>RESOURCE for employers Why youth employment really matters – to youth, employers, our community, our future! The traditional approach to engaging the community in supporting youth employment initiatives has generally focused on the immediate economic benefits to both potential employers and youth. Employers often have part-time or short-term/seasonal labour needs and young people, many of them students, need to earn in order to meet their educational and living expenses. This is a compelling rationale, however, it likely appeals to only some potential employers because it fails to address the larger the story, one that many others, possibly all of us, can relate to. The larger truth is that a community that aspires to be economically sound, environmentally sustainable, culturally vibrant, and socially responsible must make significant long-term investments in developing its human capital. Ultimately, the success of any organization, or community, is a function of its ability to provide its members with opportunities to be engaged, to achieve their personal goals, and to make a contribution. Youth are not only the future of the community, they are its present. That significant, long-term investment in human capital begins by providing young people with work related experiences. All youth need paid and unpaid work experiences because these experiences provide them with opportunities to explore who they are, consider who they would like to become, develop a better understanding of what the workplace has to offer them and what they have to offer it. Early work experiences provide a context for the development of the skills, knowledge, attitudes and habits of mind that build a solid foundation for success and frequently influence career path decisions. They are a key component of the career/life planning process and a powerful means for a community to build capacity within its young people. The significance of those early experiences is reflected in the stories that adults love to tell about their first job. We all have such a story and we usually don’t pass up an opportunity to share it. Though the details always include how little we were paid, the stories generally revolve around what we did, the characters we worked with, what we learned about ourselves and how this all led to our next job. These stories are essentially about growth. Employers of these young people also have stories. Sometimes they conjure up memories of shaky starts or mistakes made, but overwhelmingly employers speak of the remarkable energy, skill and creativity that youth bring to the workplace. Their stories reflect the belief that, in addition to the job specific contributions made to their organizations, the integration of young people often has a lasting positive impact on the workplace culture. If we believe that investing in our youth, through a comprehensive youth employment strategy, has the potential to be transformational, both for young people and our community as a whole, then the question becomes: how do we reframe the message and create a culture that is supportive of youth employment? >RESOURCE for employers |
