Boston Daily Solves the Summer Jobs Crisis
We have fond memories of our first summer jobs. Back before we had rent or credit card debt, we could spend the money we earned herding elementary school kids on CD’s and gas that cost 99 cents a gallon. Those were the days.
So we were sad to read that Boston’s teenagers may not get the opportunity to earn some cash this summer. The agency in charge of the program that gets kids off the streets and into entry-level jobs at some of the city’s biggest companies says it only has enough money to fund 500 jobs for an estimated 4,000 kids who want them.
But rest easy, kids. We’ve got a solution.
Just last week, the Globe had a piece about businesses on the Cape that are struggling to fill seasonal positions now that the federal government isn’t issuing a large number of temporary visas for foreign workers.
The peculiar demographics of the Cape make seasonal hiring especially hard for employers. Demand for labor fluctuates wildly between summer and winter, there are fewer teenagers and young adults than elsewhere in the state, and the older population is much larger[.]
Problem meet solution: Import kids from Boston to work for a summer on the Cape. They get to spend three months on the beach instead of fetching Tom Menino’s coffee. We urge both the city and the businesses on the Cape to take it under advisement.
April 16th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
There is a world of difference between tough work in restaurant/hospitality environment and the touchy-feely programs sponsored by the mayor. Summer workers from foreign countries are glad to get a job. Our kids are a bit more selective. (”Oh, you want me to actually WORK?”) The devil is in the details.
April 16th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I would jump at the chance to take a sabbatical at my current employer to work the summer on the Cape. Someone needs to clean road kill off US-6? Consider it done!
April 22nd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
She WANTS her summer job, I love it. We now owe people summer jobs. Massachusetts keeps getting better and better.