A Look Ahead at Summer 2022
The PIC’s summer jobs program could not happen without the commitment and dedication of our employer partners, and this year that statement is even more true. We thank our anchor employers for their commitment to making internship programs happen in the most challenging of circumstances.

Thank you to the internship coordinators at our partner employers for their hard work and dedication in developing new internship models that balance virtual, in-person, and hybrid summer jobs, and for facing head-on the challenge of recruiting internship supervisors when many employees are working a hybrid schedule.

Thank you as well to our CBO partners, who have mobilized to welcome back students to in-person summer jobs this summer at camps, recreation centers, and other community-based programming, supported by funding from the state’s YouthWorks program and from Bank of America and other foundations.

This summer, we continue to face COVID-era challenges. Fortunately, we are not facing these challenges alone. Mayor Michelle Wu has fully embraced the goal of offering employment and work-based learning to every teenager. She recently added a $2.5 million in city funding for student wages for youth working in community-based organizations and government agencies this summer.

Perhaps surprisingly, student recruitment is proving to be more challenging than expected. The pandemic has had a profound effect on our city’s high school students. Disruption and constant uncertainty have exhausted and, at times, deflated all of us. Imagine what it has been like to be a teenager over the past two-plus years. It has been hard to stay motivated. We are asking students to move beyond their comfort zones this summer. Once they are on the job, we will need to be more supportive than ever.

Together with our many partners, under the banner of the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program, we will organize a summer of work and learning like no other, moving millions of dollars in summer wages into the community at a time when it is most needed.
Welcome New Board and Council Members
The PIC welcomes new members to its Board of Directors to provide high-level strategy, oversight, and accountability of the PIC as a nonprofit organization.

  • Danny Best, Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
  • Kevin Churchwell, MD, President and CEO, Boston Children's Hospital
  • Robert Higgins, MD, President, Brigham and Women's Hospital
  • Chrissy Lynch, Chief of Staff, Massachusetts AFL-CIO

As members of the PIC's Board of Directors, they will also serve on full Boston Private Industry Council which serves as the city’s workforce development board, also known as MassHire Boston Workforce Board. They are joined by several other new members:

  • Kate Bennett, Administrator, Boston Housing Authority
  • Kristin Driscoll, Director, Workforce Development, Boston Children's Hospital’s
  • Sharon Scott-Chandler, Executive VP & COO, Action for Boston Community Development, Inc.
  • Sacha Stadhard, Manager, Policy and Program Administration, The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
  • Erin Travassos, Talent Acquisition Manager, Eversource Energy

This broad-based Council, Boston’s MassHire Workforce Board, is a diverse group of leaders dedicated to overseeing job training, career center services, and workforce development strategies in order to make the benefits of the growing Boston economy available to all Boston residents. Members of the PIC Board and the Council are appointed by Mayor Wu.
Be Mass Competitive Workforce Training Initiative
The PIC’s Opportunity Youth and Postsecondary teams are pleased to partner with the Be Mass Competitive Program to recruit candidates for a paid training program for high school graduates who are unemployed or under-employed. Participants will receive specialized training in administration and customer service at Bunker Hill Community College for ten weeks. Then, they will intern at participating companies and receive career-placement services leading to upwardly mobile employment opportunities.

The Be Mass Competitive Program is an initiative of the Mass Competitive Partnership and is being implemented by the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges at Bunker Hill Community College. The purpose is to connect young adults of color with employment within major companies and institutions by providing skills training rather than by requiring a college degree.
Skill-building Vacation Bootcamps
This year, the PIC and our partners implemented a series of skill-building bootcamps for Boston Public Schools high school students during both February and April vacation weeks.

More than a hundred students participated in a variety of 2-,
3-, and 4-day virtual courses, including Robotics, Architecture and Design Thinking, Financial Literacy, Microsoft Coding, College and Career Preparedness, Data Science, and 3D Printing.

These bootcamps provided students with an opportunity to build new skills and to learn from and network with industry professionals. Students received a stipend for participating and priority access to summer jobs and internships. Projects included hands-on model design projects to coding their own version of Pac-Man.

Thank you to all our partners and sponsors who made these bootcamps possible: ABCorp, Bank of America, Biogen, the Boston Red Sox, Boston Society of Architects, CFA Society, Finegold Alexander Architects, Formlabs, GBH, Goody Clancy, HFHM Architects, iRobot, John Hancock, the Latin STEM Alliance, Markforged, MassRobotics, Matthew Whalen, Microsoft, Northeastern University Bridge to Calculus, Pulse Films, Santander, the Sasaki Foundation, Solomon McCown & Cence, State Street, The Loop Lab, and Wayfair.
PIC Board, Staff Speak at New Success Boston Equity Framework Launch
PIC Board Chair Darren Donovan and PIC HOPE Forward Postsecondary Coach Wilmer Quiñones Melo joined Mayor Michelle Wu at a special event launching Success Boston's new equity framework. The event celebrated the commitment of 15 local higher education institutions to the postsecondary success of Boston public school graduates. The new equity framework re-commits to the goal of a 70% college completion rate – not just for each BPS graduating class, but also for each subgroup as disaggregated by race and gender.

Success Boston is Boston’s citywide college completion initiative, dedicated to increasing the number of Boston Public Schools (BPS) graduates who earn postsecondary credentials. Success Boston is organized by The Boston Foundation, along with the City of Boston, BPS, the PIC, nonprofit organizations, and local higher education institutions.
Student Spotlight: Vania Ramos, Bunker Hill Community College, Brockton District Court Intern
Vania Ramos, a senior year at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) and PIC Job Club member, has begun her internship at the Brockton District Court – a step that brings her one step closer to achieving her career goals.

Vania, a West Roxbury Academy graduate, is determined to pursue her dream of working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As a Criminal Justice major in her senior year at BHCC, Vania seizes every opportunity to gain work experience as graduation nears. Through the help of the PIC Career and Employment Specialist, Janice Chory, Vania received coaching to prepare for her interview and improve her resume, which has allowed her to take an internship in an administrative role at the Brockton District Court.

Vania also joined the PIC’s new Job Club Program, a five-week workshop on job readiness that provides education and support to students looking for work and acts as a support group for job seekers. Under the guidance of Janice and PIC Postsecondary Career Coach Zainab Salejwala, participants learned about job search techniques, networking, and other job-related activities. In addition, discussions focused on self-identity, self-awareness, strengths and needs, job postings and applications, resumes and cover letter writing, interviewing, and a 30-second elevator speech.
PIC 2021 Annual Report
Earlier this year, the PIC launched its 2021 Annual Report.

As we reflect on our accomplishments in 2021, the PIC would like to thank all our employers, partners, and supporters for making our work possible. We are excited to continue working with you to build a better Boston.
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