Mayor Mike Duggan Launches Grow Detroit’s Young Talent 2022 summer work experience for over 8,000 Detroit youth

2022

Mayor Mike Duggan Launches Grow Detroit’s Young Talent 2022 summer work experience for over 8,000 Detroit youth

  • GDYT 2022 program provides 8,068 work experiences for Detroit youth, passing milestone of 60,000 since launch in 2015
  • Program continues to feature combination of in-person and remote experiences

DETROIT – Mayor Mike Duggan was joined today by City Council members, employers, funding partners, dozens of Detroit youth and other supporters for the launch of this year’s summer jobs program for 8,068 Detroit youth ages 14-24. The Grow Detroit’s Young Talent (GDYT) program is in its eighth year and has now surpassed the milestone of over 60,000 summer job experiences created for Detroit youth.

“After two years of having to launch the GDYT program at smaller events due to COVID-19, it’s great to be able to hold our launch announcement back in the neighborhoods again this year,” said Mayor Duggan. “The launch of GDYT is one of my favorite events of the year, as the program showcases and grows the talents of youth who will be our leaders 10, 20, 30 years from now. With over 8,000 summer job experiences this year, we are making our 60,000th GDYT summer job available in 2022.”

This year’s launch event was held at the Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan (BGCSM) Diehl Campus on Detroit’s west side. BGCSM this year will host 40 youth for their GDYT experience, focused specifically on coding skills and app development via Apple’s Code to Career program.

“It wouldn’t be possible for Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan to accomplish our mission of ensuring that youth are career, start up and homeowner ready without the support of City programs like GDYT,” said Shawn Wilson, President and CEO of BGCSM. “Together, we are providing youth with a paid steppingstone into careers in Technology, Fashion, Urban Planning, and more this summer. Youth will develop skills and gain networks which help them climb the economic mobility ladder, while developing the talent pipeline for the City of Detroit.”

New features for the 2022 GDYT program include:
  • Free one-on-one professional counselling on debt, credit and budgeting.
  • A Career Pathways Plus initiative to match youth with businesses in their preferred industries.
  • Expansion of the Industry-Led Training track to include credentialing in social media marketing and digital consumer education.

“GDYT has a wide range of partnerships that help Detroit youth develop throughout their summer employment opportunities,” said Misty Evans, director of program operations for GDYT. “Because of these partnerships, we are able to continue the programmatic improvements and innovations that make GDYT exceptional. We will continue to offer Detroit youth the best opportunities to allow them to make informed choices that shape and support their futures.”

Also attending today’s launch were members of Detroit City Council, which has shown consistent engagement and support for GDYT since the program’s launch in 2015. In 2022, almost 100 GDYT youth will work across 16 City of Detroit departments.

“Grow Detroit’s Young Talent is an invaluable resource for our youth here in the City of Detroit,” said Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield. “By encouraging and supporting our youth through various fields of exploration, training, and clear career pathways, we are empowering them to become confident, independent, and capable individuals. The tools received through GDYT are lifelong and essential in their development.”

As in previous years, GDYT is working with key implementation partner Connect Detroit to make many of the opportunities available by aligning activities across key community-based organizations and municipal departments, as well as the Junior Police Cadet Program. This work is supported by a range of funding partners, including JPMorgan Chase.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing racial and economic crises have had a disproportionate impact on young people, especially for those in under resourced communities in Detroit who have had to juggle supporting their families and preparing for their own futures,” said Jason Tinsley, Michigan market manager for J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “Early employment opportunities for young people are incredibly valuable and often provide the necessary skills, network and experience they need for future career success and economic mobility. In close collaboration with partners like Grow Detroit’s Young Talent, we can help ensure that more young people are exposed to these critical learning experiences and can benefit from an inclusive economy for a brighter future.”

Grow Detroit’s Young Talent is raising more than $13 million in 2022 to support the over 8,000 job experiences in this year’s program from a wide range of partners, including Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Center Factory ZERO, General Motors’ first fully dedicated electric vehicle assembly plant with battery assembly. At Factory ZERO, youth will get to experience work across a wide range of manufacturing disciplines, including technologies, processes, and skills specific to general assembly, paint, quality, industrial engineering and more.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to work with the City of Detroit and help this year’s GDYT participants experience firsthand the depth and breadth of career paths available to them in manufacturing,” said Jim Quick, plant executive director of General Motors Factory ZERO. “Factory ZERO is the force behind GM’s all-electric future so it’s important that we do our part to bring everybody along with us on this journey. What better way to do that than by engaging the fantastic talent that’s in our community and providing young Detroiters an environment where they can play a real role in putting some of the most exciting EVs on the road.”

Youth will complete a total of 120 hours in the GDYT program, earning an increased pay rate for 2022 of up to $15 an hour, or a total stipend of up to $1,800, depending on age and experience. This increased pay rate allows GDYT to remain competitive in today’s market.

“GDYT has provided Detroit’s youth with safe, enriching personal and professional development,” said Detroit City Council Member Mary Waters. “Our young folk are intellectually gifted, and have the skill sets to make meaningful contributions in any profession. What was missing were opportunities to participate in the workforce and cultivate the work ethic needed for success. GDYT came and filled that gap, and introduced our youth to paths beyond their wildest dreams.”

2022 GDYT career experiences will run until mid-August.

About GDYT

Grow Detroit’s Young Talent (GDYT) is a citywide training and employment program for young adults between the ages of 14 and 24. The program seeks to provide over 8,000 youth summer employment opportunities in partnership with Metro Detroit corporations, non-profit organizations, municipal departments, local businesses and the philanthropic community.

The strategic goals of GDYT are:

  • Ensure young adults have meaningful summer work experiences that create pathways to future opportunities
  • Connect young adults to providers and employers that can support their career goals
  • Introduce employers to the next generation of Detroit’s workforce
  • Align Detroit’s youth workforce development programs to streamline service delivery and improve outcomes

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC) is the lead agency for GDYT. Connect Detroit is DESC’s contracted program implementation leader working with key community-based organizations, municipal departments and Junior Police Cadet Program.