College and Career Pathways
Youth Employment – Our Approach
The Skillman Foundation began working on efforts to increase employment opportunities for Detroit youth in 2008 as a response to surveys of neighborhood youth who overwhelmingly reported having few job options to obtain or aspire to. Since then, the Foundation’s investments have expanded from a small pilot project to create 300 summer jobs for youth, to establishing a youth employment consortium, to helping establish and expand Grow Detroit’s Young Talent, a citywide program that connects more than 8,000 youth with jobs each summer.
Youth Employment is one of three approaches we’re taking to expand prosperity for Detroit youth. Read about our other two approaches: College & Career Pathways and Financial Empowerment.
The Skillman Foundation
The Skillman Foundation is a grantmaking organization established in 1960 by Rose Skillman. We have granted out more than $730 million and have served as a vocal advocate to strengthen K-12 education, afterschool programming, child-centered neighborhoods, youth and community leadership, and racial equity and justice.
We are in the process of developing a new strategic framework, co-designed with Detroit youth and their champions.