The Mayor’s Youth Academy 2023 Youth Council application is now closed. Please have youth be on the lookout, in their emails, for the next steps of this process.
Youth Council presents an opportunity for youth to engage with their community and participate in local policies and initiatives. Don’t miss this chance to join this influential platform for youth involvement and make your voice heard in civic matters.
If you would like to stay up to date with MYA updates and content, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @MayorsYouthAcademy.
The Mayor’s Youth Academy (MYA) was launched, by former Mayor Dwight C. Jones, in 2010. The program is designed to develop Richmond’s Future Leaders and workforce. The Mayor’s Youth Academy serves Richmond youth, between ages 14 through 24. To be a member of the Mayor’s Youth academy, youth must reside in the City of Richmond. Applications, for the Mayor’s Youth Academy’s summer programs, open on March 1st. Recruitment for Fall/Winter based programs will be announced, on a rolling basis, each September.
Mayor’s Youth Academy (MYA) is a workforce development program designed to engage youth, ages 14-24, in a productive career exploration program by using a work-based learning approach. MYA seeks to assist youth in identifying, clarifying, and exploring career interest. Youth who participate in MYA cultivate positive relationships and strengthen academic, soft, and technical skills. As the youth-serving unit of the Office of Community Wealth Building, our goal is to develop Richmond’s future workforce with hopes of supporting access to quality employment and related supports that assist in decreasing poverty in the city of Richmond.
Our programs include:
- Six-week Summer Work-Based Learning Experience
- Youth Council
- 1on1 Career Coaching
- Soft Skills Workshops
- Financial Awareness Workshops
- Entrepreneurship Development
It is the mission of the Mayor's Youth Academy to provide development opportunities to youth throughout the city of Richmond: job readiness training, leadership development, exposure to entrepreneurship, mentoring, and post-secondary career exploration. Our goal is to develop Richmond's future workforce into determined, successful citizens who will one day become our city's leaders. In doing so the Mayor's Youth Academy strives to accomplish the following goals:
- Provide extensive training for youth
- Develop employability skills
- Promote civic engagement
- Expose youth to post-secondary educational and/or vocational opportunities
- Provide professional mentors and instructors in a variety of career paths
- Provide safe and constructive social outlets through supervised out of school activities
- Encourage continued school enrollment
Launched in 2010, the Mayor’s Youth Academy is designed to develop Richmond’s future leaders and workforce. The Mayor’s Youth Academy serves Richmond youth (ages 14-24). A few advantages, to participating in MYA, can be listed as:
- Developing positive work habits and attitudes by strengthening six key soft skill areas - communication, enthusiasm and attitude, teamwork, networking, problem solving and critical thinking, and professionalism.
- Fostering self and career exploration by establishing a clear connection between education and work.
- Expanding professional networks
- Becoming better informed to make decisions before accepting a job offer.
- Recognizing the shared responsibilities for a successful work experience.
- Leadership development and genuinely engaging people in their communities.
The Mayor’s Youth Academy is open to all City of Richmond youth, ages 14 through 24.
Applicants may be asked to provide proof of residency and/or school enrollment as a condition of acceptance into the Mayor’s Youth Academy.
Youth are not required to have previous work experience to apply, however, they must meet the programs eligibility criteria.
This year, there are 6 options to participate in during summer
- Counselors in Training (Parks & Recreations)
- Teens in Richmond in Parks (Parks & Recreations)
- Kings Dominion
- Work Base placements (in-person)
- Virtual Earn & Learn
- Founders Mark – Entrepreneurship
For more information, please call (804)646-7933 or email us at MayorsYouthAcademy@rva.gov
Each summer, the Mayor’s Youth Academy brings together local government agencies, private sector employers, community-based organizations, and small businesses to provide City of Richmond youth, between the ages of 16 -24, with an array of summer work experiences. Through our seven-week MYA Summer Work–Based Learning program, we strive to:
- Expose youth to a variety of career paths
- Develop employability skills
- Provide professional mentors and instructors
- Provide safe and constructive summer opportunities for youth
Employers throughout the City of Richmond make this annual program possible by volunteering to serve as partner employers and providing structured job placements for youth participants. By partnering with the Mayor's Youth Academy you will be a part of the development of a new emerging workforce and the leaders of tomorrow. There are many ways to participate, including:
- Providing structured Work-Based Learning internship opportunities for city of Richmond youth;
- Providing financial sponsorships for various program components (i.e. transportation, uniforms, etc.);
- Mentorship and/or training opportunities;
- Collaboration or Networking
Partner Enrollment
New partners are required to submit a Partner Interest Form and attend a partner vetting meeting BEFORE completing the Partner Registration Form.
For returning partners, with the Mayor's Youth Academy, complete the MYA Partner Registration form.