FIND YOUR SIPPING POINT

Despite the evidence that higher education creates better opportunities and outcomes for younger people looking to enter the workforce, that doesn’t mean that working as a teenager doesn’t have value. Teenage workers can develop soft skills such as time management, networking and customer service skills – all of which are transferable to careers.

Baird, for example, said he acquired a great deal of personal value from working a parttime job as a teenager.

“I think it’s really important to at least get on the path to finding your place in the world and learning how to integrate into society, before you get to the point where you have to be thrown into it,” he said. “I voluntarily worked at a very young age, and I think it was beneficial. Being in the workforce that young actually taught me social skills but also a work ethic and integrity. There’s a lot of value that people oftentimes don’t see when they skip out on the workforce.”

Regional nonprofits have developed initia- tives and programs to help teenagers better transition into the workforce. BE NKY Workforce Development Manager Kim Spreder told LINK nky her organization is working to increase the number of teenage workers in the regional workforce by coordinating with nonprofits, schools and employers to increase awareness and opportunities.

“(It’s about) those internships and apprenticeships and having the employers come into high schools or even postsecondary schools to talk about, ‘This is what we do, this is what we offer, this is how we can prepare you for that line of work once you graduate,’ ” Spreder said. “The schools are also working diligently to have those pathways and those programs.”

Increasing awareness can play a big role in closing the teenage labor gap. Part of the reason Covington was able to fix its lifeguard staffing shortage was due to a targeted marketing effort from the Parks & Recreation Department. According to Oldiges, the utilization of social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook helped them spread their job openings to a broader audience – parents and teenagers included.

“Engaging their parents to help spread the word so that parents can engage their kids – that worked out really well but really, it was a lot of social media,” Oldiges said.

One thing is clear, according to the experts interviewed by LINK nky: As the Northern Kentucky labor market continues to evolve, all stakeholders in the workforce – including employers and the employees and future employees who make up that labor force, both teenagers and beyond – will need to continue to evolve, as well.

IMAGINE THIS…

an experience centered around five Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® Distilleries.

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