Some of the 190 students who completed the Step-Up summer
employment and training program.
Students graduate from Step-Up
The Mayor and University President give a "hats off" to 190 Minneapolis High School students graduating from summer job program
Contact: Lindsay Eberlein, Communications Department, (612) 673-3163
For Immediate Release
August 17, 2004 (MINNEAPOLIS)At a graduation ceremony today, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks and local employers congratulated 190 Minneapolis high school students who successfully completed the Step-Up summer employment and training program.
Step-Up is part of the City’s Close the Gap initiative aimed at bringing Minneapolis’ unemployment rate in line with that of the metro area. The youth employment and training program provides Minneapolis high school students and recent graduates with work readiness training and summer job opportunities. Public or private sector employers pay 100 percent of the teen’s wages for the summer.
Fifty-five employers pledged 214 jobs to Step-Up participants. To qualify for a summer internship, teens had to complete more than eight hours of work readiness training that included resume writing and mock interviews. Employers included the Minnesota Supreme Court, Xcel Energy, Mesaba Airlines and Camden Auto.
J. Keith Moyer, publisher and president of the Star Tribune and Jerry A. Grundhofer, Chairman and CEO of US Bankcorp serve as Close the Gap’s corporate champions, and are providing support throughout the initiative. Ben Taylor, from the Star Tribune, was among those who provided celebration remarks (pdf) at the graduation ceremony at the University of Minnesota, Coffman Memorial Union - Great Hall, 300 Washington Ave. SE.
Published Aug. 18, 2004