A job at Wal-Mart might not sound like a dream come true, but for a number of inner-city Detroit high school students it’s certainly a lot better than the unemployment line.
For a city with a whopping 50 percent unemployment rate — gulp — America’s largest retailer has teamed up with four Detroit high schools to launch “job-readiness training” that not only prepares them for the working world but gives them after-school jobs to boot.
According to the Detroit Free-Press, the program launched earlier this month and Sean Vann, principal at Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men, seemed rather pumped that 30 of his students would get guaranteed jobs at Wal-Mart in addition to 11 weeks of job training during the school day and 10 high school credits for the class and work experience. (And, unlike so many unpaid internships at arguably more prestigious businesses, this work experience actually helps these kids earn money.)
Plus, Vann pointed out another possible perk: all the stores are in suburban areas, so it exposes his inner-city students to different cultures and a different way of life.
The jobs program comes just before Wal-Mart released its fourth-quarter earnings, which, according to The Wall Street Journal, showed a whopping 22 percent increase. But before you start raiding the Wal-Mart party aisle to celebrate, they also warned that they do not predict gains for the first quarter and are feeling the ill effects of decreasing food prices. (On the plus side, I am no economist, but that does sounds like positive news for consumers, at least.)
So yes, we admit that a job at Wal-Mart might not sound like the American dream realized, but we applaud the company for helping young people gain valuable job skills — and earn some money, too.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
