(Washington, DC) - Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser officially launched the application period for the 2022 Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (MBSYEP) and encouraged District youth between the ages of 14 and 24 and interested employers to apply online at summerjobs.dc.gov. Applications will be accepted until Monday, February 28, 2022.

"For 43 years, the Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program has been providing a fair shot to young people in DC," said Mayor Bowser. "We're asking Washingtonians to reach out to the young people in their lives and make sure they know applications are open. We're also calling on employers to work with us to engage young people this summer and create opportunities that could be life-changing."

This year, the program is slated to provide over 14,000 District youth the opportunity to earn while they learn and explore potential career paths. MBSYEP also continues its partnership with the federal Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) agencies - the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Securities Exchange Commission. Nearly 100 MBSYEP participants will again have the opportunity to gain valuable professional experience in the financial regulatory industry. The FIRREA agencies have intern cohorts from 11 DC high schools-Eastern, H.D. Woodson, Anacostia, Ballou, Cesar Chavez, Columbia Heights, Roosevelt, Cardozo, Ron Brown, Dunbar, and McKinley Tech.

"We are thankful to all of our employer partners, who continue to show up for District youth and provide work experience opportunities that are helping shape our future workforce," said DC Department of Employment Services Director Dr. Unique Morris-Hughes. "Mayor Bowser's continued investments in MBSYEP, and our strong partnerships with employers will allow us to serve 14,000 youth this year and prepare them for economic independence and career success."

Established in 1979 by Mayor Marion S. Barry, MBSYEP is a locally funded initiative that provides young people in the District with six weeks of enriching and constructive summer work experience through subsidized placements in the private and public sectors. The program partners with hundreds of DC employers who are uniquely positioned to provide relevant training and guidance to DC's youth in order to help them develop the positive work habits and job skills necessary to secure future employment.

Two years ago, MBSYEP launched its first virtual program providing six weeks of work experience for approximately 9,000 youth, and continued with a hybrid model in 2021 that provided nearly 12,000 youth summer earn and learn opportunities. MBSYEP utilizes the CareerEdge platform to allow participants to use their mobile devices to complete professional development sessions, practice job interviews and connect with employers, and will again offer in-person work options to older program youth.

Today, MBSYEP continues to be the largest summer youth employment program per capita in the country and stands as a national model. The District has been recognized as one of the top cities for summer jobs by Forbes and WalletHub.

MBSYEP 2022 will begin on Monday, June 27, 2022 and will end on Friday, August 5, 2022.

For more information on MBSYEP, please visit summerjobs.dc.gov.