Mayor Michelle Wu and the Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity (YEO) announced that youth job applications are open for the 2024 – 2025 School Year. Boston youth and young adults ages 14 – 24 can apply at futureBOS, the hub for all youth employment opportunities throughout the City. The platform, led by YEO, allows young people to better navigate the application, onboarding, and hiring processes, ensuring that these employment opportunities are centralized. Jobs are available in various industries including nonprofit, arts and entertainment, STEM, local government, and healthcare.
“The City’s youth job program provides incredible opportunities for Boston’s young people to learn, grow, and opens doors for future career pathways,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “This program has grown tremendously over the past few years and brought job opportunities to thousands of youth across the city, and I encourage all young people in Boston to apply for the coming year.” futureBOS (which includes opportunities from the SuccessLink program) is designed to not only recruit and hire youth, but also ensure that the employment experience is engaging and meaningful, and advances young people’s professional and personal development. Research from Northeastern University demonstrates that SuccessLink, the City’s youth employment program, positively impacts a range of economic, academic, and criminal justice outcomes for youth.
Recognizing the importance of this work, Mayor Wu and the City invested $18.7 million in youth jobs last year. Bolstered by these funds, YEO expanded and improved the program to increase efficiency and streamline the process for youth and their families. The program has since experienced record highs in the number of young people employed each summer with 9,357 youth hired in Summer 2023 and 10,427 in Summer 2024, the highest in the program’s history. “We had a tremendous record-breaking Summer and are excited to bring these opportunities for youth into the school year,” said Allison Vernerey, Executive Director of the Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity. “Our office has already started supporting youth hands-on for the season and we look forward to maximizing the reach, quality, and impact of youth employment year around!” futureBOS participants have also expressed satisfaction with the program. Ninety-four percent feel better prepared to enter the workforce, 90% leave the program with references for future employment, 83% feel prepared to achieve future educational and career goals, and 97.3% would recommend this job opportunity to a friend. These accomplishments are a result of Boston’s collaborative approach to developing a holistic and inclusive youth workforce development system. To increase coordination and alignment among the City’s youth employment providers, YEO has deepened partnerships with more than 200 City agencies, non-profits, higher education institutions, and lead entities – Action for Boston Community Development, the Boston Private Industry Council, Artists For Humanity, and the State’s Commonwealth Corporation YouthWorks – to offer high-quality employment opportunities to youth year-round.
“School-year employment can be an excellent after-school activity. It allows students to develop workplace skills like communication and collaboration while allowing them to imagine themselves in different environments,” said Neil Sullivan, Executive Director of the Boston Private Industry Council, “and the paycheck doesn’t hurt either!” Last summer, Mayor Michelle Wu made an extraordinary promise, guaranteeing a summer job to every eligible Boston Public School (BPS) student who wanted one. Building on this commitment, YEO increased its collaboration with BPS through strategic engagement and outreach. As a result, over 50% of 2024 summer youth jobs participants were BPS students. YEO will continue its partnership with BPS to prioritize students during the 2024-2025 school year.
“I am grateful for the collaboration between the Boston Public Schools and the Office of Youth Engagement and Opportunity, which has ensured that every BPS student who wanted a summer job was able to access one, giving our students an invaluable opportunity to gain real-world working experience, and explore careers and professions that they are passionate about,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper. “I am excited that this crucial partnership will provide more access to youth employment opportunities for BPS students, especially during the school year.” YEO will continue its partnership with Bank On Boston and the Center for Working Families to provide youth with financial education, instilling healthy financial habits that will last a lifetime. Bank On Boston provides free financial workshops on various topics including credit building and banking basics.
The full schedule can be found here. Job applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. Youth are strongly encouraged to apply early, ideally by December 1, 2024. There is a step-by-step guide available online to help youth navigate the application process. Youth can also visit the office in person, Monday – Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 1483 Tremont Street in Roxbury, or call 617-635-4202 for additional assistance. For more information, visit boston.gov/futureBOS.
