SHRM-ATLANTA PARTNERS WITH THE MAYOR’S YOUTH PROGRAM TO PREPARE HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS FOR SUMMER INTERNSHIPS

For the third year in a row, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) – Atlanta, is partnering with the Mayor’s Youth Program to prepare high school seniors for the workforce. The Internship Academy, which began in 2007, is a series of workshops covering time management, communications, ethics, dressing for the workplace, budgeting and finance. The curriculum was developed by SHRM-Atlanta representatives who volunteer their time, teaching the classes during Saturday sessions in the spring. The Internship Academy is mandatory for all Atlanta Public School High School students who wish to obtain a summer internship through the Mayor’s Youth Program.

Mayor Shirley Franklin started the Mayor’s Youth Program in 2005 as a way to address the rising numbers of student drop outs and decrease in graduation rates. She adopted the APS senior class and began helping each student lay out a plan for after high school. One phase of this plan encourages all students to gain real world experience through participation in a paid summer internship after high school. Students are placed in interest specific internships throughout the public and private sectors, and are paid between $8.00 and $12.00 per hour. Internship sponsors have included The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Airlines, Emory Healthcare, IBM, the National Black Arts Festival, Public Broadcasting of Atlanta, Turner Broadcasting System, and the Woodruff Arts Center.

Following the first summer of internships, the Mayor’s Youth Program decided to add some much needed workforce training to better prepare students for their first day on the job. SHRM-Atlanta stepped up to the plate and offered to partner with the program to help students learn workplace skills and adapt to business culture.

“SHRM-Atlanta has played a major role in the success of the summer internship program. Students gain an awareness of the importance of their behavior in a professional atmosphere as well as the consequences they face should they do not take their roles seriously,” said Mayor Shirley Franklin. “The skills they are building allow them to make good choices not only while at work, but in their daily lives, whether they are balancing their check books, saving money to buy a car, thinking about how much they can afford to spend on an apartment, or even deciding which career path will afford them the life style they want to live.”

Internship Academy Workshops are scheduled for March, 21st, April 11th, and April 25th, from 8:00 am to 1pm at the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency located at 818 Pollard Boulevard. For more information, go to www.mayorsyouthprogram.org.