DEED Announces Youth at Work Grants

DEED has awarded $3,893,100 to 40 organizations to provide young people workforce development and training opportunities during the 2021-2022 state fiscal year.

Metro-focused organizations received 76% of available funds while Greater Minnesota received 22% of available funds. The remaining 2% of available funds went to organizations serving both Metro and Greater Minnesota. DEED's Office of Youth Development awarded the Youth at Work grants to organizations providing services to economically disadvantaged or at-risk youth ages 14 to 24.

These programs will support youth of color, youth with disabilities, and economically-disadvantaged youth to connect with good-paying jobs in high-growth industries. It's what we need: a targeted approach for youth who face the largest systemic barriers. Youth development and job training is really crucial to the well-being of our communities and our state's economy.

Youth at Work Opportunity Grants Program is DEED's flagship competitive youth employment program and it supports the equity goals of Governor Tim Walz and DEED Commissioner Steve Grove.

Per state statute (116L.562), the program prioritizes service to youth of color and youth with disabilities. In addition, youth must either be economically disadvantaged or be considered at-risk. Youth who are considered at-risk may have barriers that include: homelessness, involvement in juvenile justice system, pregnant/parenting, a potential or actual dropout.

As the state continues to make investments to get young Minnesotans into training and development programs, DEED's Youth at Work program partners across the state are helping support the workforce of today and tomorrow in finding economic stability and developing new skills.

Congratulations to the 40 organizations that have been awarded grants!

180 Degrees – $65,000. Youth living in 180 Degrees' transitional housing will be provided labor market information about in-demand occupations and the requirements need to obtain jobs in those career pathways. Case managers will connect youth with appropriate resources where they can obtain education, certification, and trainings. Local contact: Dan Pfarr, Dan.pfarr@180degrees.org

Achieve Minneapolis – $50,000. Direct services to Minneapolis Public Schools students. Support students to achieve secondary education goals, explore, apply to, and access postsecondary education opportunities; develop financial literacy and soft skills; and acquire a broad and deep knowledge of career pathways opportunities. Local contact: Danielle Grant, dgrant@achievempls.org

African Community Services – $60,000. The program will provide career exploration and planning activities along with work readiness skills training, mentoring, and job training and placement. Youth will have the opportunity to learn about in-demand careers and have the ability to earn credentials in high-growth fields. Local contact: Hassan Omar, homar@africancs.org

Afro American Development Association – $60,000. The project's goal is to increase the number of New American youth that are on a trajectory toward living-wage jobs that allow them to support a family and break out of poverty. Project activities to support the goal include facilitating youths' discovery of their talents, interests, and abilities; building youth awareness of career options and pathways; offering education and training to build job skills, and; creating access to valuable work experiences. Local contact: Hukun Abdullahi, hukun@aadevassoc.org

American Indian OIC – $75,000. The core activities of the project include work readiness camps, field trips to local businesses and post-secondary institutions, connection to paid internships and traditional youth employment opportunities; secondary credit and diploma attainment, and assistance with college and FAFSA applications. Local contact: Joe Hobot, joeh@aioic.org

Anoka County – $50,000. Programming is aligned with WIOA Youth programming. Youth will participate in intensive career readiness training, career pathways exploration. Youth will also receive support in exploring and applying to postsecondary settings. Local contact: Nicole Swanson, Nicole.Swanson@co.anoka.mn.us

Banyan Community – $50,000. The ASPIRE program focused on high school youth will emphasize earning high school diploma. Banyan Scholars program focuses on college age youth and supporting them with earning associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, and certificate programs. Also emphasizes youth employment opportunities. Local contact: Joani Essenburg, joani@banyancommunity.org

Brooklyn Park EDA – $75,000. The BrookLynk program facilitates job training, financial literacy training, job coaching, and paid employment opportunities. Wraparound services are also provided on a case by case basis to help ensure program completion. Local contact: Breanne Rothstein, Breanne.Rothstein@Brooklynpark.org

Career Solutions – $75,000. Youth participants will have an individualized career plan with identified goals. Career counseling will include review of labor market information, career exploration activities, career pathways opportunities, credential trainings, and wraparound support services. Local contact: Tammy Biery, tammy.biery@csjobs.org

City of Duluth – $75,000. The program relies on Individual Service Strategies (ISS) that outlines training needs, work experience, and barriers that need to be resolved to obtain and retain employment. Youth will complete work readiness training workshops and will participate in paid work experience opportunities with community partners. Local contact: Elena Foshay, efoshay@duluthmn.gov

City of Minneapolis – $700,000. Through on-the-job experience, professional support, and work readiness training, Step Up interns develop foundational skills. Youth learn work readiness skills and participate in paid work experiences with local employer partners. Local contact: Deb Bahr-Helgen, deb.bahr-helgen@minneapolis.gov

