The Clause

The Obama administration announced its plan earlier this month to create 250,000 jobs for American youth by the summer of 2012. The plan, called “Summer Jobs+,” is a call-to-action challenge directed at businesses and nonprofits.

 

Starbucks, AT&T, UPS, Bank of America, Gap and Jamba Juice are among the many employers committed to hiring more youth this summer. More than 180,000 positions have already been secured; the program includes not only paid positions and internships, but also openings for job shadowing and mentoring.

 

The administration is also working to launch an online tool this spring called Summer Jobs+ Jobs Bank. The search tool, supported by partners like Google and Facebook, will help to connect youth with jobs available in their area.

 

“[The Summer Jobs+ Jobs Bank] is not anything new, since there’s a lot of other job search engines out there,” sophomore psychology major Jennifer Young said. “But it could be useful.”

 

The initiative arises at a time when America is still deeply affected by the recession. The income disparity in the U.S. and the shrinking middle class has led to less jobs and more financially-tight families. According to public policy institute New America Foundation, the number of middle-income jobs in the U.S. has fallen from 52 percent in 1980 to 42 percent in 2010.

 

“I’m worried that if I quit my job, I won’t be able to find another one,” senior music and political science double major Jonathan Hughes said. “I think college students are feeling the need to continue with their education and to do a master’s or doctorate in order to be competitive in the work force.”

 

Young Americans like Hughes are feeling the impact of the nation’s economic situation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 48.8 percent of people aged 16-24 were employed last summer, much lower than the 59.2 percent of young Americans employed five years ago and the 63.3 percent 10 years ago. The statistics are even lower for minority youth – only 34.6 percent of African-American youth and 42.9 percent of Hispanic youth were employed last summer.

 

“America’s young people face record unemployment and we need to do everything we can to make sure they’ve got the opportunity to earn the skills and a work ethic that comes with a job,” President Barack Obama said in a statement Jan. 5. “That’s why we’re launching Summer Jobs+.”

 

Work experience is often essential to landing prestigious job positions and learning skills necessary in a work environment. Senior English major Kim Breed has worked in retail, Hospitality Services and APU’s Writing Center.

 

“My retail and Hospitality Services jobs have taught me to be very customer-oriented, and how to interact with people,” Breed said. “At the Writing Center, I’ve really learned to enjoy helping and teaching people.”

 

Valuable work experience can also come in the form of internships. According to the National Association of College and Employers, 42.3 percent of graduates who have had internships find jobs, versus only 30.7 percent of graduates who lack internship experience. Experienced graduates also have an average of 31 percent higher salaries than nonexperienced graduates.

 

Thomas Eng, a career counselor and program coordinator at the Office of Career Services, spoke about his own internship experience and how it helped him realize what he really wanted in a career.

 

“I wanted to be a chef,” Eng said. “But after my internship, I realized I didn’t like the lifestyle, and I knew that it was not the right direction for me.”

 

Interning directly for a desired company can help pave the way to getting hired. NACE’s 2011 survey of over 200 organizations showed that on average, almost 58 percent of interns were converted into full-time hires.

 

“It’s all about networking,” Eng said. “The more people you know, more people are able to help you out, and tell you ‘Hey, I know a guy who’s looking for someone just like you.’”

 

Obama has advocated other job-creating initiatives in the past, such as the Recovery Act in 2009, which directly supported summer work opportunities for over 367,000 young people, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. During a recent trip to Disney World, Obama also announced a strategy to create jobs in the tourism industry to boost the economy.

 

The increased number of opportunities this summer will enable more students who need experience and a paycheck to take up work and internship positions. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis introduced herself at the Summer Jobs+ launch, held at the White House, as a “product of summer youth jobs.” Solis said that she would not be working on the President’s cabinet if it had not been for those summer work experiences she had as a youth. Seemingly unrelated or unimportant jobs such as delivering lunch meals and working in a library helped to put her on the path toward a career in public service.

 

“There’s no substitute for the real world experience of showing up for work,” Solis said at the launch. “There’s no way to quantify the impact that career role models can play in shaping the future of our next generation.”

 

Although people like Solis support the initiative, not everyone thinks it is a good idea.

 

“I think that there are opportunities out there for young people and they’re just not looking hard enough,” APU alumnus Sarah Harden said. Harden, who graduated in December with a business marketing degree, has had a job or internship every summer while she was in school, and is currently waiting to hear back from two job offers.

 

“The initiative is targeted more toward more urban and low-income students and teens, but most of the internships being created are unpaid,” Harden said. “I don’t think it makes the most sense, financially, for our country. And I think it’s giving low-income students false hope.”

 

Harden also commented on what she says is a misleading name.

 

“It’s called a summer jobs initiative, but it also includes a lot of unpaid internships, and I don’t think you can consider it a job if you’re not getting paid,” Harden said. “But I do think it’s good that he’s challenging companies to find young, new people to come into the workforce.”

 

Those interested in taking part of the initiative can learn more and sign up to be notified via email when Summer Jobs+ Jobs Bank goes live at the U.S. Department of Labor website.