CINCINNATI — According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics this time last year 31% of teens ages 16 to 19 were unemployed —  higher than the national unemployment average. That’s why Ohio teen Nyier Biggers has come up with an idea to help low-income teens with the tools they need to land the right job. 

Niyer Biggers is one of the faces behind the Black Entrepreneurs Project. It’s for the Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative Mindset Internship.

For their project they created a staffing agency. It was inspired by Biggers’ struggle growing up in a low-income family and not having the opportunity to work. 

“That’s where the whole approach for the staffing agency — to provide money for teens ages 13 to 18 who can’t really get a job due to age or due to them not being able to have the transportation,” said Biggers. 

Black Entrepreneurs is the name of the staffing agency. They plan to reach more teens across the city and partner with Black-owned small businesses. Biggers and her peers have been working on the project for two weeks and feel confident about making this dream into a reality. 

“I feel like with the support of my peers and people who go through the challenges that we’re trying to help and provide resources for,” she said. “I feel like those people are definitely dive in especially when we get our truck together.”

Throughout the eight weeks of the project, Biggers has learned problem solving, collaboration, and professional skills. 

“We’ve learned how to speak up for ourselves in a professional manner,” she said. “Learn how to react when we’re angry because I had a couple times where I was under the influence of anger and I made decisions that I wouldn’t normally make.”

For the past eight weeks, Biggers and the other interns have been working virtually with Tracey Hayes. Hayes is the GCMI Mindset Internship facilitator. The internship is helping high school seniors become entrepreneurs and prepare for life after graduation. 

“We’re hoping to set these teens up with a better understanding of the real world and helping them understand what are some of the things they’ll need in order to be successful as young adults,” said Hayes. 

After high school, Biggers plans to attend the University of Cincinnati where she plans to study business. 

“I plan one day to have my own business in real estate,” Biggers said. “But for now, I’m just going to learn and use my resources to help me get further to where I want to be.”