TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to examine a program designed to leverage our contracts with companies for a local job and internship preference for Long Beach students.
DISCUSSION
The City of Long Beach spends millions of dollars on purchases from different companies every year. The City has large contracts with companies such as Office Depot and Long Beach BMW Motorcycles. Many of these companies have existing paid and non-paid internships.
Time and again our first job or career path is helped along the way through mentors, friends and networking opportunities. Access to jobs and networking prospects are one of the major barriers for people, who are in college or graduating from high school, to enter into the world of employment.
We would like to create a program with Erik Sund, Long Beach Business Relations Manager and Bryan Rogers, Manager of Workforce Development, to form a partnership with our local high schools, junior colleges and universities, to request that the companies we contract with provide first right of refusal opportunities for students who are graduating from Long Beach schools. This would apply to new contracts. For contracts already established we would ask them to voluntarily enter into the program. Finally any contract that has a bargaining collective we would ask them to show a good faith effort to outreach locally.
These would include paid and non-paid internships. Although this would not be a binding obligation by the contract fee to the City of Long Beach, however, we can make it part of "the ask" when we negotiate contracts with these large companies. We would keep track of companies which opt into helping with the paid and non-paid mentoring internships and recognize them for their efforts and have an annual report of companies who have worked to create networking and internship opportunities within their organization.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
COUNCILMEMBER ROBERT GARC...
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