Worst Summer Job Market
For Teens Since World War II
By Mary Frost
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
CARROLL GARDENS — Last year’s summer job market for teens was the worst on record since World War II, according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University — and the 2008 outlook is even worse.
Students from Carroll Garden’s Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies (BCS) at 610 Henry St. know the odds, and they’re arming themselves to compete in today’s tough job market.
On Wednesday, 40 juniors at BCS — who have themselves been the recipients of prestigious internships in business, non-profit and government organizations — shared their know-how with their younger classmates at the BCS Model Job Fair.
“There’s a decrease in teens getting jobs, partly due to economic troubles,” said junior Pia Diana Martin II, who is wrapping up a 13-week internship in the Volunteer Resources Department at the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. “Lots of kids are told they need more experience.”
The Model Job Fair at BCS aims to “get kids in the game by giving them more experience,” she said. “All the 11th-graders are getting a leg up.”
Raine O’Kelly-Rodriguez has also been interning with the library, at the Pacific branch. “I work with kids and prepare activities, read, shelve books and prepare the monthly calendar,” she said. On Wednesday, it was Pia and Raine’s turn to interview 10th-graders for next year’s BPL internships.
“Current interns interview next year’s interns,” said Elizabeth Lewis, Manager of Volunteer Resources for the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). “They’ll give their recommendations to their supervisors. It’s good experience for them to do the interview, and good experience for the next interns.”
Lewis was one of the 18 professionals from businesses, non-profits and government organizations who were on hand to evaluate the students’ interviewing techniques, answer questions and offer job search strategies.
New York Corporations:
Hire More Kids!
Student hopefuls gathered around tables featuring internship partners such as the Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX), Comptroller of the City of New York, Tooman and Allen Architects, Brooklyn College TV Center, The Mac Support Store and others. Experienced interns answered questions from the younger set: “What should I wear?” “What’s the coolest thing about this job?” “How do I learn about the organization?”
Elyse McMillan and Kira Charles worked with the non-profit H.E.A.T. (Health and Education Alternatives for Teens) this past semester. Not only did they learn some hard facts about HIV and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, but “how to act in the workplace, and how to get along with other employees,” said Elyse.
“We did a variety of things,” said Kira. “Filing copies, putting together folders for seminars. I also learned a lot about safe sex,” she said. “It’s getting harder for teens to be hired. We can put this on our resume; it shows we have experience and gives us a better shot at getting a job.”
At an appreciation ceremony Wednesday, Kira thanked the internship sponsors.
“With your help this year, we have provided over 70 juniors with internships,” she said. “Why is this important? A Northeastern University study on youth and the economy found that students who work in high school do better in school, do better later in college, and earn a higher weekly wage than those who didn’t.”
Jacques Hoffmann, director of Internships at BCS, is asking New York City’s corporations to hire more kids for the summer. “In the recession, youth now have to compete with adults for jobs,” he said. “The city’s Summer Youth Employment Program has been eroded — only about 35 percent of our kids who apply will be selected. The BCS internship program will help them be better prepared to pound the pavement.”
The Internship Program is just one way that BCS is helping its students prepare for the real world. BCS is an “Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound school,” Hoffman said. “Our main approach is that teens learn best when addressing real world issues alongside of professionals, and having a real world impact with their work.”
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008
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