Job Fair

Minnie Knych at the Career Center shares the following with you…

Attention Parents: Put Your Teens To Work This Summer!

Employment statistics show that fewer teens are spending summers waiting tables, swinging hammers mowing lawns. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that teen labor force participation overall has been on a long-term downward trend, and the decline is expected to continue. Reasons are varied: teens today spend more time in sports and summer camp activities, travel and visiting with friends or family.

Forty years ago, nearly fifty-eight percent of teens had summer jobs and many worked part time during the school year. In 2006, the rate was forty-four percent working during the summer.   A recent study by researchers at Drexel University Center for Labor Markets and Policy in Philadelphia showed that only about thirty percent of all teens will have a summer job in 2019.

Parents of teenagers, please encourage your teen to get a summer job for their own good. Our seasonal economy offers great opportunity for summer jobs. Working through the summer can provide an opportunity to explore careers, learn time management, and practice money management skills. It is also an opportunity to sharpen job search and interview skills.

More and more colleges require a resume and letters of recommendation for admission these days. A letter of recommendation from a former employer is impressive and can give evidence of maturity and initiative. A summer job is also a great chance to explore a job close-up and see if it fits, or to just gain an appreciation for work in general.

If you are not convinced yet, consider this; being a parent of a teenager is expensive nowadays. Cell phones, lap tops, clothes, even a car and insurance can all add up to huge bills. Some families can’t afford all of these things. A summer job can give your teenager the opportunity to contribute to their own expenses or to fund them independently.

Anyone who wants to explore job opportunities, mark your calendar for Sunday, April 14. The Career Center will sponsor a job fair from 1:00PM to 4:00PM at the Mullis Center. Call 360 378-4662 for more information.

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