With the summer fast approaching many young adults will be hoping to gain employment during their school vacation. Unfortunately, with the pandemic having destabilized many areas of our economy, many teens and young adults may have difficulty finding a job.
Finding a job for many youth can be challenging, but even more so in the current market. Here are a few ideas to help our younger generation start to consider and plan for a career.
Importance of Youth Summer Employment
Summer and part-time jobs are critically important to help teens figure out where their interests and skills are as well as which ones they will need to develop in the future. The exploration of different types of jobs can help a young adult really fine tune where they would like to focus their education as well as make important connections to the field of their choice.
According to Youth.Gov, “There are many advantages to working during high school, especially for low-income youth, including higher employment rates and wages in later teen years and lower probabilities of dropping out of high school.4 Knowing how to find and keep a job is not only critical for admission to the adult world but also is an important survival skill for which there is little in the way of formal, structured preparation.”
Finding Youth Employment
We are painfully aware that finding employment will be a struggle this summer and probably for the months to come. That being said, Mass.Gov offers many resources to help the young adults in our state and region in finding employment whether it is in a paid capacity or possibly in an internship role. We encourage you to visit our site and search for job opportunities by region. Be sure to check back regularly as our listings are changing all the time.
Consider Apprenticeships and Internships
Youth apprenticeship programs originally grew out of the school-to-work movement and offer youth both classroom instruction along with structured on-the-job training with an experienced mentor. Many trade schools operate under this format and it has worked for years to empower youth as well as help many industries train the future workforce.
Internships, both paid and unpaid, also offer a chance for young people to explore a career in a specific area while being mentored by a more skilled and experienced person who can guide and monitor progress at an entry level position.
Both of these types of positions allow a young person to develop skills, acquire needed knowledge, and even gain critical certifications that will be needed to advance their career.
For more resources and help the youth in your region find employment, either full or part time, paid or unpaid, check out our resources pages at North Shore Career Center and MassHire North Shore.
