Item 9: Draft Recommendation — original pdf

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BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Economic Prosperity Commission Recommendation 20251119-00x: Summer Youth Employment & Workforce Development Date: November 19th, 2025 Subject: Recommendations for Summer Youth Employment & Workforce Development Motioned By: Aaron Gonzales Seconded By: Raquel Valdez Sanchez The Economic Prosperity Commission recommends several key actions to strengthen the Summer Youth Employment Program and better prepare Austin’s future workforce. These policy recommendations outline how the City of Austin can make strategic investments that improve career pathways and long- term income opportunities for high school students from low-income households. The Economic Prosperity Commission encourages the Austin City Council to do the follow low to no cost actions ● Centralize the application process for both students and employers (ECHO) across City and County programs. ● Improve coordination and resource-sharing among all SYEP partners (County, City, and AISD). ● Connect P-TECH internships offered through AISD with Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) apprenticeship opportunities. ● Establish requirements for Chapter 380 businesses to employ high-school students for summer jobs and make financial contributions to SYEP. They have a vested interest in developing a skilled local workforce ● Develop an outreach and awareness strategy targeting Infrastructure Academy partners, Capital Idea, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Skillpoint Alliance, the startup community, Chambers of Commerce, and other key workforce-industry groups. ● Ensure employer-funded internships, with payment structures aligned to employer tax status to unlock additional external funding opportunities. ● Coordinate job-shadowing days through SYEP so AISD students can visit internship sites prior to the summer—open to both program participants and non-participants. This can support students who lack documentation (e.g., Social Security cards) and reach those currently underserved. ● Increase public access to data on student outcomes and overall program performance. ● Create employer-friendly guides that explain how hosting high-school interns can benefit their organizations. The Economic Prosperity Commission encourages the Austin City Council to pursue the following actions requiring investment by private companies, community college partners, or the city ● AI literacy certifications embedded into the curriculum in summer youth employment tracks Rational: Operations and Meeting Student Demand Informing these recommendations, we met with the Travis County Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), the City of Austin’s Summer Youth Employment Program, a committee of founding members of the City’s program, and reviewed peer-city models. Through this process, we learned that of the 717 students who applied to the City’s program, only 213 were offered jobs. The County’s program showed similar trends. This gap is largely due to limited private-sector employer participation in both programs. We also found substantial duplication of effort between the City and County programs. Each has its own student application, job-readiness training, and outreach to employers—often to the same employers— without coordination. This duplication occurs every summer. Funding structures give the City of Austin significant leverage to improve alignment. The City program is funded by the City and supported by national partners such as JP Morgan Chase and Comerica Bank. For the County program, City funding makes up roughly 40% of the overall budget. This creates an opportunity for the City to help guide both programs toward more coordinated, efficient use of resources. Students are placed in public-sector departments, nonprofit organizations, or private businesses based on their interests. The City currently pays $13 per hour for every student placed in a summer job, regardless of whether the employer is a City department or a private company. We see an opportunity to reduce City costs by requiring large employers to contribute financially, especially for students returning to SYEP or those with apprenticeship experience through P-TECH. Right now, the City subsidizes 100% of wages even for placements at private for-profit companies. Currently, no Chapter 380 employers participate in SYEP. The City could require Chapter 380 partners to hire high school students and make a financial commitment to SYEP. Although Chapter 380 agreements reference workforce development, they do not specifically address youth employment. The City of Austin and Travis County SYEPs were originally established to reduce crime in low-income communities while high school students were out of school. Students accepted into the program typically work for six weeks. Barriers to participation include transportation to job sites, incomplete applications (often because students lack key information required for employment forms), and high demand for placement in certain sectors such as healthcare and technology. Given the large number of interested youth, SYEP represents an underutilized workforce development pipeline. For comparison, only 286 adults participated in specialized job training through the City’s main workforce development program. As Austin anticipates the transformation of sectors such as healthcare, energy, education, and manufacturing through AI as well as metro area growth, the need to invest in early workforce preparedness is increasingly urgent. Operations and Meeting Student Demand Informing these recommendations we held meetings with the Travis County Summer Youth Employment Program, and the City of Austin’s Summer Youth Employment program, a committee of founding members of the City’s Summer Youth Employment program, and evaluated peer city programs. In our investigation we learned that out of 717 students that applied for the cities program only 213 students were offered a job. Similar statistics applied for the county program. This discrepancy is due to lack of private sector employer participation in both the County and City