If you go to a dealership, a museum, or even a refinery in El Paso and think the person helping you looks young, they could be apart of a youth work program here.
This is eighteen-year-old Carlos Lopez's first job.
"For me, cars are great, because you get to interact with them, you drive them and use them daily," Lopez said.
Everyday he clocks in at Shamaley Ford, he learns the "do's and dont's" of selling a car.
"How to talk to a customer, how to ask the right questions," he said.
Lopez is part of the Texas Workforce Solutions summer youth program, an initiative funded by the federal government that's employed more than five thousand teens between the ages of 16 and 24.
"A lot of people don't have that notion of what they want to do with their lives and they want to get that sense of, oh maybe I'm good at this, oh I'm good at that," said mentor and supervisor Carlos Mora. He says at first his protege was shy but he's enjoyed watching his become a stronger salesman.
"It takes a little more time for me but I'm happy with him, I'm happy with the person he's turning out to be."
"He helps me shows me around how to sell cars and do the paperwork," Lopez said.
For Lopez, this job doesn't just mean a paycheck. It also means getting used to coming in on time everyday and having someone to report to, and look up to. What's perhaps the biggest lesson his mentor has taught him?
"Even though you're a beginner, you can do great," he said. "Just practice practice and keep on going."
Lopez plans to study civil engineering this fall at UTEP. In the meantime, it's back to the old grind, getting to know the products and the people.
Texas Workforce Solutions received a total of 10-million dollars for this project. They say all of the money will go to paying the teens' wages. Since tomorrow's payday, they say $2.5 million will be going into the local economy.
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