Teenagers may have a tough time finding a summer job this year.”There aren’t a lot of jobs out there. Some managers are cutting hours, and it’s going to get tougher,” said George Scholer, job coordinator for Falcon High School.Under Scholer’s program, Falcon High School students earn credits toward graduation by working or volunteering at local businesses and nonprofit organizations. Currently, 17 students are in the program and all but two have jobs.Scholer also helps students who are not in the work-for-credit program – like students from the Patriot Learning Center – secure jobs.Scouring the area for employers, Scholer educates them about the program.The students engage in practice interviews that include tips about the interview process such as making eye contact and wearing work-appropriate clothing.”We interview the kids here before we send them [to a potential employer] because some kids wouldn’t be right for a particular job,” he said. “I won’t send a kid who I know isn’t going to succeed. I’m not going to set the kid up for failure.”Falcon businesses have been great to work with, Scholer said, with placements at Safeway, Carl’s Jr., Sonic, Papa Murphy’s, Ciao Bella and Pizza Hut. One of his students volunteers at a local therapeutic riding academy and another volunteers at the Animal Hospital of Falcon.”Just about every one of our students has been in their job six months to a year. It tells something about their character and the character of the business that they would keep them for that long,” Scholer said.He also has students working in Colorado Springs. Employers include the candy store on Peterson Air Force Base, Goodwill, Golden Corral and the YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region.Three or four jobs come up each month at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Morale Welfare Recreation Center, but the problem is the driving distance. “A lot of our students don’t have cars,” Scholer said.Wal-Mart and other big box stores, such as Sam’s Club and Costco, don’t hire high school students. “You have to be 18 to work there,” he said, because they use heavy equipment like forklifts that raise liability concerns.”This is the best job in the whole wide world,” Scholer said. “I’m really proud of these kids. My goal is for every one of them to be employed when they come back to school in August.”Scholer can be reached at 495-5520, extension 2090. He’ll be off for the summer but available at his home phone number at 495-5887 for potential employers.Opportunities through the Pikes Peak Workforce CenterMichelle Graham, director of youth programs at the Pikes Peak Workforce Center, said people are calling this “the worst summer job market for youth since World War II.”Young people are having a hard time competing with veterans returning from Iraq who take entry-level jobs because the job market is poor, Graham said.To increase the number of summer jobs, the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included $1.4 million in funding for the Summer Youth Work Experience Program in El Paso and Teller counties.The PPWFC is managing the program, which started May 1 and ends Sept. 30. The program reimburses businesses, including nonprofit organizations, for creating summer jobs.Graham said almost 30 employers in the Colorado Springs area contacted the PPWFC on their own; from those contacts, about 100 jobs have already been created. She expects the program to generate more than 300 summer jobs.To apply for a job under the Summer Youth Work Experience program, an applicant must be a United States citizen or an eligible non-citizen between 16 and 24 years old. Boys over 18 must be registered with selective service.The program targets members of low-income families who have a barrier to employment, such as a person with a physical or mental disability, someone in foster care, a homeless person or a high school dropout.”We’re trying to create a win-win situation in our community by spending this money wisely. We’re getting young people trained and marketable,” Graham said.”We’re getting business owners and employers the help they so desperately need to get over the hump, and we’re also injecting money into the local economy. Young people with more money in their pockets will be out there supporting our local businesses.” When the program ends, employers who keep the young people they hired could be eligible for tax credits and additional assistance, she said.PPWFC’s Duke Compton is in charge of finding businesses that want to participate in the Summer Youth Work Experience program.Nationwide, the goal is to create jobs in specialized areas that have a well-defined career path like information technology, renewable energy, health care, energy efficiency and computer science. Relative to Colorado Springs, Compton said, “It’s not really working the way I’d like to see it.”However, Compton said he’s received a good response from Colorado Springs employers and still has 20 major employers to contact. He’s also had responses from businesses in Teller County.Compton hasn’t heard from any businesses or nonprofits in the Falcon area. “I would love to have some out in Falcon or even further east,” he said.”As a parent of a teenager myself, the program really makes me very optimistic about the future we’re trying to create for these young people,” Graham said. “They need some hope for the future, and this is a nice way to reassure them that there are opportunities.”For the Summer Youth Work Experience program, download the application from www.ppwfc.org. Click the Youth Zone button, choose “Summer Jobs for Youth” from the menu and scroll down to the bottom of the page.Business owners or managers wanting to participate in the program should write a description of the potential job and send it to Compton at Compton.d@ppwfc.org or call 667-3839.The Governor’s Summer Job Hunt programThe PPWFC also runs the Governor’s Summer Job Hunt program, which provides free workshops for all youth ranging from age 14 to 21. Workshop topics include practice interviews, resumÈ and cover letter writing and skills assessment and building self-confidence. To sign up, visit ppwfc.org/page.php?s=105. Youth who sign up will have access to job postings, including jobs under the Summer Youth Work Experience program.Use the Web to find other jobsJust a few minutes at the computer produced these potential jobs:
- Colorado Legends and Legacies Youth Corps, a Colorado Springs nonprofit organization affiliated with AmeriCorps, is looking for young people to perform a variety of outdoor jobs this summer. These paid positions also include education awards. See www.cllyc.org/positions.html.
- Eagle Lake Camp, a Christian-based youth camp a few miles west of Colorado Springs, is looking for counselors. For more information, see www.navigators.org/us/ministries/eaglelake/staff/ministry.
- The Broadmoor Hotel is looking for shuttle drivers, spa guest services associates, spa reservation agents, groundskeepers and other staff members. To apply, go to www.broadmoor.com/open-positions.php.
- Don’t forget to check the job postings at cosprings.craigslist.com, www.monster.com, www.hotjobs.com and other job posting Web sites.
