EMAA HAS YOUTH JOB OPENINGS

The East Missouri Action Agency is operating with half a crew for its Summer Youth Employment Program.

The agency has 60 job openings for youth interested in job training, but only 30 have been filled so far.

People age 14 to 21 are eligible for the program. Each participant is enrolled in a 20-hour pre-employment program before going to a job site, case manager Malcolm Ringo said.

The employment classes give information about interviewing skills, resumes, cover letters and other tips on how to land a job.

The jobs range from clerical and child care to construction work. About 30 Cape Girardeau businesses provide the summer jobs. Other jobs are available at nonprofit agencies or government offices.

"Not every kid is headed to college," Ringo said. "And our goal is to give them a meaningful work experience."

Mary Walker, 18, just graduated from Cape Central High School. And by the end of May, she found a job through the agency's employment program.

Walker went to the agency and told them she wanted a job related to desktop publishing, a subject she had studied at school.

"I went to them and told them I wanted to see everything that happened to a product after I sent it to a publisher," Walker said.

And she got a job at a graphics shop in Cape Girardeau. Walker works 40 hours a week learning about custom design and publishing.

Most of the work is designing and printing pamphlets, booklets and advertisements for area businesses, she said.

Walker has plans to study international business and advertising at a Massachusetts college in the fall.

For more information about the youth employment program, call the East Missouri Action Agency at 334-5533 or stop by the office at 1111 Linden St.