"I know it can seem daunting, but it will be worth it."
That's how 18-year-old Isabelle Williamson describes her experience working for the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce in 2021 and the Lewis and Clark County District Court in 2022.
She's one of 75 students in Montana working this summer as part of the state's Summer Jobs Program, NBC Montana reports.
The nonprofit American Jobs for America's Youth Montana, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, created the SJP in 2019 to serve high school students and recent graduates who build work skills, explore careers, and strengthen the local workforce.
The program has grown from its roots in Helena to serve 75 students this year, with new regional programs in Anaconda, Billings, Bozeman, Whitehall, and the Flathead Valley.
The SJP matches high school students and recent grads with paid work experience, providing work skills training and connecting students with adult mentors.
"The work skills training and opportunities to grow skills are unmatched," says McKinley Winkle, vice president of the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce.
Funding for the program comes from the Gianforte Family Foundation and private foundations, sponsors, and individual donors.
The program helps communities as well as the young employees, Eklund Rowley says.
"They really learn about what brings
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Ganesh Natarajan is the Founder and Chairman of 5FWorld, a new platform for funding and developing start-ups, social enterprises and the skills eco-system in India. In the past two decades, he has built two of India’s high-growth software services companies – Aptech and Zensar – almost from scratch to global success.