Develle Sanders, 21 got his first job this summer, filing and making copies at Johnston Community College.

"I figured, why not? It's a summer job and I can use it," Sanders said.

He is one of about 200 young people in Johnston County who are working at local companies this summer and being paid with federal stimulus money.

The non-profit Johnston County Industries matched up the young people with jobs at government agencies, day cares, and even a bee farm. It gets the funding from the Capital Area Workforce Development Board, which received a $3.2 million federal grant to create about 800 jobs in Wake and Johnston Counties.

The program targeted people from 16 to 24 years old who are low-income, homeless, young parents, or have criminal records. They will work for seven weeks for about $7 an hour.

Patricia Torres, 23, might have been unemployed this summer.

"I was looking for a permanent job. And it's hard," she said.

She signed up for the program and is also working at Johnston Community College for the summer.

She is learning skills that could prepare her for long-term jobs.

"Being patient. You have to be patient," said Torres, who works signing students up for a teen driving class. "Computers. I've been doing a whole lot better on the computers, typing faster than what I normally had."

"I'm beginning to see the excitement build in them," said Pamela Earp, the Director of Basic Skills at JCC. "When they started it was just a job. And now they're beginning to look at careers that are associated with it."

Sanders and Torres both hope to enroll in classes at JCC and participate in the college's work-study program.