For young people looking for employment, the job market can be a pretty competitive place.

Teenagers with little to no experience in the workforce should expect to put in a lot of time and effort if they hope to find summer employment.

Thankfully, the Lawrence County Department of Job and Family Services is once again gearing up for its summer youth work program and is now accepting applications.

The initiative enables young people ages 16-24 to be matched with companies throughout the county and work up to 40 hours a week for $9 an hour.

The program runs from June 1 to Aug. 31

Last year, 27 work sites participated with 82 young people working.

And this year, even more teens and young adults will get to participate since the county’s DJFS received about $77,000 more in federal funds than last year.

That means more youth will get to learn the values of holding down a job and being responsible. While academic learning is extremely important, occupational learning at an early age can give these young people a real leg up for their futures.