Mayor David Briley recently joined hundreds of youth, parents and employers from across the city at the Opportunity Now End of Summer Celebration at Belmont University’s Beamon Student Life Center.
Opportunity Now is Metro’s youth employment initiative providing job readiness skills and financial literacy training to young adults aged 14-24 in Nashville. The summer program provides six weeks of paid internships to participants.
“In its third year, Opportunity Now has become a tremendous asset for our youth and our local employers,” said Mayor Briley. “Through both summer-time and year-round opportunities, our young people are engaging in workplace experiences, with caring adults that not only benefit them now but provide a sound foundation for their futures.”
As part of the celebration, the youth hosted table exhibits to show what they have learned during their time in the program.
This year, nearly 2,000 youth participated in the summer program, bringing the three-year total to almost 6,000. Additionally, 400 opened new banking accounts, joining the hundreds who have done so over the last two summers.
In addition to the summer program, Opportunity Now has a year-round job placement initiative that connects young people aged 16-24 directly with employers for entry-level opportunities. In 2018, 16,000 youth signed up through the Opportunity Now portal, and 8,000 jobs were posted to the portal.
