Through the YouthWorks program, young people across Massachusetts spent their summers gaining life skills and hands-on work experience to prepare for their future careers. YouthWorks provides paid summer job placements and teaches young people how to succeed in a work environment and take the next steps in their education and career journeys. 

Let’s see what our YouthWorks partners and participants have been up to this summer! 

YouthWorks kicked off this summer with an announcement of over $22 million awarded to cities, businesses, organizations, and training providers to support 6,540 youth in 2025-2026! 
Getting Oriented

At the beginning of summer, YouthWorks participants gathered for orientation to prepare for their first day at their work sites. 

Photos: Milford Youth Center

First Day Fun

When YouthWorks participants start their first day of work, they are prepared to support the business and ready to gain valuable training and experience to develop their own skills. 

Employers who are interested in hosting YouthWorks participants work with MassHire Workforce Investment Board or MassHire Career Center staff to identify employment opportunities and match them with a young person with aligned interests and skills. 

Photos: Milford Youth Center

Unlocking Success 

In addition to job placements to gain real-world experience, YouthWorks participants build key skills from the Sucesso do sinal curriculum. Signal Success – a work-readiness training program designed by Commonwealth Corporation – teaches young people how to develop strong communication and teamwork skills, show initiative at work, navigate job applications, and more. 

“[Signal Success] really covers many of the skills they need like communication and collaboration. They need to be able to communicate with their employer, coworkers, and they need to be able to get along with people.” He adds, “Showing up on time and following through, those are very important skills and there are some really good activities that help students practice that.” – Steve Sell, Assistant Director, Map Academy 

Photos: Milford Youth Center

Moving On Up

YouthWorks participants play an active role in setting goals and assessing their progress at their job. YouthWorks programs help young people understand job structure, how to manage the responsibilities of their role, and how to use their new skills to move upward. 

In Milford, YouthWorks participants joined the teams at Bob’s Marina, Sweet Inspirations, Nutriforia, and We All Hoop, gaining skills in a range of industries and learning from talented local business owners.

Photos: Milford Youth Center

In Franklin Hampshire County, CommCorp’s Regional Resource Manager for YouthWorks, Kathryn Kirby was interviewed by YouthWorks participant Aydin Balg who spent the summer working at Greenfield Community Television. He gained experiece in production and editing and developed a creative cartoon project about a man navigating ups and downs in his career.

“It was such a joy to be interviewed by Aydin. Watching him in action, I could see how much confidence he’s gained, how thoughtfully he approaches his work, and how much pride he takes in it. Aydin is a great example of how YouthWorks empowers young people to grow, build their skills, and envision their future goals.”

YouthWorks participants in Holyoke had the opportunity to interview Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones, honing their interviewing and media production skills while getting advice from the Secretary on joining the workforce as a young person.

Photo: Holyoke Media

At MAP Academy this summer, 20 students completed the Career Exploration program, along with 10 students in the first cohort of Map Academy’s new Career Development program focused on advanced training, real-world experience, and job readiness.

Photos: MAP Academy

The MassHire Berskhire Workforce Board paid visits to some of the 82 young adults participating in YouthWorks summer job placements in their region, including Immar who is gaining valuable experience at Starbucks.

Photo: MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board

In Lawrence, Sueños Basketball and the MassHire Merrimack Valley Workforce Board are helping young people build skills on and off the court. YouthWorks participants receive training on leadership, community service, and more. Then, they transition into coaching younger athletes and leading summer basketball camps. 

Photos: Sueños Basketball

We are thrilled to see the progress that these young people are making toward a successful and secure future through YouthWorks opportunities. As participants wrap up their summer job placements, we look forward to continuing this momentum as young people start working at job sites throughout the school year. In Massachusetts, our commitment to young people’s growth never stops!