City of St. Paul – $575,000. Participants learn about career pathways in high-growth industries and in-demand occupations through career exploration, meeting industry professionals, field trips to worksites, information about St. Paul Public Schools Career Academies. Credential opportunities are available to youth in certain industries. Local contact: Michael Hahm, Michael.Hahm@ci.StPaul.mn.us

Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio – $50,000. Youth will be introduced to career pathways in high-demand occupations, equipped with employment readiness and financial literacy skills, provided with paid work experiences, and supported in obtaining summer jobs or other competitive employment. Students who complete the program will leave with a certificate of employment readiness, resume with their work history and references, and a network of caring adults. Local contact: Ruby Lee - rlee@clues.org

Central Minnesota Jobs and Training Services – $100,000. Youth will increase career pathway knowledge, establish positive ties with their community, gain work skills and obtain industry recognized credentials that lead to high demand employment. Local contact: Barbara Chaffee, bchaffee@cmjts.org

Conservation Corps – $50,000. Participants are assigned to specific crews and learn alongside their peers. Participants complete educational activities and community-based projects throughout the school year. Program curriculum is focused on environmental and natural resource management. Local contact: Mark Murphy, mark.murphy@conservationcorps.org

Cookie Cart – $75,000. Youth participants will be taught life skills, leadership skills, and employment skills through on-the-job and classroom training. Opportunities for youth to earn various credentials will be provided. Youth will also learn how to network and explore careers in numerous high-growth and in-demand fields. While completing training youth will receive a paycheck by working at Cookie Cart locations. Local contact: Matt Halley, mhalley@cookiecart.org

Cristo Rey Jesuit School – $100,000. Youth participate in a two-week Summer Bridge program that consists of both an academic component and a job preparation component. The academic component supports youth in boosting math and literacy skills while the work component focuses on preparing youth for their work experience opportunity. Local contact: Jeb Myers, jebmyers@cristoreytc.org

East Side Neighborhood Services – $81,422. FutureConnect moves participants through three modules: 1. work readiness skill development; 2. career pathways exploration; and 3. paid work experiences. The goal of the program is for participants to demonstrate increased knowledge of workplace professionalism and navigation of job search systems in order to find employment that leads to career goals. Local contact: Kristine Martin, kmartin@esns.org

Elpis Enterprises – $41,400. A social enterprise that provides work readiness training and work experience to youth living in unstable situations. Staff support participants with developing a career plan. Various industry recognized credentials are available for youth to obtain. Postsecondary education support is also provided to participants. Local contact: Paul Ramsour, paul@elpisenterprises.org

EMERGE – $50,000. Youth in high school will be offered supports focused primarily on school completion, work readiness, career exploration, and education planning. Youth who are out of school or approaching graduation will be offered support that will assist them in entering the workforce, with career navigation, work readiness, paid internships, career training, and job placements. Local contact: Mike Wynne, wynnem@emerge-mn.org

Evergreen YFS – $73,436. Program will work closely with the Youthbuild program and referrals from internal programs. Staff work directly with youth to prepare them for education and employment. Support services will be provided to ensure youth can take advantage. Local contact: Jana Wolff, jwolff@evergreenyfs.org

Greater Bemidji – $80,000. Participants create an individual employment plan including options to learn about employer expectations, work readiness, careers in high demand occupations, and technical training opportunities. Work experiences and credentialing opportunities will be provided to youth. Wraparound services are offered to ensure successful completion of programming. Local contact: Dave Hengel, dhengel@greaterbemidji.com

HIRED – $50,000. The program helps young people on probation build confidence, work readiness and life skills to prepare for employment in high-growth and in-demand sectors. The talents, interests and skills of participants are used to identify paid employment opportunities that would be suitable for them. The program also helps youth create and implement a plan to enter into a career. Local contact: Julie Brekke, julie.brekke@hired.org

Ka Joog – $60,000. Ka Joog uses labor market information and industry data to inform and determine the skills building classes, credentialing opportunities, and paid internships that are offered to youth. Local contact: Mohamed Farah, mfarah@kajoog.org

Karen Organization of MN – $50,000. Participants will gain the tools, information and resources necessary to make strategic and informed decisions about their future. Youth will learn to use labor market information to identify high-growth and in-demand careers. Older youth will be referred to adult credential training programs. Local contact: Alexis Walstad, Awalstad@mnkaren.org

Keystone Community Services – $50,000. Work readiness trainings, skills trainings to earn technology-related credential, paid youth internships, career exploration workshops, and individualized job coaching and mentoring to identify career pathways. Local contact: Mary McKeown, mmckeown@keystoneservices.org

