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Community Voices: Preparing youth for future jobs

Freddy Williams

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Flying cars, living on Mars, and holographic CEOs … Technology advances day by day making it difficult to paint a vivid picture of what the future will look like. What we can predict is that most of the jobs of year 2030 simply do not yet exist. But, what does this mean for our youth? How will we prepare kids for jobs we know nothing about?

Back to the basics

Equipping kids with a strong educational foundation is vital in supporting youth through adulthood. We want every young person to experience social, emotional and mental well-being — and to graduate with the skills and experiences that will lead to post-secondary and work success, no matter which professional route they select. While we may not yet know what jobs will be prominent in the next decade, school, parents, and youth advocates can ensure kids develop core skills that translate to any career opportunity.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast has addressed this need by invoking exponential growth in programing with subject matter pertaining to prominent transferable skills. We encourage our youth to build aspirations and believe that success is within their reach. Not only do these abilities help kids now, but they continue to be necessary well into adulthood so that they can compete in a post-pandemic global economy.

Career focused

Choosing an occupation can be challenging. Imagine how tough career exploration is for a middle schooler who has no clear understanding of what careers will be available upon college graduation. Young people start dreaming of career paths as young as five years of age. Generally speaking, children will have an idea of career fields by mid to late middle school. Hands-on career exploration, similar to that being provided at Boys & Girls Clubs throughout Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay Region, proves essential in allowing kids to grasp a clearer idea of what their future may look like.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast has partnered with numerous private companies such as TD Synnex and Bank of America to identify the job skills needed to secure a role in career fields spanning from skilled trades to data sciences to financial services. While we can expect that new jobs will be produced, we can also be certain that some top organizations will pivot to formulate space for these expected new roles.

Connecting the dots

Sometimes it’s not about what you know, but rather who you know. Equipping teens with well-versed professional connections can make an enormous impact on the employability of teens upon graduation. Innovative Teen Workforce Readiness programs, like the one offered by Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast, offer a unique experience to not only match teens with career opportunities in fortune 500 companies, but also aid teens in creating professional connections and relationship equity with the business community.

Employability is an isolatable skill. Yet, how do young people gain this skill without proper on-the-job training that may be represented on a resume? Workforce Readiness programs are bridging this gap. Specifically, those that are accessible to underserved  communities and BIPOC youth, thus improving life trajectories and positively influencing the possibility for economic mobility.

Predicting the future

While it is impossible to predict the future, one can be sure that multiple transferable skills will continue to be appealing no matter how greatly professions evolve in the next ten years. Literacy, socialization and character will always be core competencies in assessing employability. Understanding the job market, knowing key professional players, and having meaningful work experience will always be of great importance to employers. While the future is unpredictable, focusing on the factors we can control and predict will prove vital in ensuring our youth are prepared for professional success no matter what curveballs the future throws at them.

Freddy Williams is President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast.

 

 

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