Our friends across the ocean have come up with a way to provide thousands of entry level jobs to young workers.

UK Culture Secretary Andy Burnham and James Purnell, work and pensions secretary, recently announced a plan to create up to 10,000 entry level jobs for young people in the cultural industries.

The Department for Work and Pensions will provide 1.1 billion from its Future Jobs Fund to theaters and other arts institutions looking to hire young workers. The fund was launched to support 150,000 jobs throughout all sectors, with between 5,000 and 10,000 in the cultural industries.

Available jobs will be in the form of apprenticeships or on-the-job training and will receive at least the national minimum wage. Those who are 18 to 24-years old and have been out of work for up to a year are eligible to apply for positions, according to an article by The Stage.

The first wave of funding will help create 200 jobs for young people working with music festivals this summer. Funding will be given to other industries later this year and early 2010. Funding will be allocated on a case by case basis and organizations must bid for money.

“It’s made very clear to you when you are made a minister in this department that basically your job is to get the money in," Purnell said in the article. "And I want to pay tribute to Andy for the completely ruthless way he has extracted this money from the DWP. If we get this right, this can be a bigger injection of money into the creative and sporting sectors than anything that was achieved in recent comprehensive spending reviews.”

The D.C. Council Youth Internship Program is providing eight students with internships this summer.

The program, established by Chairman Vincent C. Gray, places D.C. students in the internship, which takes place at the John A. Wilson Building. According to an article by The Washington Times, high school juniors and seniors are given professional and educational experience in the council's central offices. Interns are managed by the Office of Youth Programs.

"Youth are at the heart of the community" Cedric Jennings, director of Youth Programs, said in the article. "We expect our interns to provide fresh ideas and insight into their age groups. In turn, we plan to provide District youth with a unique opportunity to learn about the nuts-and-bolts work of the legislative branch of government."

The internship allows students to gain inside knowledge and experience. Interns receive training in such subjects as customer relations, etiquette and public speaking. They're also required to volunteer with community service projects.

Internships are offered not only to students with good grades, but to those who also demonstrate leadership skills and are involved in the community. This summer 100 students applied for internships.

"I was extremely pleased about the high interest and competition for the intern slots among the city's youth," Gray said in the article. "We've been able to select young people with varied interests, those who have excelled academically, students who already have shown a commitment to serving the community, and many we expect to become leaders in government or in whatever careers they choose."

It's a well-known fact that internships add valuable experience to a student's career potential, but how can employers get the most from the interns they hire?

In order to get anything from interns, employers have to devote some time and energy to developing an effective program. According to an article by Registered Rep., advanced planning on the part of the employer can turn interns into a great resource.

With the help of coaching advisers and developing its own intern program at the Oechsli Institute, Registered Rep. came up with five steps you can take to make sure you get the most from your interns:

• Defining the Job. An important first step, this will make sure you have a use for your intern and that they don't spend their time sitting idle, not learning anything or benefiting the company. The job should include regular grunt work and work that challenges the intern intellectually.
• Finding Applicants. You can do this by contacting the career services departments at local colleges and universities. You also can post ads on Craigslist, in your local newspaper, or anywhere else they might be seen by your wanted demographic. Once you find candidates, you should get a feel for what they're looking to experience and learn.
• Screening Candidates. Make sure what you want and what the potential intern wants matches up. It may take a couple interviews to determine whether or not the candidate is willing and capable to complete the tasks you want them to do.
• Establishing Expectations. Be clear about what you expect from your intern. This includes defining hours, daily and weekly tasks they must perform, how they should perform the tasks, how they should dress, who they should report to and how often they should report. It often helps to put these rules on paper as a tangible reminder to the intern.
• Managing the Internship. Maintain regular communication with your intern and make sure they report their progress on a regular basis. This will help both of you to know the job is getting done properly.

Some students in Detroit are getting the chance to secure entry level jobs through their school.

Detroit Cristo Rey High School, a Catholic school located in southwest Detroit, is not your average high school. The high school requires students to work one day per week during all four years of their attendance. In turn, partnering companies pay for the students tuition.

The school operates through grant money and money from companies that employ students in entry level jobs. Each business pays $25,000 for every position and in return, the school sends four students to every business, according to an article by the Detroit Free Press.

Cristo Rey is meant to help students from low-income families who qualify for free or reduced-price federal lunch programs. Tuition at the school is set at $2,300, but most families receive a subsidy and pay less than $1,000 per student.

The school, which has 68 students in its inaugural class, is attempting to recruit more than 30 new businesses so it can enroll a second freshman class. Cristo Rey plans to hold recruiting meetings during the next two months.

"We have an opportunity to put these kids in a position to have a college degree," Michael Khoury, co-director of the school's work-study program, said in the article. "If we do that, we know almost certainly that we will break the cycle of poverty."

The school holds classes in the former Holy Redeemer High School and is one of 22 coed Cristo Rey schools throughout the country that teach more than 5,000 students. The system saw 99 percent of its seniors graduate last year.