Tech Directions - November 2008 - (Page 7)

direct from washington Anne C. Lewis anneclewis@earthlink.net Youth Employment All the reports and recommendations about school-to-work and workforce development released early this fall seem largely irrelevant, considering the turmoil in the economy. What is ringing true is the prediction about a calamity in the youth job market. Labor market experts warned Congress months before the ﬁnancial collapse that it needed to act immediately to forestall the worst employment scenario for teens and young adults in decades. Youth employment has been declining since 2000. In the summer of 2008, it reached a 60-year historical low, standing at 30 percent below that of 2000. All income groups have been affected by the decline in teen jobs, but low-income youth and black males have been hurt the most, according to Andrew Sum and others at the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies. The decline of employment occurred during years when employers added millions of jobs and the number of 16–24-yearolds increased about 10 percent. A number of factors are responsible for the poor youth employment statistics. New arrivals—legal and illegal—match almost one for one with the declines in youth employment, but youth also are experiencing competition from college graduates who cannot ﬁnd jobs in their ﬁelds and adult workers in transition. The federal government cut out the summer jobs program, and, according to testimony Sum presented to Congress, the personnel policies of bigbox retailers are tending more and more to bar any employees under the age of 18. Green-Tech Employment Perhaps it is never too late to plan ahead, even in the midst of a crisis. For example, a recent summit meeting in California focused on the “green-collar” labor shortage that already exists in that state. The shortage is not among college-educated engineers, according to ofﬁcials of power companies and others, but among skilled workers such as those who can install solar panels. If schools do not start training young people for these jobs, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the green-tech industry will move elsewhere or import the technicians needed, they said. While the presidential campaign rhetoric emphasized the potential For the rest of this item, visit www.techdirections.com/w111.html. Anne Lewis, one of the country’s most respected writers on education policy, works in the Washington, DC, area. www.techdirections.com WASHINGTON 7 http://www.johndeere.com/publications http://www.techdirections.com/w111.html http://www.techdirections.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech Directions - November 2008

Tech Directions - November 2008 Technically Speaking Contents Direct fromWashington The Report Technology’s Past Technology Today Mastering Computers Exploring Engineering—Pros Can Help Make It Real Challenge Students to Design an Energy-Efficient Home CTE Teacher Succession—Insuring a Smooth Transition Reservoir High’s TE Site Wins Web Site of the Month ACTE Convention and Career Tech Expo— Racing Toward Charlotte Hands-On Activities More than Fun

Tech Directions - November 2008

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