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
- Year-round youth jobsResident asks for youth jobs available all year round.2025–26City-wide
- Work-study programs for low-income youthResident asks for study-and-work programs for low-income young people who must work, noting many are alone without family and want to both work and study.2025–26City-wide
- Promote trade school and other alternatives to collegeResident asks the city to promote trade schools, community college and entrepreneurship as more affordable alternatives to a costly four-year college degree.2025–26East Boston
- Funding for youth jobsProvide money for youth jobs.2025–26City-wide
- Career-readiness programming for youth ages 15-21Resident asks for funding for programs that help young people ages 15 to 21 build occupational skills and career readiness for a changing economy.2025–26Roxbury
- Year-round employment pathway for newly arrived immigrant teensResident asks to extend the current two 10-week sessions into year-round programming that builds skills and professional networks for recently immigrated teens, giving them a stable entry to work.2025–26City-wide
- Expand Immigrant Youth Advancement program to 10 monthsResident asks to expand the school-year Immigrant Youth Advancement program from 10 weeks to 10 months, since immigrant youth often need to support their families financially.2025–26City-wide
- Extend Immigrant Youth Advancement fellowship to 10 monthsResident asks that the Immigrant Youth Advancement fellowship be extended to a full 10-month experience with work experience and training so young people have a better future.2025–26City-wideSubmitted in Spanish
- Full-year city fellowship for young immigrants with stipendsResident asks for the City Fellowship for Young Immigrants to offer a full year of programming and support, including scholarships or stipends, to help participants succeed.2025–26City-wide
- Extend Immigrant Youth Advancement fellowship to 10 monthsResident asks that the Immigrant Youth Advancement fellowship be extended from a brief school-year program to a full 10-month experience with work experience and training.2025–26City-wideSubmitted in Spanish
- Make MOIA immigrant youth fellowship run September to JuneResident asks to extend the 10-week MOIA fellowship for immigrant youth to run through the school year, giving stable pay, mentorship and support.2025–26City-wide
- Extend immigrant youth program to ten monthsResident asks to expand the Immigrant Youth Advancement program from 10 weeks to 10 months during the school year so participants gain more work and life skills.2025–26City-wide
- Year-round youth employmentResident asks for more year-round youth jobs, which would help build relationships between youth of different racial backgrounds.2025–26City-wide
- More year-round jobsResident asks for more year-round jobs, without specifying who they are for or giving a reason.2025–26City-wide
- More youth jobs and programs for Black youthResident asks for more youth jobs and programs, including activities for Black children and young adults and programs that involve families.2025–26City-wide
- Pathway to Adulthood program for recent graduatesResident asks for a citywide program giving recent graduates financial literacy, trade opportunities, entrepreneurship help, license grants and pathways to homeownership to bridge economic disparities.2024–25City-wide
- BetOnYouth skills and work experience for young adultsResident proposes an initiative giving young adults aged 18-30 skills, work experience and resources to foster leadership and innovation, with equal access for marginalized youth.2024–25City-wide
- Youth employment program with mentorsResident proposes a social program that builds infrastructure to employ youth and develops mentors to support them.2024–25City-wide
- Youth jobs and school funding, Teen EmpowermentResident asks for youth jobs and school funding, and for programs like Teen Empowerment to help the community and create a safer environment.2024–25City-wide
- Teen jobs access and safety resource appResident wants jobs to be more accessible to teens and suggests an app promoting safety, career programs, mental health centers and connections between services and community issues.2024–25Mattapan