Virtual Internship Toolkit

About WorkReady

WorkReady offers summer and school-year experiences for youth to prepare for careers through opportunities for awareness, skill building and paid work experience. As we continue to build our future talent pipeline, it's crucial that we support early career preparation to put our region's young talent on the right track for a successful career.

Businesses of any size and industry can participate. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia participated in the program by hiring a young person, providing them with access to a meaningful paid work experience which promotes self-efficacy and builds the transferable skills required for young talent to secure and sustain employment.

"We believe in supporting and expanding workforce development to help young people within the city. Like many previous years, we were very satisfied with the commitment and dedication our summer student provided. We strongly encourage other employers to get involved because this will help shape the lives of future youth within the city."
- Stacy Coates, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Why Employers Invest in Young People

The business community is a critical stakeholder in ensuring that young adults in Philadelphia are included in our region's economic growth. There are a multitude of reasons for supporting early work and preparation experiences for young adults.

Building Your Talent Pipeline

Develop a skilled workforce while ensuring career readiness. Early work experiences provide an opportunity to begin aligning the skills students are learning with the workforce development needs of your company and industry.
Build value for your business with minimal resources. Tackle backburner projects and test potential entry-level hires for minimal investment.
Leadership development opportunities for your staff by supervising an intern.

Investing in the Future

Increase your bottom line. By providing career exposure to young people, your business can proactively tackle backburner projects and test potential entry-level hires
Build brand loyalty. Giving young adults an opportunity to provide input in the development of products and services can build a stronger customer base.
Support our city's economy. Summer jobs are a critical entry point for youth employment and thereby stimulates the economy.

Fostering Diversity and Inclusion

Contribute to our region's competitiveness while promoting inclusive growth.
Build a stronger company culture. Welcoming young adults from different backgrounds encourages diversity of thought, which benefits your business.
Use your business to drive real change by growing economic independence in the local community.

Practicing Corporate Social Responsibility

Practice good corporate citizenship. Further connect with the communities in which your company does business.
Attract Talent. The next generation of job seekers pays close attention to how a company does business as well as the company's connection to the community. This is a key role in attracting and retaining local talent.

Hiring interns is much easier than you think.

The Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN), managing partner of WorkReady offers employers the benefit of serving as the employer of record and manages payroll and administrative costs.

You will not be expected to do figure it all out on your own. You will have a dedicated account manager as well as resources to help you craft a quality work experience for you and the interns.

How to Invest

DONATE
to the Philly Summer Jobs Fund

Donate Now

HIRE
a summer intern

The deadline to sign up is May 30 and the cost is to hire is $2,200 per intern.

The WorkReady system is continuing to monitor stay at home orders and worksite safety protocols to determine options for in-person experiences for participants. We are encouraging employers to assess their ability and capacity for virtual internships where interns gain experience while working in a remote professional setting and is not physically present at your worksite. Worksite supervisors will need to complete necessary clearances if they are supporting in-person or virtual opportunities.

Sign up by May 30

VOLUNTEER
to participate on a career panel or career day

Engage your employees in career panel or career days to create awareness for young people. Career Days will be online events in which employers and professional organizations will meet with young people in a virtual environment to share their experiences, allowing youth to connect their academic work to their professional aspirations. For employers, it is an opportunity to engage multiple departments within your organization and “give back” to the community in which you do business.

Sign up to volunteer by May 30

Interested in hosting a virtual internship but need some support? Read and download our toolkit for valuable tips and resources.

Virtual Internship Toolkit

Contact Us

WorkReady is managed by the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN). If you have additional questions on becoming a WorkReady employer, you can contact PYN directly by emailing jbrennan@pyninc.org.

2020 investors

PLATINUM

(Financially Supported 25 - 99 Summer Jobs)

Bank of America ∽ Comcast ∽ Independence Blue Cross

GOLD

(Financially Supported 10-24 Summer Jobs)

CHUBB ∽ Cigna ∽ Citizens Bank ∽ Deloitte LLP ∽ Wells Fargo

SILVER

(Financially Supported 1-9 Summer Jobs)

Accenture ∽ Brandywine Realty Trust ∽ Educational Data Systems, Inc. (EDSI) ∽ Jefferson ∽ M&T Bank ∽ PECO ∽ Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO ∽ Univest

Organizations that invest in various youth programming across the WorkReady system

DIAMOND (Financially Supported 100+ Summer Jobs)

City of Philadelphia ∽ City of Philadelphia, Department of Human Services ∽ City of Philadelphia, Department of Parks and Recreation ∽ Philadelphia Works

PLATINUM (Financially Supported 25 - 99 Summer Jobs)

Bank of America ∽ Citizens Bank ∽ Comcast ∽ Drexel University ∽ Independence Blue Cross ∽ Lenfest Foundation ∽ PECO ∽ United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey ∽ Wells Fargo

GOLD (Financially Supported 10-24 Summer Jobs)

Amerihealth Caritas ∽ Cancer Treatment Centers of America ∽ CHUBB ∽ H. Chase Lenfest ∽ Jefferson

SILVER (Financially Supported 1-9 Summer Jobs)

AECOM ∽ Alston Beech Foundation ∽ Brown's Superstores Inc. ∽ The Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia ∽ The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia ∽ CityLife Health ∽ Community College of Philadelphia ∽ CVS Health ∽ Customers Bank ∽ Deloitte LLP ∽ Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation ∽ Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC ∽ Educational Data Systems, Inc. ∽ Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates ∽ Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia ∽ Fox & Roach Charities ∽ Jefferson Health - Northeast ∽ Lutron Electrics ∽ M&T Bank ∽ Morgan, Lewis & Bockius ∽ Parkway Corporation ∽ Peirce College ∽ Pennoni Associates Inc. ∽ Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine ∽ Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO ∽ Philadelphia Gas Works ∽ Philadelphia International Airport ∽ Philadelphia Federation of Teachers Health and Welfare Fund ∽ Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) ∽ Philadelphia Regional Port Authority ∽ The Rittenhouse Foundation ∽ The Southeastern Pennsylvania Manufacturing Alliance (SEPMA) ∽ SMG - Pennsylvania Convention Center ∽ Slalom, LLC ∽ Stoneleigh Foundation ∽ Subaru Foundation ∽ Tierney ∽ University City Science Center ∽ Visit Philadelphia ∽ The Wawa Foundation ∽ Wills Eye Health System

Hear directly from employers on why they invest in WorkReady

Hear directly from those that have been impacted by businesses investing in summer jobs

DeAndre Jones

Snapshots

Summer jobs stories from previous participants.

Read Snapshots