Mayor William Capote’s pride shined bright as he welcomed the 2016 students to the Third Annual Juniors to Jobs program.  The program began in 2014 from his vision to inspire and prepare our youth from the high schools of Palm Bay for their future in our community’s work force.  Since the implementation of this program, several communities across the nation are mirroring the program after witnessing the success. 

The 2016 program kicked-off last week with 25 hours of Foundations Work Readiness Training conducted by CareerSource Brevard.  This training included presentations on Communication, Conflict in the Workplace, Soft Skills, Social Media, Resume Building, Financial Presentation and Interviews Skills 101.  Along with these presentations, students interacted with panels of employers from the community to discuss the “do’s and don’ts” of interviewing and learn about the experiences and challenges they may face throughout their careers.  The students also completed a personality assessment and a financial simulation which is best described as a simulated game of life, taking the journey of getting a job, receiving a pay check, paying bills, buying a car and a home and other financial management scenarios.

“The meat and potatoes of this program would be the work experience.  Our business sponsors have made it possible to place these 23 students in a 5 week paid internship,” said City of Palm Bay Human Resources Assistant, Jennifer Marrero.   “It has been exceptionally rewarding to watch the students grow and we are anxious to see their development at the end of the program.”

The City of Palm Bay would like to thank the following businesses for sponsoring and accepting students into their office as part of the 2016 Juniors to Jobs Program:  Bowman Consulting, Buena Vida Estates, Chick-fil-A, Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce, MBV Engineering, PRN Homecare, Spherion Staffing, and Wade Trim.  The City of Palm Bay itself is hosting a number of students in various departments, including Human Resources, the City Manager’s Office, the City Attorney’s Office, Growth Management, Palm Bay Police, Public Works and Utilities.

Official selection interviews ended on June 17^th and the students are awaiting their placements to start in their new positions beginning the week of June 27^th.

For more information, please visit City of Palm Bay, FL