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| Source: Fab Youth Philly |
By Sam Piha
When asked, older youth cite they are most interested in opportunities to gain work experience that is meaningful, making the real world a better place, and that can translate into their ability to earn their own money. Fab Youth Philly (FYP) is a Philadelphia-based youth development organization that provides innovative, award-winning programming for youth, with a programmatic focus on workforce development opportunities for teens ages 15-19. Below we interview Rebecca Fabiano, Founder and ED of Fab Youth Philly about their program offerings that promote youth employment and workforce development.
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| Source: Fab Youth Philly |
Q: FAB Youth Philly has emphasized the importance of engaging youth in work through your summer program and school year offerings. Why is this?
A: We have emphasized the importance of engaging youth in work/employment during the summer for several reasons. First, the summer presents an opportunity for deeper and extended engagement with teens. We can see them five days a week for 5-8 weeks, which allows us to build and deepen our relationships with them, and for them to build and deepen relationships with their peers, other stakeholders (partner organizations, community members, etc.). That can be up to 200-250 hours of time to support teens developmental needs, including establishing financial independence, exploring their passions and interests, and building social capital & professional networks. We know that people who are employed in their teens are more employable as an adult and have greater lifetime earnings than those that do not.
Q: Many of your program offerings engage youth in work that serves their community. Why is this important?
A: Our work is guided by three youth development principles:
- Positive relationships;
- Clear, fair and high expectations;
- Opportunities for teens to connect, navigate and be productive.
We are also keenly aware of teens developmental needs and with these things in mind, we know that teens need and want the opportunity to give back to their community.
For our Play Captain, Safety Captain and our new Lifeguard Training Certificate, the teens often talk about what drew them to these opportunities was to be of service to their community. They talk with pride as a Play Captain about their work “decreasing summer slide and helping children to return to school prepared to learn”; as a Safety Captain, they talk about “a desire to solve problems in their community”, and our new Lifeguard trainees, talk about wanting to “help open pools in their neighborhood so kids have a fun place to go in the summer”.
“Many of our Play Captains report that they enjoy being a Play Captain because they can help children reduce the summer learning slide from the games and activities they play and facilitate.” – Rebecca Fabiano
Q: Can you describe each of your youth employment program components?
A: Work Permits for Teens: In many cities, teens need a “work permit” or “working paper”. Our staff has been trained to provide that permit to youth in Philadelphia. It is considered one of the (MANY) vital documents they need to be able to work.
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| Source: Play Captain Initiative |
“For more than 85% of our teens, this is their first job experience; and we take that very seriously. We build in from application to exit survey opportunities for them to experience and practice things they may encounter again with future employers.” – Rebecca Fabiano
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| Source: Fab Youth Philly |
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| Source: Fab Youth Philly |
Youth Advisory Board: In December 2022, we launched our Youth Advisory Board with eight teens, who have been part of previous FYP programming. Being on the Youth Advisory Board is a paid position and members meet weekly between the months of September and May. The Youth Advisory Board is tasked with planning events, reviewing Play Captain & Little Library training, supporting participant recruitment and outreach. They are learning about budgeting, planning and decision making. We plan to keep these numbers relatively low, employing up to 10 teens per year.
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| Source: Fab Youth Philly |
Our plan in the fall is to pay teens $10 to learn how to swim (thereby increasing the number of young people who have this important life skill, possibly decreasing water safety issues at public pools); then, for those who want to, they can test into the Lifeguard Certification program at $12 hour, and then be hired by PPR at $16 in the summer. Teens learning to swim will go on field trips and have guest speakers to help connect them to the rich history of public pools and swimming and to help develop their identity as a swimmer, while the teens in the Lifeguard Training program will continue to get workforce development workshops.
Q: For many youth participants who obtain first time jobs, do you offer any financial literacy info on how to handle their money?
A: Yes. We provide a workshop on How to Read Your First Paycheck, one on creating a budget and in January, we invite them back for a workshop called I Got My W2, Now What Do I Do? so they learn about filing taxes.
Q: How can programs learn more about replicating one of these components and does your organization offer any staff trainings or coaching for youth programs outside of Philadelphia?
A: We LOVE to visit other cities and conduct trainings on a WIDE range of topics pertaining to workforce development, youth development, trauma-informed youth development practices, and effective facilitation. For more information you can contact me at rebecca@fabyouthphilly.com.
MORE ABOUT...
To learn more from Rebecca on the topic of program strategies to promote youth employment and workforce development, join us for this webinar:
- Engaging Youth as Workers Within High School Afterschool Programs: A Briefing Paper
- Engaging Youth as Workers in Afterschool Programs
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