The City of Atlanta exceeded its goals in the first year of Mayor Andre Dickens’ Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), according to a report on the program issued by the City. Mayor Dickens launched SYEP last spring with the goal of providing young people between the ages of 14 to 24 with opportunities to explore career interests and build work-related skills.

The program received more than 3,500 applicants, 99% of whom met all eligibility requirements and the hiring business’ criteria. Through the program, more than 3,000 young people were placed in paid employment and internship opportunities throughout nearly 100 worksites across Atlanta.

“During my State of the City address I challenged Atlanta’s public, private, philanthropic and nonprofit community to employ 3,000 of Atlanta’s young people this summer and they enthusiastically answered the call,” stated Mayor Andre Dickens. “We were able to create more than 300 positions in the City, and our partners answered our call to create opportunities all across Atlanta. We look forward to growing this program and creating even more opportunities in the coming years.”

To ensure Atlanta’s young people were presented with equitable pathways to prosperity, the City of Atlanta launched SYEP with Signing Day. Signing Day reinforced the City and business community’s commitment to employing Atlanta’s youth. The employer partners that were present – including Coca-Cola Bottling United, The Fox Theatre, Georgia Aquarium, Accenture, NCR, AT&T and IKEA – signed a pledge stating that they were committed to meeting Mayor Dickens’ challenge.

Throughout the summer, the program not only provided the city’s young people with work experience, but also offered them innovative opportunities to learn financial literacy, de-escalation training, and STEM programming. Additionally, 500 young people received MARTA Breeze Cards providing equitable access to transportation to get to worksites across the city.