More than 1,000 young adults in eastern Connecticut will be receiving job training through internship programs in manufacturing, healthcare and agriculture. Young adults can pick from different employers in the 44 towns in the region.
“It’s for young adults that are 14 to 24 to give them experience in their community to understand career pathways, labor market, in-demand industries and also get a sense of what it’s like work out in their community,” said Cindy Wells, a youth employment and training coordinator for EastConn, one of the program's partners.
All interns are paid minimum wage and the year-long program can lead to future employment opportunities.
“You have some youth that have leadership roles where they're paid a little bit more than minimum wage,” Wells said. “And EastConn administers all the payroll — the youth get paid every other week. They hand in their timesheet every other week.”
“So, they’re really learning those day-to-day operations of what it’s like to work and EastConn also handles the workers compensation through this grant that’s provided,” Wells added.
The program is paid for by federal, state and private sources and run by the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board.
