Youth jobs & fellowships
Paid, year-round and school-year work, internships and fellowships that give Boston teens and young adults income and work experience.
Residents consistently ask for paid, year-round youth jobs with fair pay, especially for youth of color, low-income and immigrant teens, plus trade and career pathways.
Theme grouped and summary written with AI from this theme's resident ideas.
192 ideas across three cycles
| Cycle | Ideas | Share of all ideas | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 77 | 6.3% | 4 of 20 |
| 2025–26 | 23 | 1.9% | 19 of 20 |
| 2026–27 | 92 | 6.9% | 5 of 20 |
Needs that keep coming back
Year-round paid youth jobs
Residents want youth work that lasts the full year rather than a short summer or eight-month season, with 2024-25 ideas often asking for $18-24 an hour.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Income and equity for families of color and low-income families
Many ideas say youth jobs help Black, brown and low-income young people support their households and gain fair access to work experience.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Trade, career exploration and skills training
Residents ask for free trade classes, career exposure and vocational pathways so young people can reach skilled work.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Longer fellowships and jobs for immigrant youth
Residents want immigrant youth to have longer, paid, school-year programs with stipends, mentorship and work experience.
Raised in 2025–26, 2026–27
2024–25
Nearly all of the 77 ideas called for year-round youth jobs paying $18-24 an hour, often as a pilot, and asked the City to use the full $5 million set aside for participatory budgeting.
2025–26
Only 23 ideas came in, scattered across topics, with a clear cluster asking to extend the 10-week Immigrant Youth Advancement fellowship to 10 months.
2026–27
Most of the 92 ideas asked to restore a $500,000 budget cut for school-year youth jobs and fellowships at community organizations, including for immigrant youth.
New in 2026–27
New in 2026-27 are asks to restore a specific $500,000 cut to school-year jobs, put youth jobs in the city budget instead of philanthropy, offer winter jobs, and expand PowerCorps-style programs, plus one objection to limits on youth job applications.
Funding so far
The one winning project, Youth Financial Literacy and Empowerment Workshops ($250,000), serves youth at job sites but does not fund jobs, so year-round paid jobs, school-year jobs and immigrant youth fellowships, and free trade training are not yet addressed by a winning project.
Projects are linked to themes by matching each project's description to the themes; this is not an official City classification.
Youth Financial Literacy and Empowerment Workshops
2025–26 · $250,000 · related theme
This proposal provides financial literacy workshops at youth job sites, local events, and colleges for young people ages 14-24.
Departments that often lead this work
- Office of Workforce Development
- BCYF
- Boston Public Schools
Suggested with AI; not an official assignment of responsibility.
Ideas in Youth jobs & fellowships
192 ideas
2024–25: 77 · 2025–26: 23 · 2026–27: 92
- More jobs for young peopleResident asks for more job opportunities for young people across all cities, to help youth.2026–27Chinatown
- Paid creative arts and vocational programs for youthThe resident asks for more funding for creative arts and technical vocational programs that pay youth and provide credentials, investing in underdeveloped communities of color.2026–27City-wide
- Free trade classes for youthThe resident asks for free citywide trade classes for youth to ease their transition into trade schools, especially for those lacking resources.2026–27City-wide
- Trade and career programs for youth ages 13-21Resident asks for more trade and career programs for youth ages 13 to 21, starting a program at 13 and a trade by 16.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Korean
- Trade program using green spaces, for Haitian youthResident proposes a trade program, noting available green spaces and Haitian community resources, to provide job opportunities and keep youth away from violence.2026–27MattapanSubmitted in Korean
- Expand PowerCorps with more space and staffResident asks to invest in PowerCorps with a bigger space, more participants, a comfortable environment and more staff, to bring people together and improve workplace balance.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Korean
- More jobs for young peopleResident asks for more jobs for young people.2026–27City-wide
- Stable jobs for young people 16 to 24Resident asks that people aged 16 to 24 be able to get stable work so they can be independent regardless of status.2026–27City-wide
- More jobs for ages 16 to 24Resident asks for more jobs for young people aged 16 to 24 to help them become more independent.2026–27City-wide
- More PowerCorps-style programs for youthResident asks for more programs like PowerCorps for city youth, to bring in people of all backgrounds.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Korean
- More jobs for youthResident asks the City to create more jobs for young people.2026–27City-wideSubmitted in Korean
- Fund community jobs for young peopleThe resident asks that money go toward helping young people get jobs in their community.2026–27City-wide
- Restore funding for school-year youth jobs and fellowshipsResident asks the City to restore $500,000 for community organizations offering school-year youth jobs and fellowships, helping Black and brown youth facing financial and systemic barriers.2026–27City-wide
- Restore school-year youth jobs and fellowships fundingThe resident asks to use $500,000 to restore funding for community organizations offering school-year youth jobs and fellowships, including for immigrant youth, so marginalized young people can earn income and grow.2026–27City-wide
- School field trips for career explorationThe resident proposes a program of school field trips exposing teens to diverse careers, since many youth have limited exposure to career fields.2026–27City-wide
- Fund youth jobsResident supports youth job funding as a community priority that empowers young people as they grow.2026–27City-wide
- Use participatory budget to restore youth jobsResident asks to use participatory budgeting funds to restore youth jobs to help close the income gap in disadvantaged inner-city communities.2026–27City-wide
- Fund school-year youth jobs, including immigrant youthResident asks the city to fund school-year youth jobs, including for immigrant youth.2026–27City-wide
- Fund school-year youth jobs, including immigrant youthResident asks for school-year youth jobs, including for immigrant youth, to give job experience and connections and extra income to low-income and immigrant families.2026–27City-wide
- Restore $500,000 for school-year youth jobsResident asks the city to restore $500,000 in cut funds for school-year youth jobs so young people stay employed year-round, gaining skills and household income.2026–27City-wide