Connecting Milwaukee teens to summer work

MILWAUKEE — There’s a push to get more teenagers working over the summer, but it comes at a tough time.

The number of jobs secured by teens fell 25% last summer compared to the summer of 2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That trend seems to be continuing, as many services that help place people in jobs report that there are even fewer opportunities for teens this summer.

Milwaukee County, city and school district leaders are working to change that by offering paid internships to high school students.

Spectrum News met up with some of them at Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) where they take some job-related classes before starting their internships.

Milwaukee Public School student, Keira Cruz, got into the hospitality and tourism internship.

“I wanted to learn more from it and maybe in the future, become an event planner,” said Cruz, who’s going into her senior year at South Division High School.

Across campus, another group of MPS students is learning how to make their own professional pages and search for jobs on LinkedIn.

“There’s so much stuff out here that you could do to end up where you want to be,” said Mahogonie Wright, who attends James Madison Academic Campus and wants to pursue a career in healthcare. “It’s a pleasure to be able to do anything that, you know, enhances my possible career choices.”

After some classroom preparation, students are paired with a local company, small business, nonprofit or city/county office for seven weeks.

The goal is to match them in the field they’re interested in. This is tied to Employ Milwaukee’s Earn and Learn program.

Teens work 20 hours per week and earn a wage of about $12 an hour.

“It creates a better sense of self for that student,” said Emily Brown, internship coordinator for MPS. “A better sense of purpose, so that hopefully one day they will find their passion.”

Brown said students must demonstrate a commitment before being accepted into the program.

“If we can’t see that you’re coming to school every day, how are we going to know that you’re going to go to that internship or opportunity every day?” she asked.

Paid summer internships for teenagers are in high demand, as fewer employers are hiring seasonal workers.

Brown doesn’t want to turn interested students away, but growth of the internship program is reliant on public and private grants, donations and businesses willing to participate.

“We’re always looking for additional partnerships so that students can extend what they learn in the classroom into the real world,” Brown said.

Both Kiera and Mohagonie acknowledged that these opportunities give them something productive to do while they’re out of school. They’d like to see all Milwaukee high schoolers get this chance.