Summer jobs, lifelong memories
AS THE days get warmer and summer vacation plans take shape, Boston teenagers are focused in a different direction. Will they be able to find summer employment?
Without exception, successful adults can easily recall their first summer job and the life lessons they learned. Research confirms that early work experience really matters. Students who learn the habits of paid work early are more likely to stay in school, go on to higher education, and earn more in their early 20s and beyond.
In addition to the paycheck, summer jobs provide an opportunity to learn about the education required for various careers and to connect with adults who have made the choices necessary to succeed.
Nationally, the summer jobs situation for teenagers, especially those from low-income families and neighborhoods, looks very bleak. The Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University projects that this summer will have the lowest teen employment rate in the past 60 years.
America faces a teenage unemployment crisis that will have consequences for years to come. For many young people, the opportunity to develop a productive work ethic at an early age is being lost forever. The federal summer jobs program has all but disappeared, and adults now occupy many of the retail and hospitality jobs that historically went to teenagers.
Despite this distressing national trend, teenagers in Boston have reason to be hopeful. Through the mayor's summer jobs campaign, we invest city and state funds to create nearly 4,000 community based jobs for teens. Simultaneously, the private sector provides employment for nearly 4,500 Boston high school students. While several of our hospitals and financial institutions take on as many as 100 students or more, the rest of the hiring is done by another 900 businesses, both large and small, that pledge to hire up to 20 students each.
Even so, hundreds of teenagers who are preparing diligently for summer employment will not find a job unless we succeed in recruiting new employers over the next several weeks.
Adults of good will frequently ask whether there is anything they can do to help inner-city youngsters who are struggling with problems of poverty and the other challenges of urban life. Ask a teenager and the answer will come quickly: Help me find paid work.
When left without something constructive to do during the summer, even the most promising teenager can drift in the wrong direction. As one Roxbury teen said at the opening of the new Boston Youth Opportunity Center, "If I wasn't working, I'd probably be bored, and when you're bored, you do stupid stuff."
Teenagers want a reason to stay busy and productive, to meet new people, and to learn new things. When teenagers are employed during July and August, the summer is better for everyone, and the benefits can last a lifetime. If we care about preparing the workforce of the future, we need to create more of these private sector opportunities for urban youth right now.
In Boston, it is not hard to hire a motivated high school student. Throughout the school year, career specialists from the Boston Private Industry Council work with young men and women to develop the skills they need to compete for summer jobs. PIC staff members work directly with employers to create job descriptions and to match students with the right positions, based on their skills and interests. The staff remains available to employers and students throughout the summer to lend support.
We often say that we are only young once. This is particularly true when it comes to developing the workplace skills that can help young people succeed throughout life. The summer of 2007 will only happen once for this generation of Boston teenagers. Let's make it a good one.
Thomas M. Menino is mayor of Boston. Gary L. Gottlieb is chairman of the Boston Private Industry Council and president of Brigham and Women's Hospital. 