Hire Gulf Coast Youth: Internships, Summer Jobs & Career Pathways

Workforce Solutions Gulf Coast is helping connect young people across the region to meaningful career opportunities through Hire Gulf Coast Youth.

In this conversation, LaToya Casemere shares how HGCY supports youth and young adults ages 14 to 24 through internships, paid work experiences, summer jobs, pre-apprenticeships, career exploration, and training opportunities. She also explains the importance of the Power of One campaign, which encourages employers to hire, mentor, or host just one young person.

One opportunity can help a young person build confidence, gain workplace experience, grow their professional network, and take the first step toward long-term economic mobility.

Employers can get involved by offering internships, summer jobs, mentoring, career exploration opportunities, or other work-based learning experiences.

Learn more: wrksolutions.com/hgcy
Follow Hire Gulf Coast Youth on Instagram: @hiregulfcoastyouth

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome to Workforce Solutions Gulf Coast, where we talk about workforce trends, careers, and opportunities across the Gulf Coast region. Today we're talking about Higher Gulf Coast Youth, and I'm excited to be joined by LaToya Casimir. LaToya, can you tell our viewers a little bit more about this program and who does it serve?

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Absolutely. Thank you, Julia, for having me today. I'm so excited to talk about Higher Gulf Coast Youth or HCCY and the work we're doing to connect young people across the Gulf Coast region to meaningful career opportunities that create that long-term economic mobility. Higher Gulf Coast Youth serves youth and young adults 14 to 24 across our region, helping them explore careers, gain work experiences, connect to training, and ultimately transition into sustainable employment. One of the biggest areas of focus for us right now is work-based learning, which includes internships, paid work experiences, summer jobs, pre-apprenticeships, and career pathway opportunities that allow young people to learn by doing. So why are internships and paid work experiences impactful? So, Juliet, what we've learned is this. One single opportunity can completely change the trajectory of a young person's life. So that's where our employer campaign, The Power of One, comes in. The idea is simple. What if every employee in our region committed to hiring, mentoring, or hosting just one young person? One internship, one summer job, one paid work experience, one opportunity to build confidence, exposure, and connections. When you multiply that across the 100,000 plus employers in the Gulf Coast region, the impact becomes transformational, not just for youth, but for our regional economy. Because work-based learning is much more about a paycheck, it's about economic mobility. So economic mobility, what does that mean for young people today? So for many young people, especially those who may not have already had a professional network or exposure to certain injured industries, these opportunities become their first real connection to the workforce. They begin building resumes, professional communication skills, references, and workplace confidence. But equally important, they begin building social capital. They gain access to mentors, professional relationships, industry exposure, and people who can help open doors and provide guidance long after the experience ends. So social capital, why is that important? So sometimes we talk about workforce development only in terms of skills training, but relationships matter too. Exposure matters, confidence matters, and being able to walk into a workplace and feel like you belong there that really matters. So that's why Higher Gulf Coast Youth is working to serve as the bridge between employers and youth across the region. So, how can employers participate in Higher Gulf Coast Youth? So some of these opportunities are subsidized through Higher Gulf Coast Youth and WIOA funding, where we can help offset the wages and support employers in creating those meaningful experiences for young people, but other opportunities are fully employer funded, where businesses are investing directly into their future talent pipeline. Either way, our goal is the same: helping employers connect to motivated young people while helping youth access opportunities that may have otherwise felt out of reach. And so we're intentionally aligning these opportunities to high-skill, high-growth industries across the Gulf Coast region, more specifically in healthcare, construction, building trades, IT, energy, manufacturing, logistics, and much more. But we really want young people to see real pathways, not just jobs for today, but careers for the future. And at the same time, employers are facing workforce shortages and also looking for talent. So we're here to help create that connection point early, giving employers an opportunity to engage youth, shape talent, and create those stronger pipelines for their industries.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

So again, one more time for employers that are out there, can you tell us why they should join the Power of One campaign?

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Absolutely. So when we talk about the Power of One, it's not just a slogan, it's the idea that one employer can change one life, and one opportunity can create a ripple effect that impacts families, communities, and ultimately the regional economy. So if employees are interested in partnering with Higher Gulf Coast Youth, whether through internships, summer jobs, career exploration events, mentoring, or workplace work-based learning opportunities, we love to connect. You can visit WRKSolutions.com/slash HGCY or follow us on Instagram at Higher Gulf Coast Youth, because together we can help launch the next generation of talent across the Gulf Coast region.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

So, Latoya, thanks so much for joining us today and sharing important information about Higher Gulf Coast Youth and the Power of One campaign. Thank you, Juliet. So for employers watching, even one opportunity can make a lasting impact on a young person's future while also helping build a stronger regional economy.