Newark’s Summer Youth Employment Program shines on national stage
Newark, New Jersey — In December 2020, The Aspen Institute’s Forum for Community Solutions released its updated Digital Summer Youth Employment Toolkit, a resource guide of best practices from successful Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEP) designed to strengthen programs in communities across the nation.
Among the model programs is Newark Youth One Stop, whose unique design and success is turning heads across the country.
On February 24, Marsha Armstrong, Program Director of Newark’s Summer Youth Employment Program, was a guest speaker during Aspen’s peer-learning session, “Expanding the Summer 2021 Youth Jobs Toolkit.” During the session, Marsha discussed the successes and challenges of creating Newark’s Summer Youth Employment Program and what practices others can apply to their communities.
Marsha Armstrong, Program Director of Newark’s Summer Youth Employment Program, was a guest speaker during Aspen’s peer-learning session, “Expanding the Summer 2021 Youth Jobs Toolkit.”
“When I came in,” Armstrong said, “there was so much to do and no blueprint on how to do it. So I’m honored to say we created something out of nothing. It feels great to know that people are noticing what we’re doing in Newark.”
In 2019, Newark was named to the Aspen Institute Opportunity Youth Forum’s (OYF) communities, due in large part to the work of Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN). The OYF includes more than two dozen communities from Seattle to Atlanta to Southern Maine to San Francisco, all seeking education and employment pathways for opportunity youth.
As an Aspen community and member of this national learning network, NOYN is given access to professional development, technical training, and funding opportunities to strengthen the workforce infrastructure in Newark, primarily through its role as backbone for the Newark Youth Workforce Collaborative.
“Mayor Baraka, Marsha, and the entire team at Newark Youth One Stop have done a tremendous job growing this program the last few years,” said Robert Clark, Chief Executive Officer of NOYN. “Even in the middle of a pandemic, SYEP continued to move forward and achieve positive outcomes for young people. We thank the Aspen Institute for elevating this work on a national level and for sharing out these best practices.”
Newark’s Summer Youth Employment Program has gained national attention due to its focus on narrowing the skills gap and its core components of mentoring, banking and financial literacy, job readiness training, jobs matched to youth’s interest, and defined career pathways.
Upon taking office, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sought to revamp and expand the city’s Summer Youth Employment Program, a personal endeavor of his because of the impact the program had on his life as a youth. Together with local philanthropic organizations, like the Victoria Foundation, Prudential Foundation and the Foundation for Newark’s Future, the city redesigned the program to meet the demand for soft skills development, as well as credentials needed for high-growth industries.
The program has grown from 1,000 youth in 2014 to over 3,000 by 2019 and now stands as a national model. Additionally, while most Summer Youth Employment Programs shut down due to COVID-19, Newark’s program continued to thrive virtually and remotely. And, as a partner of the Newark Youth Workforce Collaborative, Newark Youth One Stop is a part of Newark’s first collective approach to creating a school-to-workforce pipeline.
“Summer Youth Employment Programs are used to build capacity in young people, and having a collaboration of people at the table saying, ‘We believe in you’, really creates a space where young people have their foot in the door to be anchored in success,” Armstrong added. “It’s amazing to watch, so I’m excited about it.”
Learn more about Newark’s successful program, and other thriving communities across the country in Aspen’s Digital Summer Youth Employment Toolkit 2.0 here.