Blog Post: The Importance of Youth Employment

The mayor addressed the fact that when he was young the government worked to subsidize as many as 40,000 youth employment initiatives in the L.A. area during summertime.  Since then that number has fallen to 2,500.

To the mayors credit they have worked to double that number to 5,000 but his example is indicative of a larger gap in youth professional education.  Creating work opportunities for young people helps them build a professional skill set and level of responsibility that is invaluable to their future career success.  One of the biggest surprises I’ve experienced since beginning our work with students is the number of high school seniors who have no experience in the work force.  In the next year these students will be entering jobs or deciding courses of study with no practical experience in the work environment.  This leaves one group grossly unprepared to work and the other dangerously uninformed to make a critical decision.

With concerns of a workforce crisis and the changing nature of compensation in the professional environment it is foolish that more business don’t utilize an able bodied and flexible student work force.  Students are looking for part time jobs that will enable them to learn from professionals they respect and put some disposable coin in their pocket.  Employers can delegate many of the entry level tasks that alienate professionals to youth workers and compensate them without having to take on the investment associated with full time employees.  Combine this with the benefits of giving teens a productive outlet for their energy and taking them out of compromising situations more the result of idle time than poor intentions.

Giving teens the opportunity to work will only bolster our economy and create more work for adults struggling to find jobs of their own.  In addition you will have responsible and capable workers when these students reach adulthood resulting in a stronger economy in the future.