ST. LOUIS — Drivers passing by the Bayer YMCA Thursday were flagged down by teenagers offering free fruit and vegetables at a roadside produce stand.
The teens in the Gateway Region YMCA’s do much more than help wrangle kids in the summer camp. They gain leadership skills, career training, college prep and community service along with a salary through the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Agency on Training and Employment.
The fruit and vegetable stand in the parking lot on Page Boulevard provided lessons in advertising, marketing and teamwork as the teens made signs and encouraged visitors to take watermelons and vegetables donated by Ole Tyme Produce in St. Charles.
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“We try to do a lot of great things to not only make it educational but also make it fun,†said Jake Henderson, director of civic engagement for Gateway YMCA. “We have some really bright individuals, and getting them civically engaged as young people means they will be engaged as adults.â€
ºüÀêÊÓƵ lags behind other regions in creating jobs and developing a skilled workforce, according to the from Greater ºüÀêÊÓƵ Inc. The area’s workforce challenges start early, where “too many students attend schools that lack the resources and wherewithal to prepare them for the future.†Poor academic achievement “acts as a brake on inclusive economic growth by making it almost impossible for students to start on pathways into quality jobs.â€
The YMCA counselor-in-training jobs and similar workforce development programs were started to give teenagers meaningful summer experiences beyond the traditional fast food, lifeguarding or babysitting gigs.
Jayland Swink, 15, one of the counselors-in-training, said he enjoyed giving away the healthy food as part of his job on Thursday.
“We’ve been looking at the community and decided we wanted to help out,†he said.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ teenagers have many choices for valuable summer experiences that can bring long-term benefits. With career training, the teens are paid to get a jump-start on opportunities in fields including agriculture, medicine, science and construction. The businesses, government agencies and nonprofits that sponsor the programs in turn are developing a pipeline of new talent:
- Clayco founded the  in the wake of the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson. The program exposes underrepresented high school students to the building industry with mentorships and hands-on projects. Students meet monthly through the school year and receive internships during the summer and through college. About 150 graduates are now employed in the field.
- The 16- to 20-year-olds in the Missouri Botanical Garden’s  learn about careers in conservation, horticulture and sustainability while earning $12.50 an hour. This summer, the corps will work at Heru Farm in Florissant, plant sunflowers in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ, learn archery and forestry with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
- The ºüÀêÊÓƵ Science Center’s  program takes high school students and immerses them in training opportunities for college and careers in aerospace, computer science, engineering and medicine.
- ºüÀêÊÓƵ city offers a  for residents ages 14 to 24 in low-income families. Along with work experience, participants are assigned to a job coach who helps with financial literacy, resume building and career planning.
- The nonprofit  launched in 2012 to connect school districts, families and businesses with “meaningful†jobs, training and mentors for 14- to 24-year-olds.