Since 2003, PYN, has provided young people summer employment opportunities through the WorkReady program. In Spring 2020, because of the impact of COVID-19, PYN pivoted WorkReady programming to include virtual & hybrid experiences to continue offering Philadelphia young people summer career readiness opportunities.
In June 2021, PYN engaged RFA to conduct a six-month study of the virtual and hybrid WorkReady Summer experience. Through this partnership, RFA, in collaboration with PYN and its providers and employers, has aimed to:
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document cost structures of virtual and hybrid WorkReady Summer programming in 2021;
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examine perceived differences in these cost structures compared to in-person programming;
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define high-quality virtual and hybrid summer youth employment programming; and
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identify resources needed to implement virtual and hybrid programming.
Key Findings
- Virtual and hybrid programming share many—but not all—of the same categories of costs.
- Providers indicated that personnel time was the largest category of cost for virtual/hybrid WorkReady Summer programming, and that staffing costs for virtual components should not be underestimated.
- While some may assume virtual programming has fewer costs, we found that when compared to in-person programming, virtual programming may be similarly costly.
- Employers and providers echoed literature on promising practices when they reported on elements that could facilitate high-quality virtual and hybrid youth employment programming. They shared that programming should cater to young people’s interests and focus on “real world” content; leverage multiple modes of interaction to engage young people; assess and address technology needs; focus on relationship-building; and provide one-on-one supports for young people.
To learn more about our findings on the cost and quality in virtual/hybrid summer youth employment programming, read the full report here.
