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Steven Jones, a student at Missouri Western State University, is one of hundreds of young adults who will have summer internships through a grant at the Missouri Career Center.

At 6-foot-6, 21-year-old Steven Jones looks every part a football offensive lineman.

In high school, he hefted construction materials in his hometown of Palmyra, Mo. In college in St. Joseph, though, his dreams have turned to the wood-paneled offices and white collars of the business world.

But Mr. Jones’ break into a local company — like so many youths — coincides with an economic downturn. This month, he applied for eight summer jobs. He’s received no callbacks. Prospects were equally sparse last summer, he said.

“Most want work experience that I don’t have,” said Mr. Jones, a senior at Missouri Western State University.

Last week, he was called into the Missouri Career Center. An online application he filled out earlier this month had gone through. A summer internship was waiting. Uncle Sam would pay his wage.

Mr. Jones is one of 134 youths in Northwest Missouri this summer employed through $873,000 in federal stimulus funding. The Next-Generation Jobs Team allocates $25 million toward wages for as many as 6,000 Missouri students ages 16 to 24 who seek work in high-growth industries.

In announcing the state program last month, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon said the paid summer internship program would boost the state’s long-term economic health by preparing an educated and qualified pool of talent for high-tech, in-demand industries. Target fields are technology, health care and green jobs.

It has helped Jennifer Kohler, a recent Missouri Western graduate, get some real-world experience. She was recently hired as an intern to do public relations work for her alma mater.

The Next-Generation Jobs program pays her $7.25 per hour through September. “Every bit helps ... in this job market,” Ms. Kohler, 21, said.

Companies have jostled for free intern labor since the program began on May 1. In Northwest Missouri, 105 businesses had signed up by last week to receive summer interns. That number contrasts with nearly five times as many youths in the region — 589 — who have signed up through the state’s Web site (summerjobs.mo.gov).

Employers that have recently cut jobs have had their applications denied. Officials say that is so youths won’t supplant the jobs of dislocated workers.

In Eagleville, Mo., federal funds pay the hourly $7.25 wage for seven youths this summer at North Harrison High School. Regional officials, part of the Next-Generation Team, estimate they will spend about $5,000 in stimulus dollars per youth this summer.

For 18-year-old Bryan White, whose teachers describe him as a technology wunderkind, his summer task will be to help improve wireless Internet “hot spot” connectivity throughout the school and rearrange desktop computer towers that now run hot, cloistered inside desks.

He considers the work as preparation for college and a career in digital media graphic design.

Lisa Hostetler, work force development manager in Trenton, Mo., said the program also teaches basic skills, such as showing up to work on time and learning how to communicate with a

supervisor.

With 589 youths who have applied for 134 slots in the 18 counties of Northwest Missouri, Ms. Hostetler hopes the state will kick over more stimulus money to the region.

Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com.