Young adults in Ramsey County will be able to get job training while getting paid under a new $10 million program launched by the county and the City of Saint Paul. (Learn about the Bridgemakers’ Tech Entrepreneur Fellowship, powered by Full Stack Saint Paul)
The program uses funding from the federal American Rescue Plan, which provided $350 billion in federal money to state, local and tribal governments.
Officials said the Learn and Earn program partners with community organizations to provide young adults a chance to explore and advance in different career fields, with paid education and training for in-demand careers in fields including construction, health care, technology and entrepreneurship.
Learn and Earn offers career preparation opportunities in 13 different fields to Ramsey County residents ages 18-30, and low-income residents will be given priority.
“Our goal is to invest directly in our young people. It’s to invest directly in business to invest directly in our entrepreneurs of all ages. There’s a 6-year-old entrepreneur in this room as we speak.”
Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter
Bridgemakers is one of the organizations involved in Learn and Earn. Founder Cole Stevens was part of an effort to allow working high school students to receive unemployment benefits if they lose their jobs. The next victory for youth is more employment and business opportunities, Stevens said.