Youth Employment, Good or Bad?
With youth it can be important to get them started in the workforce for many reasons. Having a job in high school provides for exposure to time management, money management, and to work with people outside of the circle they grew up in (Mortimer, 2003). Working gives them experience of communicating with customers and coworkers in a professional manner that helps for future interviews for college or full time jobs.
The downside to having a job during secondary educational years could lead to having an effect on your performance and grades. Students can suffer from the stress of work and school life, trying to manage each one throughout the week. Not only that but depending on the job atmosphere and the influence of coworkers, teens can be exposed to illegal substances.
Benefits and Risks
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“Defying the notion that all teen employment is essentially the same, teenagers generally move from jobs that are more simple to those that are more complex during the four years of high school, obtaining more training, greater supervisory responsibilities, and more opportunities for advancement (Mortimer, 2003).
GoodTurn Cycles’ Approach
Although our interns only work in our three month program, the development and progression from their first day to the last day is very much evident. They start by having to be reminded of daily duties and responsibilities everyday to be able to be self-sufficient in bike mechanics and taking initiative to find other jobs around the shop to be done.
To work with school, GoodTurn has a fine line of how many hours a week our interns are allowed to work. The majority of interns are only allowed to work between ten to twelve hours a week and if there are any issues with school work, we will offer support to get their grades up as we believe finishing high school will offer many more opportunities than simply completed our program. We also have a culture of pushing for some sort of post secondary education.
GoodTurn Cycles, through its job training program, exposes interns to the workforce. Interns gain essential workplace skills, learn to take initiative and are supported through their education programs.
Learn more about our Job Training Program and how you can help support our nonprofit mission. [Learn More]
Resources:
The Benefits and Risks of Adolescent Employment, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2936460/.