The town is increasing summer jobs for young people

• All young people aged 14-17 are offered a job. 
• Work placements for 18-year-olds and older will be 200 more this year than in a normal year.

Up to 350 young people aged 18-25 who applied for a job with the Hafnarfjörður Summer Job Scheme in the summer of 2021 will receive an offer of employment. In the summer of 2020, 260 young people were offered a summer job, and in a typical year, summer hires in this age group are around 150. An additional 80 young people will be hired through the authorities“ and the Employment Authority's summer initiative, in addition to which all children and young people aged 14-17 will be offered a job. In parallel, the town will hire 25 individuals through the authorities' and the Employment Service's "Let's Get to Work" project.

Important to ensure functionality

The decision is part of the council's follow-up and ongoing measures, which aim to ensure a key group has the opportunity to be active and gain experience in the coming weeks and months. This increased support from the local council in Hafnarfjörður amounts to 250 million króna, or around 100 more jobs than last year and 200 more jobs than in a typical year. An addendum for the injection and grant was approved at a meeting of the town council earlier today and will be put forward for approval at the town council meeting on 26 May. The application deadline for summer jobs has passed, but registrations are still open for the waiting list for the work experience programme. A large part of the group will work for the Hafnarfjörður Work Club as supervisors at nurseries, on sports and play courses for various local clubs, and in family gardens, as supervisors for the Work Club and in horticulture and environmental groups. There will also be an active group within the Hafnarfjörður Work School for arts and culture. Around 80 individuals will also be placed in new and specialised projects in the fields of environmental and operational matters, information technology, education, family affairs, cultural affairs, and a healthy community. These projects include media and digital development, surveys of walking routes in Hafnarfjörður, the registration of war memorials, an information centre on wheels, health promotion for older people, and a risk assessment of educational software in nurseries and primary schools. The group will work both in the field on projects and in the innovation lab at the Menntasetrið við Lækinn, which was set up last summer.

Experience from last summer very good

Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, the mayor of Hafnarfjörður, says the experience of the town's job-creating measures in the summer of 2020 was a positive one. It is important to follow up on last year's measures with a continued injection of funding. „It is one of the roles of a responsible local authority to ensure young people have activities and work during the summer. As things stand, applications are just slightly in excess of the number of jobs available, but it is hoped that the employment situation for this age group is improving and that some applicants have already found work elsewhere. Hopefully, when all is said and done, we will be able to secure a summer job with the council for as many, and preferably all, 25-year-olds and younger as possible.“ says Rósa. In a normal year, the cost of the Hafnarfjörður Summer Job Scheme is around 240 million króna, but the actual cost in the summer of 2020 was about 460 million króna. The total cost for the summer of 2021 is not yet available, but estimates suggest it will fall within the supplementary budget approved by the town council today. „As in previous years, we will see widespread signs in the townscape and community life of having strong teams of people working across a diverse range of areas, including on the upkeep and beautification of the town.“. The application deadline for the Hafnarfjörður Summer Job Scheme for 14-17 year-olds is 31 May.