The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — the federal stimulus program —has set aside a lot of money for a special jobs initiative for teenagers and young adults during the summer.

Never before has so much federal money been available for youth work so suddenly, and the time frame is important, because jobs are going to be even harder to find than usual this summer with so many people out of work, according to a spokesperson for the High Country Workforce Development Board.

The program is called N.C. Summer Jobs and is part of Get REAL Youth Services operated at every county JobLink Career Center.

Local businesses and nonprofit organizations will offer a variety of jobs to the youth who qualify for N.C. Summer Jobs. N.C. Summer Jobs coaches — seven new jobs directly created through stimulus funds in the High Country region —will handle applications, job and skills counseling, placement and ongoing assessment of participants.

A key goal of this program is to place young people in high quality jobs that will give them experience and skills they can use to move up to better jobs once the program ends, the spokesperson said. For that reason, certain jobs are excluded. Stimulus funds cannot be used for jobs at zoos, casinos, aquariums, golf courses and swimming pools.

In Watauga County, approximately 25 jobs will be available for qualifying youth this summer. Participants will be paid $7.50 per hour from stimulus funds allocated to the High Country region and will work 30 hours per week. These funds have been provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to the state of North Carolina.

In addition to paid work, N.C. Summer Jobs also includes classes in job readiness skills — writing resumes, interviewing, searching for jobs — to give participants even more of a boost toward landing a better future job. N.C. Summer Jobs youth will be paid for attending these classes because they are considered a critical component of their summer job experience.

To obtain a job through the N.C. Summer Jobs program, young people have to qualify on three levels: age, income and education/employment challenges.

Participants must be between 16 and 24 years old.

Participants must come from families whose income falls below the federal poverty level and be able to show proof of income for the past six months or prove that their families receive public assistance such as food stamps.

Participants must also meet one of the following education/employment challenges: be an offender, homeless, a runaway, a high school dropout, pregnant or caring for a child, in foster care or soon old enough to leave foster care. Students who have basic skills deficiencies that impact their performance in school can also qualify.

The N.C. Summer Jobs coach in Watauga County is taking applications now.

In addition to completing an application, N.C. Summer Jobs applicants will need to show their job coach the following: driver’s license or photo ID, Social Security card, birth certificate or proof of citizenship/legal authorization to work, proof of family income for the last six months or proof that the family is eligible for food stamps.

The High Country Workforce Development Board oversees the N.C. Summer Jobs program and will monitor it closely, ensuring that stimulus funds are spent effectively and in accordance with the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration’s instructions to “develop and refine innovative service delivery strategies in the context of regional economies,” the spokesperson said.

Frequent updates on the program and participants’ progress will be posted at the High Country Workforce Development Board Web site, www.highcountrywdb.com.

To apply for N.C. Summer jobs, contact Daveta Trivette at the Watauga County JobLink Career Center at 828-265-5385.

The JobLink Career Center is located at 207 Winkler’s Creek Road in Boone.