programs. There is a duplication of efforts by both the County and City programs and each have their own application for students to fill out, each have their own job readiness training, and in many cases call upon the same employers for their interest in accepting student workers. All of this happens every summer with no coordination between them. The city’s program is funded by the city and partially by outside national bodies such as JP Morgan Chase, Comerica Bank, and for the county, city funding comprises 40% of the overall budget. This gives the city of Austin significant leverage to provide guidance and direction so that funds are used efficiently and efforts are coordinated across both programs so those efforts are not duplicated. Students are placed depending on their interest public sector city and county departments, non-profit organizations, or private businesses. The City pays $13 an hour to each student that is placed in a summer job, regardless if it is with a private for profit employer or if the job is directly with the city. We see an opportunity to reduce city costs if large employers pay into this program. Right now, the city subsidizes the cost of hiring these students 100%, but we are proposing a future where employers are partially responsible and share the cost, especially for students with previous participation in this program or apprenticeship experience through P-tech. Currently, no chapter 380 employers participate in the summer youth employment program. The could require a commitment for chapter 380 Businesses to employ high school students and for these businesses to make a monetary investment in SYEP. Chapter 380 agreements do reference workforce development but make no mention or requirement of youth employment. The City of Austin and Travis County summer youth employment program was originally established to reduce crime in low income communities while high school aged students were out of school. Students Commented [1]: how many students in the county program? Commented [2]: what % of jobs do private employers hire vs. demand? What large employers participate? Commented [3]: what other funding sources for the county program? Commented [4]: what city departments are participating, any not? Commented [5]: can you give us a list of job titles that these students are employed in? accepted into this program with a job work 6-weeks. Challenges for interested students include distance to the job site, incomplete applications because they may not know all the required information for a job application, and concentrated demand for certain industries such as healthcare and technology. Given the size of interested potential workers, this is an overlooked area for workforce development. For comparison, the city had 286 workers that participated in specialized job training through the City’s workforce development program. As the City of Austin thinks about sectors like health care, energy, education, and manufacturing will be transformed by AI, underscoring the need for workforce preparedness. Currently there is a large amount of data that would be of interest to the public that is not available regarding the Summer Youth Employment programs. Information such as, what are the career outcomes of students who participate in these programs, do students that participate in these programs statistically make more money in the 1-5 years after the program than students who did not, what is the distance traveled to job site for students, where are the job sites located, Many 14-18 students who are participating in the P-tech program for instance have received training in fields such as construction science, cybersecurity, real estate, health science, business administration, and tourism. As part of the P-tech program these students participate in apprenticeships in this field throughout the year after receiving classroom education. After receiving this education and completing an apprenticeship throughout the year, these students often have no clear pathway to continue work in this field throughout the summer. By partnering with AISD more closely to target students enrolled in P-tech programs, participating employers in P-tech programs, and to recruit employers Even if students are not able to be accepted into the programs due to demand from high school job seekers being greater than supply of available jobs in this program, both the county and city program can still coordinate to help interested students in our area schools. SB68 in the 88th legislature of Texas allowed for excused absences for career exploration. Summer Youth Employment Programs should coordinate job site visits for critical industry career pathways for students. Where the city council and economic development department can be the most effective is to create an awareness strategy among potential partners in the community. In a brief discussion with the Hispanic Chamber it was shared that there is a high interest in seasonal workers, and there is interest among their business community to be a greater partner with this program. We see an opportunity for partnerships with the Infrastructure Academy, Capital Idea, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Skillpoint Alliance, startup community, and Chambers of Commerce, but this would require a communications and awareness strategy with these partners. A portion of this strategy could be creating employer guides to answer frequently asked questions, give them ideas for potential jobs HB8, SB68 While the Texas state Legislature and Governor have prioritized workforce development, and shown support, recent developments at the State and Federal level point to risks of funding being withheld and the city should prioritize independent control over workforce development. In a recent report by LBJ Commented [6]: any data on incomplete applications? Commented [7]: how are students currently recruited within schools? Commented [8]: how have conversations with hispanic chamber gone? Professor, Steven Pedigo, Blueprint for Metro areas in Texas, workforce development is a key strategy that cities must look at. For: Insert commissioner names Against: Abstain: Absent: Attest: Ryan Sperling, Staff Liason