WASHINGTON, D.C. – To help connect young people with summer jobs, Oak Harbor residents and WSOS Community Action leaders will meet at the White House on Wednesday to collaborate with businesses, non-profits, and government at the White House Summer Jobs Plus Summit. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today congratulated Oak Harbor residents Robert Pauley, Kasey Peterson and her mother Sherry Peterson, and WSOS Community Development Specialist Kerrie Carte on their selection to participate in this conference on strategies aimed at helping young people seeking summer employment.

“Summer jobs can provide invaluable, formative experience for Ohio’s young people,” Brown said. “By connecting young adults with employment opportunities today, we can help prepare them for good paying jobs in the future.”

According to the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, about 14,500 youth received Workforce Investment Act services last year, which include job placement and training resources throughout Ohio.

WSOS Community Action Commission, Inc. – created as a result of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty” – is based in Sandusky County and serves income eligible rural Ohioans with family development, early childhood education, housing, energy, and senior services. WSOS also focuses on industry sector partnerships to train skilled workers in shipbuilding and marine trades and as outlined in Senator Brown’s SECTORS Act, S. 665.

Brown is the author of the Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success (SECTORS) Act, which addresses the disparity between high unemployment rates and a shortage of skilled workers for many emerging industries. Despite the nations’ high unemployment rate, there is still demand in today’s labor market for skilled workers. This is particularly true for “middle-skill” jobs that require more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year college degree. These jobs makes up nearly half of America’s labor market and provide good compensation for workers. The SECTORS Act would organize stakeholders connected to a regional industry – multiple firms, unions, education and training providers, and local workforce and education system administrators – to develop plans for expanding that industry.

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