Washington, D.C.-  Today, Congressman Brian Baird announced more than 700 new jobs for young adults in Southwest Washington.   The Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council (SWWDC) is now accepting applications for these positions which will allow low-income young adults to learn valuable workplace and vocational skills, while earning a paycheck at the same time.  The more than $2 million dollars required to fund the program in Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"Programs like this provide young adults an invaluable experience," said Congressman Baird. "For many, this will be their very first job.  It will teach them how to survive and thrive in the modern workplace.  They will be giving back to their community, learning about the value of community service, and earning a little money for their future education or career training all at the same time."

The program offers youth 180 hours of paid work experience over a six week period this summer in a variety of jobs ranging from administrative, landscape, trail and building maintenance, light construction, retail, food service, food processing, digital design, video development, events management, marketing, website development and maintenance, teaching assistant, child care, news production, reading coach, library assistant, CAD design, and recreation leader.

Youth who want to apply for the program can visit www.jobeligibility.com to determine whether they qualify and to identify whom to contact.

Organizations interested in serving as worksites should contact Hahli Clark at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 360-567-1061.  For more information about the Summer Youth Employment Program, visit www.swwdc.org/summeryouth.