By Meagan IngersonThe Daily Northwestern

Hundreds of teens dressed in suits and ties lined the halls of Evanston’s Civic Center Saturday, hoping to fill summer job openings in positions ranging from bank tellers to grounds keepers.

Started in 1992, the city’s annual Youth Job Fair, part of Mayor Lorraine Morton’s Summer Youth Employment Program, helps place local teens at summer jobs for nine weeks, in both city government and private businesses.

More than 500 students attended the job fair last year, and 168 of them were hired, Summer Youth Employment Coordinator Michael Redmond said.

Final attendance numbers for this year’s fair were not available.

“The idea is to give kids marketable job skills (and) also teach them life skills, like showing up on time (and) how to do an interview,” said Sheila McCorkle, city manager public interest fellow.

McCorkle, SESP ’06, is part of the Youth Engagement Initiative, which is working to improve the annual employment program. This year, the group’s changes included suggesting that students dress in business clothes to increase their odds of getting hired.

In addition to setting up interviews and providing a list of job opportunities, the fair’s volunteers gave attendees tips about the interview process and how to get hired.

Evanston Township High School student Darleen WIlliams, 16, said she wanted to work either in childcare or on the city’s Green Team, which cleans up public spaces. She said this was her third year attending the fair.

“(I come) because (the companies) are all here and they help you prepare for it,” she said.

ETHS student Richard Pryce Jr., 15, said he was attending the fair for the second time, after being offered a job last year that he was unable to take.

“(I’m looking) for anything in an office environment that can get me prepared,” he said.

Fifteen private businesses participated in the fair this year, Human Relations Secretary Dorothy Thrower said. The fair usually includes between 15 and 20 private businesses, she said.

For the past three years, Evanston has offered a 50-50 refund program to participating businesses, in which the city reimburses employers for half a hired teen’s salary.

Thrower, who has worked with the employment program for 12 years, said the refund program was started to attract more private employers to the project.

“There’s a need for more people to take part in the program, and so we’re trying to reach out,” she said. “(But) it hasn’t grown to the extent we’d like it to.”

The Actors Gymnasium, 927 Noyes St., was among the private employers at this year’s fair. Prospective counselors needed to show good leadership skills and athleticism, said former Actors Gymnasium intern Amy Dominguez, who was conducting interviews for the organization.

“They just want (to hire) a broader group than they’ve got at the moment,” she said of the Actors Gymnasium’s decision to participate in the program.

Redmond, the program’s coordinator, also serves as the supervisor for the Green Team.

He said he usually hires about 45 teens each summer.

“I’m looking to hire kids that want to work,” he said. “It’s a learning experience because (employers) do take it seriously.”

He added that teens usually come back to the job fair every year.

“It’s money in their pockets,” he said.

Reach Meagan Ingerson at [email protected].