$18 hourly. “We are not witnessing an end to the importance of cognitive skills; rather, strong cognitive skills are increasingly a necessary — but not a sufficient — condition for obtaining a good, high-paying job,” according to David J. Deming, a research associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research. “You also need to have social skills.” There’s simply no “machine substitute” for good old-fashioned social interaction, Deming adds. Bruce Tulgan, author of Bridging the Soft Skills Gap: How to Teach the Missing Basics to Today’s Young Talent, agrees. “The cliché is you get hired for your hard skills, but you get fired for your lack of soft skills,” he says. “People who show up excelling in these skills set themselves apart as peer leaders and as people who can handle more responsibility. It’s a huge advantage at a whole lot of levels.” The support and training pay off, says Brian Quail, president and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County in North Lauderdale, Fla. “Our partners are telling us that when they hire a youth from Boys & Girls
1 The Torch Club builds character and leadership skills through volunteer opportunities for tweens. Old Navy supports Torch Club, provides volunteers and sponsors an annual fund drive.
ONward! is Old Navy’s three-prong effort to support community nonprofits by providing opportunities for youth to build leadership and workplace skills. It includes:
2 O.N. the Job has introduced 90,000 tweens and teens to retail careers through workshops and a hands-on opportunity to shadow an Old Navy store associate for a half day.
3 This Way Ahead, a Gap Inc. program for youth ages 16 to 24, provides first jobs at affiliated stores. The company plans to expand the program to 60 cities globally by 2020.
GETTY IMAGES; PROVIDED BY BRIANNA CORNELIUS
Steps To Success
Clubs, they’re head and shoulders above the general population that they’re hiring,” Quail says. “They have the soft skills; they have the knowledge and know where they want to go.” Brianna Cornelius, 18, of Coral Springs, Fla., says the This Way Ahead initiative gave her the tools she needs to succeed on the sales floor at Old Navy, where she became a sales associate in 2018. “Our goal is that every teen that comes to the Boys & Girls Clubs has some Brianna Cornelius exposure in careers, whether it’s from a guest speaker or attending one of our workshops with a basic introduction to careers,” Coats says. “It was an answer to my prayers,” says Josiah, who used to believe that playing in the NBA was one of his few career options. “I’m looking at things in a whole other way now.” l