Closing the Employment Gap and Cultivating Leadership: Project RISE The Project RISE teen job skills training and leadership development program began when a group of Family Matters teens spoke out about the difficulties that they and their peers had finding after-school jobs. What started as a summer internship curriculum has expanded into a year-round initiative for teens ages 14–18 to build job-readiness skills and to practice those skills while earning a stipend through jobs at local businesses.