Good luck with a welcomed inititive.
Speaking from experience, the pathetic state of the US education system has made it very difficult to find quality young talent. There is a substantial talent gap in the labor pool once you get under age 40.
Desperate for quality employees, my company signed onto a work study program in cooperation with a local charter high school almost 10 years ago. The paid internships are focused in one department, but many of the kids apply for part time summer seasonal job openings to gain experience in multiple departments.
The parents who put their kids in this inner city charter school represent lower middle class immigrant families. About half the kids are from single parent homes. It speaks well of their parents instilling a strong work ethic and an eye to the future when a 17 year old is willing to work 20 hours a week in the summer to help them get ahead in life.
Several kids that came through our internships have been hired full time in the years since the program started. About half of them have become long term employees. The rest left for better paying jobs or college.
Our company's next generation of middle management leaders will come from this group of kids in their late teens/early 20s. We have so few quality employees in their 30s that the 20 somethings are already filling key supervisor positions.
