Philadelphia Summer Jobs Program Leaves Students With Experience, Money In Pockets
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia's summer jobs program for teenagers is wrapping up this week.
The city's WorkReady program saw 1,600 young adults spending the last six weeks learning what it was like to work in the "real world" in jobs coordinated by the Urban Affairs Coalition. Brandon Robinson, a senior at Mastbaum High School, says in addition to $7.25 an hour, his restaurant job provided him with a new appreciation for culinary skills.
"The way they prepare the food, it's just amazing," he says. "Like, it comes out looking like different things and then when you put it all together it looks beautiful."
Frankford High School senior Nicole Watson found there's more pressure than school.
"It gave me a feel of how an actual business would be," she says, "like if I opened up my own business."
UAC president Sharmain Matlock-Turner says for many, it's their first work experience.
"Getting up in the morning, figuring out what work clothes are as opposed to play clothes," she says. "But really building relationships and connections and learning skills."
The WorkReady program is funded through public and private sources.
UAC participants gathered for a program-ending reception this morning at First District Plaza in University City.
