well School may be out for the summer but a Summer Youth Employment Program and Newark is teaching students to kick-start their future the program offers students ages 14 to 24 exposure to a number of apprenticeships like carpentry the training becoming part of newark's goal to keep Kids Safe inspired and out of trouble Melissa Rose Cooper reports as part of our ongoing Series Chasing the Dream that focuses on Justice poverty and Economic Opportunity the events occasions and memories I have already experienced at Behringer High School will always stick with me along with the bonds that have been forged from sweat and hard work opportunities Micah Charles says he has thanks to the carpentry training program at Barringer Barringer High School [Applause] after entering as a sophomore from Trinidad in 2021 Micah says learning to build with his peers has had a great impact on his life the accommetry program has taught me what a good day's work really means come in early and being one of the last to leave staying until the job is done and not put enough will be done today for tomorrow I have learned to work with people and events that will further my career in education I have greatly increased my commentary and construction skills in framing Java installation CNC router operation finished carpentry Vanishing and Sonic Construction soft skills and interactive skills the carpentry training is part of newark's goal to keep kids off the streets through its Summer Youth Employment Program this year nearly 3 000 students across the city are participating in various work programs the city of Newark Summer Youth Employment Program is not just focused on sending our youth and people to work we value the importance of Youth and Young adults being fully prepared to enter the workforce and have transferable skills to carry them throughout life almost three million dollars in private donations along with additional funding from the city will help ensure kids in the program have what they need to be successful mayor Ras Baraka is saying it has come a long way since he was a teen there's a long-term kind of development that that exists now that didn't exist then you know the kind of career Readiness workplace uh you know skills being developed soft skills financial literacy all these things that that are important and engaging kids in experiencing careers and trying to figure out what they want to do with their life before they make decisions that they can't reverse an important focus of the program since City officials say kids should be presented with all available options instead of just College the majority of the kids are not choosing College as an option coming out of high school and so what are those kids doing well a lot of those kids when they grow graduate a lot of them either they find jobs that are not meaningful and not able to take care of them or a lot of them get themselves into trouble right and and so by the time they come down to my office for us to assist them they have now created some roadblocks that we now have to take away because we have not given the children these other options like trades to go into and we've only used college or the the the the the mentality of college as the pathway for them to be successful and kids in the program say it's a life-changing experience that's also teaching them so many valuable lessons I've become more independent carpentry has taught me time management and prioritizing what's important always putting your safety and others safeties first carpentry taught me the confidence as a female that I can sex succeed in carpentry and whatever else I want to accomplish in this world students also say one of their goals is to build homes that can be donated to the city to help people in need a chance to pay it forward to the city that's pushing them to achieve their dreams for NJ Spotlight news I'm Melissa Rose Cooper major funding for Chasing the Dream is provided by the JPB foundation with additional funding from the Peter G Peterson and Joan Gantz Cooney fund [Music]