Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and US Bank CEO Richard Davis, Co-Chairs of the City of Minneapolis STEP-UP Summer Jobs Program, today issued a public Call to Action to Twin Cities companies, urging them to “step up” and participate in the 2012 STEP-UP Achieve Jobs Program on behalf of the young people of Minneapolis and our future work force. 

“There is one thing that Minneapolis employers can do right now to help themselves and our city thrive: hire a STEP-UP Achieve intern,” said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak.  “Our young people in Minneapolis are the most valuable generation we have ever raised: they speak 100 languages, cross cultural barriers every single day and are the future of our workforce and our prosperity. STEP-UP Achieve provides young people with valuable workforce experience — and provides their employer with valuable connections to the entire world.

“Our returning STEP-UP employers deserve our thanks, but they can’t do it all on their own — and unfortunately, hundreds of qualified young people are unable to get STEP-UP Achieve jobs because there aren’t enough employers coming forward. I call on every Minneapolis employer, large and small, to do their part. Step up and hire a STEP-UP Achieve intern today.”

Since its creation in 2004, STEP-UP has created valuable workplace experiences for more than 14,000 Minneapolis youth (ages 14-21) and was highlighted as a national model at a White House conference in early January.  STEP-UP Achieve, a component of the STEP-UP program jointly run by the City of Minneapolis and AchieveMpls, trains and places young people in employer-paid internships with top local companies, public agencies and nonprofit organizations.

"Investing in STEP-UP Achieve is an investment in our collective future,” said STEP-UP Co-Chair Richard Davis, US Bank Chairman, CEO and President.  “STEP-UP Achieve is now a nationally-recognized model for workforce development and youth mentorship and has provided life-changing opportunities for thousands of young people. It also yields tremendous benefits for companies by building a talented future workforce. We challenge other local companies to join US Bank by pledging a record number of new STEP-UP Achieve jobs this summer.”  

As of today, more than 80 employers have publically signed on to provide over 550 employer-paid STEP-UP Achieve jobs in 2012.  Current STEP-UP Achieve employers increasing the number of jobs they will offer in 2012 include Adolfson & Peterson Construction, the City of Minneapolis, HealthPartners, Hennepin County, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, U.S. Bancorp, University of Minnesota, VA Medical Center, Wells Fargo and  Xcel Energy.  New companies joining the STEP-UP Achieve program include ABM Janitorial, Agosto, Inc, Clear Channel Outdoor, Mark O. Finney DDS, Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, and Reve Consulting. A full list of employers who have pledged STEP-UP Achieve jobs for 2012 are listed below.

Long-time STEP-UP Achieve employer Xcel Energy has increased the number of jobs it will provide in 2012. “As an energy company, Xcel Energy sees first-hand why we need more and more talented young people—our future work force—to go into math, science and technology fields,” said Judy Poferl, Chairman and President of NSP-Minnesota. “That’s why we believe in STEP-UP Achieve and continue to increase the number of interns we hire every summer.”  

For more information about pledging a job for the STEP-UP Achieve summer jobs program or attending an upcoming STEP-UP Achieve employer information session, contact Jeremiah Brown at (612) 455-1562 or jbrown@achievempls.org.

New STEP-UP Achieve Employers and Jobs Pledged for 2012 

ABM Janitorial Services, 1 job pledged
Agosto, Inc. , 1
Bloom Health, 1 
Clear Channel Outdoor, 1
LeClair Insurance, 1
Linden Hills Co-op, 2
Mark O. Finney, DDS, 1
Mount Olivet Lutheran Church, 1
National Parks Service, 4
Reve Consulting, 1
Simba Craftware, 3
Stratford Companies, 1 
The CRIB, 5
Unisys Corporation, 2

Returning STEP-UP Achieve Employers and Jobs Pledged for 2012 

Adolfson & Peterson Construction, 2 jobs pledged
Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America, 7
American Chemical, Inc., 1
American Family Insurance, 1
Asian Media Access, 10
Augustana Care Corporation, 3
Best Buy, 3
Birchwood Care Home, 2
BlueGreen Alliance, 1
Boston Scientific, 8
Camp TEKO, 2
Cargill, 2
Catholic Eldercare, 2
Children's Hospitals and Clinics, 7
City of Minneapolis, 50
Civil Action Group, 1
Dunwoody College of Technology, 3
Ebenezer, 2
El-Amin's Fish House, 3
Fairview Health Services, 10
Fallon Worldwide, 1
Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, 7
Girl Scouts of Minnesota & Wisconsin River Valleys, 5
Goodwill Easter Seals, 1
Grand Aspirations, 5
Greater Twin Cities United Way, 2
Guaranty Commercial Title, Inc, 1
Hart Law Office, PLLC, 1
HealthPartners, 20
Hennepin County, 50
Hennepin County Medical Center, 10
Hilton Garden Inn - Minneapolis Downtown, 4
Hines, 1
Hollywood Studio of Dance, 1
Horwitz NS/I, 1
Hubbard Broadcasting, 1
iDream.tv, 1
Illusion Theater , 1
Insight News Group, 1
International Union of Operating Engineers, Local #49, 1
Junior League of Minneapolis, 1
Juxtaposition Arts, 30
KBEM-FM Jazz 88, 4
KFAI, Fresh Air, Inc., 3
KMOJ-FM, 1
Kraus-Anderson Construction Company, 2
Kulture Klub, 6
Legacy Management & Development Corporation, 1
Legal Rights Center, Inc., 1
Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Co. , 2
MA Mortenson Company, 5
MacPhail Center for Music, 1
Marriott City Center - Minneapolis, 2
McKinsey and Co., Inc., 1
Meet Minneapolis, 1
Memorial Blood Centers, 2
Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota, 1
Migizi Communications, 10
Minneapolis Beacons, 2
Minneapolis Foundation, 1
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, 22
Minneapolis Public Schools, 72
Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, 1
Minneapolis Television Network, 2
Minnesota Children's Museum  4
Minnesota Supreme Court, 2
Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Lynx, 1
Minnesota Twins Baseball Club, 2
Minnetonka Moccasin, 1
Multilingual Word, 1
New Native Theatre, 1
Neighborhood Health Source, 1
Nemer Fieger, 1
Nilan Johnson Lewis, 1
NorthMarq, 1
Northside Residents Redevelopment Council, 8
Olu's Home, Inc., 1
Planned Parenthood, 2
Printing Industry of Minnesota, Inc., 1
Redeemer Health and Rehab Center, 6
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP, 1
RSP Architects, Ltd. , 1
Saint Olaf Retirement Communities, 1
Science Museum of Minnesota, 5
Seward Co-op, 2
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, 1
Southside Community Health Services, 1
Standard Heating and Air Conditioning, 1
SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development, 1
TCF National Bank, 3
Temple Israel Early Childhood Center, 1
The Bakken Museum, 2
The Loft Literary Center, 1
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, 14
Tunheim Partners, 1
Twin Cities Film Festival, 1
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, 1
Twin Cities Public Television, 2
U.S. Bancorp, 31
U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison, 1
U.S. District Court, 1 
United Health Group, 5
Universal Hospital Services, 2
University of Minnesota, 60
UPS, 1
VA Medical Center, 9
Walker Art Center, 2
Walker Methodist Health Center, 1
Wells Fargo, 30
West Broadway Business and Area Coalition, 2
Wilderness Inquiry, 3
William Mitchell College of Law, 1
WomenVenture, 1
Xcel Energy, 9
Youth Coordinating Board, 1
Youth Farm and Market Project, 9
YMCA (South Minneapolis), 1
YWCA, 2

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