1987, our youth workforce services have been focused on strengthening young people’s communication and teamwork skills, self-esteem, and leadership abilities -- factors associated with long-term educational and career success. Among our wide array of opportunities are Queens Connect Young Adult Food Sector Initiative, YouthBuild Queens, and the Neighborhood Intergenerational Chore and Errand program, all of which provide young adults with solid work experience and opportunities to develop workplace skills. In 2009, we expanded our youth workforce programming to include NYC’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), the nation’s largest youth employment program.

Each year, under NYC’s Department of Youth and Community Development, SYEP provides youth between the ages of 14 and 24 with paid summer employment for up to six weeks in July and August. QCH’s SYEP participants work in a variety of entry-level jobs at government agencies, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, summer camps, law firms, and retail businesses. QCH also provides workshops on job readiness, career exploration, and financial literacy.

Work experience at a young age can be hard to come by, and many of the skills that make someone a successful worker are learned on the job. Hosting SYEP gives QCH the opportunity to provide these tools to young people across Queens.

Every summer, QCH connects with about 1700 young people through SYEP and helps them find meaningful work experience while providing support for local businesses. One of our young people with a passion for video editing was placed at the Astoria Film Festival last year. “I was able to learn so much about editing techniques for film, something I’ve always been interested in as a hobby,” said Sohail Ahmad, QCH SYEP intern at the Astoria Film Festival. “I would definitely recommend QCH SYEP to any young people in Queens considering it for the summer.”

QCH averages around 250 worksites each year. With the summer being the busiest time of year for many local businesses, SYEP provides them with the help they need. “For the young person entering the working life, and for us as a business, SYEP lends valuable assistance to both the front of the house and the back of the house,” said Francois Danielo, Chef of La Boulangerie de Francois, a local bakery that has been a QCH SYEP worksite for several years. “It’s a great experience for our business and for the workers. The youth coming from QCH SYEP have been so helpful, and we get to return the favor by exposing them to the working world so they can develop key workplace skills.”

As a part of our expanded youth workforce programming, QCH is currently partnered with four high schools for NYC’s CareerREADY program: Business Tech Early College High School, Newtown High School, High School for Arts & Business, and Hillcrest High School. Through these partnerships, we strengthen connections between academic learning and career exploration for young adults in Queens, helping them build work readiness skills, determine job interests, and receive academic support, including guidance on postsecondary education and the potential to earn college credit. Whether they are looking for the next step after graduation, seeking employment, or building important relationships, we work to ensure young adults feel supported and understand the opportunities available to them.

QCH is currently looking to recruit in-person, virtual, and hybrid worksites in Queens for SYEP this summer. For employers, SYEP adds value by connecting them with hyperlocal NYC talent at no cost, fostering coaching and mentorship skills in current employees, easing the workload of current employees, and offering a fresh perspective to problem solving. If you need help with customer service, tech support, marketing, maintenance support, and more, sign up to be a worksite and partner with us by June 12, 2023. To learn more, email syep@ qchnyc.org.

Queens Community House (QCH) is a multi-service settlement house committed to serving the diverse neighborhoods of Queens. QCH serves more than 25,000 children, youth, adults, and older adults every year. Our mission is to provide individuals and families with the tools to enrich their lives and build healthy, inclusive communities. Through a broad network of programs operating out of 39 sites in 15 neighborhoods, we offer Queens residents a needed support system at every stage of life, helping them to develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills to change their lives for the better and become active participants in their larger community.