MAHUBE-OTWA – $46,842. The program intends to serve youth in high quality internship to support them with career exploration, skill building, and experience to pursue career pathways opportunities. Wraparound services will be provided to ensure participants successfully complete programming. Local contact: Elizabeth Kuoppala, Lkuoppala@mahube.org

Minneapolis Park & Recreation – $175,000. Youth participate in a varied of seminars and workshops that focuses on careers and occupations, social and basic living skills, and the importance of STEM skills and the environmental responsibility of living green. Youth will be provided work experiences throughout the Minneapolis park system. Local contact: MaryLynn Pulscher - mpulscher@minneapolisparks.org

Minnesota Computers for Schools – $50,000. STEM Pathways program works to systemically address economic and racial inequities in the Twin Cities by providing youth STEM career exploration and guidance, training, certification, and work experience to equip them with the skills and motivation to pursue further education or a subsequent career in STEM. Local contact: Tamara Gillard, tgillard@mncfs.org

Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training – $50,000. The program will provide work readiness training to youth participants and provide paid work experiences. Youth will be co-enrolled in MYP and/or WIOA Youth programming to ensure wraparound services are provided to participants. Opportunities to explore apprenticeships with unions will be made available to youth who are interested. Local contact: Marie Damiano, marie.domiano@nemojt.org

Pillsbury United Community – $50,000. The L2L includes five rungs of youth engagement from exploratory to highly focused internships. It begins with club level involvement, progresses to short-term stipend-based experiences or internships that introduce youth to real-life application of learned concepts. The third rung includes paid internships with experts who directly train and employ youth participants. The fourth rung is a more advanced paid internship for youth with industry recognized certification opportunities, additional training and employment. Lastly, the fifth rung is called Public Allies and is a leadership development, paid work experience for 18-24 year old youth. Local contact: Adair Mosley, AdairM@pillsburyunited.org

Project for Pride in Living – $75,000. The JAG curriculum used at LEAP sites promotes a career pathways approach that assesses young people's career interests, aptitudes, addresses barriers, and identifies youth career pathways in high-growth industries. Through self and career exploration, young people create multiple iterations of a post-secondary plan. LEAP staff connect youth to relevant work experiences, internships, and apprenticeships. Local contact: Antonio Cardona, antonio.cardona@ppl-inc.org

Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Programs (CEP) – $100,000.A Career Pathways model approach will used for the program and will include career exploration, job search support, information on training programs, labor market information, and connections to business in the form of hands-on work experience opportunities. Local contact: Vicki Leaderbrand, VickiL@.rmcep.com

Regional Workforce Development Area 5 (Southwest Minnesota Private Industry Council and South Central Workforce Council) – $150,000.Programming will provide work readiness trainings, career-specific skills training, and paid work experience opportunities. Additionally, programming will connect youth to longer-term career opportunities. Local contacts: Carrie Bendix, cbendix@swmnpic.org and Heather Gleason, hgleason@workforcecouncil.org

Southeast Workforce Development Inc. – $50,000. Four unique career pathways trainings will be provided to participants. Younger youth will be exposed to entrepreneurial and Information technology through Code Savvy programming. Young adults (17-24) will begin programming with work readiness trainings and move on to industry-specific career pathways and have the opportunity to earn an industry recognized credential. Local contact: Jinny Rietmann, JinnyRietmann@workforcedevelopmentinc.org

Somali Community Resettlement Services – $100,000. Participants will be provided information on occupations in demand. Each participant will identify credentials for their career pathway plans. Financial literacy trainings and wrap around services will be provided to participants. Local contact: Abdullah N. Hared, anhared@somalcrs.org

South Sudanese Foundation – $50,000. Programming will provide participants with the opportunity to enroll in a coding training program, CNA pathway, or childcare pathway. Coding training will be provided through Nice Guys Corporation and will provide youth with the training necessary to prepare youth for entry level web developer positions. Local contact: Matour Alier, matour20@gmail.com

UpTurnships – $50,000. Programming consists of four components: 1. concentrated, holistic employment coaching; 2. work readiness training; 3. financial literacy education and wealth building; and 4. an introductory employment experience which can include paid internships. Local contact: La Tasha Shevlin, Lshevlin@upturnships.org

Urban Roots – $50,000. Programming will provide paid internship experiences to youth. In addition, youth will complete job readiness trainings and information about labor market information. Life skills supports will also be provided to youth. Local contact: Hayley Ball, hayleyball@urbanrootsmn.org

Youthprise – $75,000. Core activities include education programming leading to high school diploma or GED, assistance with enrollment in post-secondary programs with career interests. Wraparound services will be provided and assistance connecting youth to programs leading to industry recognized credentials. Local contact: Marcus Pope, marcus@youthprise.org