New Job Bank Links Employers With Students

Plenty of Westport high school students want to work.

Plenty of Westporters want to hire them, for everything from retail and restaurant roles to babysitting, dog walking and moving furniture.

But until now, the best ways for job-seekers and job-providers to connect was either old-fashioned (signs in store windows, flyers on utility poles) or semi-new (parents posting for their kids on Facebook).

Now there’s a better way. The Westport Youth Commission has launched an employment platform, specifically for high school students.

Youth Commission member Jake Shufro came up with the project. The Staples High sophomore worked with fellow members, and Westport business leaders to make it work.

He researched community job banks, and tested a variety of options. The best one, he thinks, is QuadJobs.

It has a student and employer review process. It’s well organized, requiring specific information to make postings.

In addition, Shufro says, “it encourages a diverse range of students to sign up for job opportunities. And it takes a community-based approach to local employment.”

Students can download the app, using their school-based email account. After completing a parent consent form, they create a personalized job profile.

QuadJobs vets employers — both businesses and babysitter-types — to make sure jobs are legitimate and safe. Potential employers can click here for the website.

Businesses pay $100 a year for unlimited posts. They can use the code “westportbiz” to get 50% off.

Household employers pay $10 for a one-time post, for $50 a year for unlimited posts. A free post is available using the code “Free10”; use “gowestport” for a 50% discount for unlimited posts.

Ten percent of all proceeds are donated back to community organizations.

Supporting the Westport Youth Commission’s Student Job Bank are (from left): RTM representative and former Youth Commission member Andrew Collabella, youth services program director Kevin Godburn, Youth Commission president Cabry Lueker, members Tucker Mays and Jake Shufro, 2nd selectwoman Andrea Moore, and RTM member and Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce president Matthew Mandell.

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