Biggest Job Fair of its Kind Kicks Off Long-Term Effort to Employ LA’s Opportunity Youth – 16-24 year olds Who Are Not in School or Employed
LOS ANGELES, 2016-Feb-23 — /EPR Retail News/ — The 100,000 Opportunities Initiative, the nation’s largest employer-led coalition committed to creating pathways to employment for young people, today announced that in one day, more than 1,000 Opportunity Youth were offered on-the-spot offers through the Los Angeles Hiring Fair & Forum on Feb. 11.
Hiring managers from more than 30 companies, including, Chipotle, HMS Host, Lyft, Nordstrom, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Sweetgreen, Taco Bell, Target, TOMS, and more, met with thousands of young people in an effort to connect Los Angeles County’s more than 200,000 Opportunity Youth – 16-24 year olds who are disconnected from school and employment – to meaningful job opportunities and resources. In addition to immediate job offers, the coalition provided access to services and continued follow up through the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, the Alliance for Children’s Rights & Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, UNITE-LA, Los Angeles Unified School District, LeadersUp, and more than 30 other community-based organizations.
Related: A Huge Surprise for the Last Person Interviewed at 100,000 Opportunities Initiative Job Fair
The more than 1,000 jobs offered in LA is in addition to the 1,300 on-the-spot job offers that were granted in Chicago and Phoenix through similar fairs last year, and is part of an overall effort to hire 100,000 Opportunity Youth nationwide by 2018. Along with the record number of job offers granted in one day, the Opportunity Fair and Forum also began a long-term impact on the Los Angeles community and the 6,000 who were onsite for the event. For example:
Thousands of youth worked on their resumes and completed job applications under the support of resume coaches and application expert volunteers
- 1,200 youth participated in FIND YOUR FIT powered by Clothes the Deal and Nordstrom – 600 Found their Fit, and 300 youth walked away with a new suit or clothes
- 1,000 engaged at the Taco Bell Live Mas Scholarship booth where youth where encouraged to apply beginning early Spring
- 350 youth built their confidence through mock interviews with company leaders, community service organizations and hiring managers
- 220 youth learned how to make a lasting impression at the Sephora inside JCPenney style booth
- 200 youth registered to vote, and 20 youth applied to be poll workers for upcoming elections
- 130 youth got headshots and created new LinkedIn profiles or updated their existing profiles
- 105 youth and staff received learned more about how to manage a record and explored expungement services
“What we collectively accomplished in LA was extraordinary, and I was personally fortunate to be a part of something that was life-changing for thousands of young people and their support networks as they start their journey to employment and opportunity. This initial effort will continue to impact tens of thousands of young people through the collective efforts of the employers, LA County and the City of LA,” said Brian Niccol, Chief Executive Officer for Taco Bell, on behalf of the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative. “I would like to thank everyone who dedicated their time, resources and energies to make this the largest Opportunity Fair dedicated to supporting and hiring Opportunity Youth.”
“Providing a young person with the opportunity for a job helps create a path to a fulfilling career,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “The 100,000 Opportunities Initiative brought thousands of smart, ambitious Angelenos closer to their dreams. We are building on that success with my pledge to connect 15,000 young people with year-round employment opportunities in 2016 — by expanding City Department support of my Hire L.A.’s Youth initiative, and growing our partnerships with the private sector. Together, we are opening new doors of possibilities for the next generation.”
A Call to Action in Los Angeles
There are nearly 214,000 people between the ages of 16 and 24 in metropolitan Los Angeles who are neither working nor in school. According to new research from Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, failure to act and employ Opportunity Youth in Los Angeles will impose an estimated lifetime social burden of $129.3 billion. And, nationally, 5.5 million Opportunity Youth have a potential taxpayer burden of $1.30 trillion and an aggregate social burden of $4.87 trillion, which underscores the urgent need to create sustainable pathways for Opportunity Youth. For more information on this economic study, please visit the Morrison Institute for Public Policy website.
The 100,000 Opportunities Initiative is generously supported by the Arizona Community Foundation, California Endowment, Dominos, FedEx, Hilton, HMS Host, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Macy’s, Papa John’s, Prudential Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Schultz Family Foundation, Starbucks, Starbucks Foundation, Taco Bell, Target, T-Mobile, Walmart Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Since launching in July 2015, the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative has grown to 35 leading U.S. companies including Alaska Airlines, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Cintas, CVS Health, Delaware North, Dominos, FedEx, Hilton Worldwide, HMSHost, Hyatt, JCPenney, JPMorgan Chase, Lyft, Macy’s, Mars, Microsoft, Nordstrom, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, Porch.com, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Prudential, Red Robin, Republic Services, Sprinkles, Starbucks, Sweetgreen, Taco Bell, Target, Teavana, T-Mobile, TOMS, VILLA, Walgreens and Walmart.
For more leader quotes from members of the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative, visit: www.100kOpportunities.org.
About the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative
The 100,000 Opportunities Initiative has the goal of creating the nation’s largest employer-led private sector coalition committed to creating pathways to employment for young people. Companies engaged in the coalition will help to launch careers for young people that are just entering the workforce, including internships, apprenticeships and on the job training, in addition to developing potential in youth that have some work experience but are looking to gain new skills that lead to a successful career. For more information, please visit www.100kOpportunities.org.
For more information on this news release, contact us
SOURCE: Starbucks Corporation
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