Participants speak during The Summer Youth Jobs & Training Expo 2012 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado, U.S., on Friday, May 18, 2012. The job fair, which features more than 50 employers and more than 200 open positions, is for
BLOOMBERG NEWS
I held plenty of summer jobs growing up: landscaping, waiting tables, flushing rusty water out of fire hydrants for the city—my personal favorite. There was no grand strategy to selecting them. They simply provided me a source of income for the summer. But, unknowingly, they also taught me some lessons about what it means to be in the workforce, not just the education system. I got a paycheck. I paid taxes. I had a boss and workmates that counted on me. It may not have been readily apparent, but those jobs were helping to build some intangible skills like teamwork, leadership, responsibility.
Those “essential skills” are in increasing demand by employers. Unfortunately, fewer kids are taking the summer jobs that can help provide them. A recent CNBC report found that businesses are having trouble filling jobs with teenagers. Why? More young people are volunteering, playing sports, or taking summer classes to prepare for college rather than work in traditional jobs.
If those skills are as valuable as reported, perhaps industry and communities should take more steps to fill that young worker shortage. Here are a few ideas:
Make the job serve a bigger plan. Students are under a lot of pressure. Academically, they need to set themselves apart in a very competitive college entrance field. Financially, they face the anxiety of massive potential debt due to the rising cost of college. That means their time needs to be laser-focused on what will either bolster their chances of college acceptance or on mitigating the potential costs. Walmart is answering this dilemma with a new initiative that may do both. Last year, it started its “Live Better U” initiative to provide free college credit for all employees. This year, they expanded that offering and targeted high school students specifically with offerings like ACT/SAT prep courses and a debt-free college degree at six nonprofit universities.
Be more than a paycheck. As organizations continue to design work and internship programs catered to younger students, they need to keep in mind that teens are looking for more than a paycheck; they are looking for jobs that engage them and provide meaning. That doesn’t mean that the best jobs are focused on social issues. Plenty of corporate experiences can meet that goal. Is there appropriate mentorship? Is there a chance to travel or lead a team? Is there a platform for writing and thought leadership? Mercer’s 2019 Global Talent Trends study flagged a change in employees’ perceptions about what makes a top employer. It noted, “Job seekers care as much about the way the company conducts business as they do about the business it is in. Employees are active investors in the companies they choose to work with, so organizations must build a brand that affirms the soundness of that investment.”
Increase access to jobs for all youth, especially traditionally underserved students. For kids that do not have a high school education or are enrolled in high school, the disconnection to the labor market—and the opportunity to be self-sufficient—gets deeper each day. But when communities and businesses take steps to disrupt that chain and provide kids a marketable skill, they are providing a lifeline to opportunity and tapping a potentially powerful talent network. Nonprofit organization, BUILD, does just that by operating, “school-based business incubators, in which student business teams launch and run their very own startups.” In the Washington, DC region alone, the group has started more than 230 student businesses involving more than a thousand kids, in which 97% have graduated high school and entered post-secondary institutions.
We tend to reminisce that kids should return to the simple summer jobs that we had growing up. But students are merely adapting to demands that they had no hand in setting. College costs are rising. Competition for the best schools is growing. Higher-paying entry-level jobs require an increasing skill level. If we are placing such high value on the benefits of youth in the workforce, then we owe it to them to help make it possible.
