Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • March 19, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 7 What Can We Do For You? 860.871.1111 www.nemsi.com 166 Tunnel Road, Vernon, CT 06066 Choose an Award-Winning Partner For Over 50 Years, Clients Have Counted On NEMSI For: • HVAC, Plumbing and Process Piping • Design-Build Construction • Energy Management Systems • LEED Certification Programs • Electrical Services • Comprehensive Preventive Maintenance Programs • 24/7/365 Emergency Response Recent Awards Include: » ABC Platinum Safety Award » ABC Accredited Quality Contractor (ABC-AQC) » ABC Excellence in Construction Award » ABC Specialty Contractor of the Year » Contracting Business First Place Design/Build Award License #s: E1-104939 • S1- 302974 P1- 203519 • F1- 10498 • SM1-192 • MC-1134 Offices in: New London | Trumbull | Pawtucket, RI | Palmer, MA | Manchester, NH | Albany, NY Internships and jobs Hartford law firm Robinson + Cole has enjoyed success employing two or three Boys & Girls Clubs interns each summer for about the last decade, said Lisa Boyle, a partner there. Interns work in areas that include the records depart- ment and infor- mation systems and learn a law firm is more than lawyers, she said. Interns get ex- posed to market- ing, IT and more, talk with staff about their jobs and the training necessary for them. "It's been really nice for them and for us," Boyle said. It can be hard for teens to get summer jobs, particularly for those in Hartford who may have few connections outside their immediate neighborhood, she said. Robinson + Cole gives teens a place to spend time in summer, earn money, make connections and experience a professional business environment. "Law firms can be stuffy places, but honestly … we've never had any bad experience, the kids are always awe- some," Boyle said. "The people in the firm love them." One club member who interned for two summers became a full-time employee in 2011. Today, Elizabeth Figueroa is a well-loved support specialist in the firm's information technology department, Boyle said. The clubs can be a benefit for employers, helping prepare teens for work, Boyle said, adding, "I haven't, in my career, seen anything like what they do there." The Hartford's Cantello said Boys & Girls Clubs can be among many pipelines for employers. Looking forward, "there cannot be an overabundance of such resources," she said. Clothing retailer Old Navy, among many companies partnering with BGCA, has set a goal of 5 percent of its employees coming from the clubs, Clark said. BGCA is also talking with the U.S. Department of Commerce, which will need 500,000 census takers in 1½ years, he said. "We're here," Clark said, waving his hand. "That's $19.50 an hour." BGCA is also working with the Department of Labor to explore pre- apprenticeship programs for teens. A job's promise BGCA programs also aren't as well- known as they should be, but Con- necticut, for example, has data proving club members miss less school and have better grades, which translates to high school graduation and momen- tum for the future, Clark said. "So this is a proven research-based recipe and now we're saying, let's turn up the volume across the country," he said. "Every kid that comes to a Boys & Girls Club some- day should be made a promise," Clark said of either getting a college education and/ or a job, and that they're prepared. "It's a promise that if you are a Boys & Girls Clubs member, you will be a pro- ductive member in society and earn a family support- ing wage that will restore the Ameri- can Dream and the American promise in this country and rebuild the middle class," Clark said. Lisa Boyle, Partner, Robinson + Cole Diane Cantello is the vice president of corporate sustainability at The Hartford. PHOTO | HBJ FILE "I think we're a valuable resource that could be a solution with the corporate community as we develop young people to give them the soft skills that they need to be able to be good candidates." Samuel Gray Jr. , President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford

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