If you are between 16 and 24 and want paid work experience with support attached, this is the local program.
Workforce Alliance WIOA Youth Program (workforce-ks.com/programs/wioayouthprogram). Serves Butler, Cowley, Harper, Kingman, Sedgwick, and Sumner counties. Services typically include individualized career planning, paid work-based learning, labor market information, and entrepreneurship skills. Federal rules require local areas to spend at least 20 percent of youth funds on work experience specifically, so paid placements are central rather than incidental.
Youth Employment Project (YEP). The Workforce Alliance’s program assisting young adults in finding employment, covering resume creation, job search, interview preparation, soft skills, customer service, and money management. Workshops run during the academic year, job fairs are held in the spring, and most placements and internships fall in the summer, with limited year-round part-time opportunities. Work experience placements are for applicants 16 and older who have completed the workshops.
How to start. Contact the Wichita Workforce Center at 2021 N. Amidon, Suite 1100, or call (316) 771-6600, and ask about youth services.
A note on eligibility. Basic services are generally open. More intensive services and funding are typically prioritized for young adults who are low income or facing specific barriers to employment. Ask rather than assuming you do not qualify.
Sources: Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, workforce-ks.com/programs/wioayouthprogram and workforce-ks.com/about; Youth Employment Project description via USD 259 community partnerships summer jobs listing, usd259.org; U.S. Department of Labor WIOA Youth Formula Program, dol.gov/agencies/eta/youth/wioa-formula. Confirm current program availability and intake process by phone.