LOUISVILLE, Ky. — 'Help wanted' and 'now hiring' signs are plentiful across the city. In many cases, the work offers are searching for young people too.

Louisville's 'SummerWorks' program is a network of companies that hire 16 to 21 year olds for the summer, to mentor them and help them gain on-the-job skills and experience, and work toward their careers. The program is seeing more of a demand for employees than usual.

At Kentucky Kingdom, the roller coasters are ready for riders. Gleeful screams and laughter can be heard throughout the amusement park. Things would be nearly back to normal here, if it weren't for the staffing shortage.

Help is wanted at the park, and staff members like Carly Uglow say seasonal workers, through SummerWorks, are needed.  

"We're doing the best we can for staff that we have," Uglow said. "So sometimes that means rotating the rides we have open for certain times of the day, but we're really trying to focus on making sure we have a safe environment for everyone."

Patrick Garvey, with Kentuckiana Works and the SummerWorks initiative, is urging young people to work this summer. It's the last weekend to apply before the Monday cutoff.

Garvey feels they've seen about the same amount of people apply to participate and work throughout the summer, but an increased number of job opportunities. 

"There's just a lot of demand I guess, as the economy ramps back up and things are reopening, so we definitely see that employers need more people in general and that definitely has an impact on SummerWorks," he said. 

Uglow listed the staffers they're looking to hire at Kentucky Kingdom: ride operators, lifeguards, cooks, servers, cash register operators. 

"There's really an opportunity for every department here at Kentucky Kingdom," she beamed enthusiastically.