Campaign Encourages Small Businesses to Support our Nation̢??‰?s Youth

Washington, DC̢??‰۝Today, Small Business Majority launched a national sign-on campaign asking small employers to pledge to create professional opportunities for young people to help bridge the gap between youth who are out of school and out of work, and small businesses having a hard time filling entry-level positions.

Nearly five years have passed since the end of the Great Recession, yet 6 million young Americans are unemployed̢??‰۝a staggering number that negatively affects economic demand and hurts small businesses. At the same time, small employers are struggling to fill job vacancies that are critical to both individual company success and overall economic growth. In fact, some 40 percent of American employers cite lack of skills as the No. 1 reason for entry-level vacancies.

The campaign aims to help solve this problem by getting small businesses̢??‰۝our No. 1 job creators̢??‰۝involved in helping develop new sources of skilled entry-level talent, expand opportunities for youth who are out of school and out of work, and invest in our communities.

The pledge asks small business owners to commit to taking one or more actions during the next two to three years to create opportunities for our youth, including:

• Increasing the number of opportunity youth hires within their company;
• Expanding full or part-time intern or apprenticeship placements for opportunity youth within their company;
• Adopting or expanding a high-quality mentoring program for local opportunity youth;
• Partnering with nonprofit training providers to create a new employee mentoring, job-shadowing and recruiting program;
• Partnering with a local nonprofit or education system to identify opportunity youth to fill entry-level positions in their business; and
• Working with one of their company̢??‰?s suppliers to assess opportunities to hire, train or mentor opportunity youth.

̢???I signed this pledge because I̢??‰?m committed to creating opportunities for hard working young people who want to break into my field and build their career in engineering,̢???? said Lisa Goodbee, owner of Goodbee and Associates in Centennial, Co. ̢???A year and a half ago, I hired one of my engineers right out of school. At first it was a little bit of a challenge, as most of my staff are senior level engineers, but it̢??‰?s ended up being a supremely rewarding experience for me and a cost-effective one for my business. Often times, I think small business owners forget that by hiring someone right out of school, they can save money on payroll. Further, they have a fresh, excited worker who they can mold into the type of professional that best fits their company. Everyone benefits.̢????

To view or sign the pledge, please visit: www.smallbiz4youth.com.

To schedule an interview with a small business owner who signed the pledge or a representative from Small Business Majority, contact Allison Abney at [email protected] or (202) 289-0957.