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Program Helps Baltimore Teens, Young Adults Find Summer Jobs

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Time for action. If you are a teenager or young adult looking for a summer job, Baltimore YouthWorks helps fill hospitality and tourism positions.

Tim Williams explains being a city resident is the main qualification for the program.

It's a day for potential employment in Baltimore City for dozens of young adults looking for a summer job.

Jodien Hamilton is one of them.

"[My specialty is] food and beverage, because I look cooking," Hamilton said.

Hamilton and others at the Convention Center are part of "Hire One Youth." It falls under the YouthWorks summer jobs program at City Hall.

"It's important even in these tough times that we give kids these opportunities. We have to make sure our kids in Baltimore stay competitive and that's why YouthWorks matters," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

The program trains and places young people between the ages of 16 and 21 in jobs from six to eight weeks. Jobs are with the private sector, nonprofit, city and state government employers throughout the city.

"This gives young people the opportunity to kind of figure out what they want to or they may not want to do. So if they venture into various careers, they can see where they fit," said Hire One Youth supervisor Harriett Diles.

There will be several job fairs throughout the summer. This one focuses on positions in the hospitality and tourism industry.

With Baltimore's tourism industry booming, employers say the time is right to recruit and train the next generation of industry professionals.

"The Baltimore metropolitan area has about 74,000 jobs slated for hospitality and tourism and the unique thing about our industry is you really can get in on the ground floor and work your way up," said Karyn Riley, Visit Baltimore.

Hope is that these summer jobs could turn into a long-time career.

For more information on YouthWorks, click here or call 410-396-JOBS (5627).

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