Summer Youth Employment Program (S.Y.E.P.)
The 2023 SYEP application deadline was April 14, 2023. Thank you to everyone who applied this year!
What is S.Y.E.P.?
The Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) is the nation’s largest youth employment program, connecting NYC youth between the ages of 14 and 24 with career exploration opportunities and paid work experience each summer.
Participants have the opportunity to explore their interests and career pathways, develop workplace skills and engage in learning experiences that help in developing their social, civic and leadership skills.
Who Are We?
We are Commonpoint Queens, a Non-Profit organization that is better known to you as Samuel Field YM&YWHA, Inc. when you apply for these programs. We are a PROVIDER of the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). We partner with the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) who serve as our program funder. In addition to partnering with hundreds of worksites, Hats & Ladders is an online platform that offers work readiness training and other program content.
Where Can I Work?
For our older youth (16-24 years old), we are very proud to offer exciting internship opportunities in a variety of employment fields. These include, but are not limited to clerical, custodial, retail, healthcare, financial, legal, political, environmental, recreational and child care. Here are some examples of worksite partners we have*:
- The Bronx Zoo
- Edible Arrangements
- Five Towns Mini Golf & Batting Range
- Hyatt Place Hotel
- Kumon Math & Reading Centers
- Laser Bounce
- Museum of the Moving Image
- NYC Parks Department
- NYS Department of Motor Vehicles
- New York Hall of Science
- Queens Botanical Garden
- Queens County Farm
- Walgreens Pharmacy
What Will I Do If I’m 14 or 15 Years Old?
Learn about career opportunities and make a difference in the community through paid, Project- Based Learning (PBL) classes. These interactive sessions are led by an experienced professional and culminate with the presentation of a collaboratively designed final project showcasing the knowledge and skills acquired over the course of the 6 week experience. Past course offerings include:
- Youth Advocacy
- Business 101
- Shark Tank Entrepreneurship
- Our World, Our Future Environmental Justice
- How We Communicate
- My New York
- Visual Storytelling
- The Immigration Experience
Timeline
- March- Program Recruitment
- Early April- Application is released
- Late April- Application closes
- Early May- First Lottery Is Held
- May through June- Weekly lotteries, orientation sessions and job placement
- First week of July- Program starts (Cohort A)
- Second week of July- Program starts (Cohort B)
- Both cohorts end after 6 weeks, typically is Mid-Late August
Community Based SYEP
Community Based S.Y.E.P. is open to any youth between the ages of 14 and 21, as of the program start date, who can prove New York City residency. Selection is handled through a random lottery process, with no priority or preference given to any applicant.
For more information contact Adam Fier, Director, SYEP Initiatives, at (718) 286-8121 or [email protected].
Career Ready SYEP
Career Ready S.Y.E.P. is designed for active students between the ages of 14 and 21 who attend specific N.Y.C. Department of Education schools that our agency is partnered with. Those schools are:
- Bayside High School
- Benjamin N. Cardozo High School
- Flushing High School/Veritas Academy
- Forest Hills High School
- Francis Lewis High School
- John Bowne High School
- Martin Van Buren High School
- Newcomers High School
- Pan American International High School
- Queens Academy
- Queens High School of Teaching
- Richmond Hill High School
Program selection is recruitment based and there is no lottery. We work directly with school administrators to consider applicants for program enrollment. Though very similar to the Community Based model, Career Ready participants receive additional work-readiness training before their summer experience begins. The program is co-created by the school and our organization to reflect the school’s program focus and students’ career interests.
For more information contact David Baker, Director, Career Ready SYEP, at (718) 286-8121 or [email protected].