Help wanted: Craven teenagers not taking advantage of great jobs

Landing a job as a teenager who may still be in high school is not hard in Craven County.

But certain factors, such as living in a COVID world, prohibit teens from being able to grasp these job opportunities.

Reeshema Walker, manager of Craven County NCWorks Career Center, said there are more job vacancies than teenagers looking for work in Craven County, and it's not because they don't want employment.

"It depends on their home life because parents make the final decision," Walker said. "A lot of parents are scared they may catch COVID. We're talking about teenagers who majority do not live by themselves, and so they don't have a vehicle. A lot of them are reliant on their parents or family members for transportation."

There are more than 200 teens between the ages of 16 to 19 who have applied for an account at NCWorks within a year, Walker said. More than 100 jobs are ready to hire applicants ages16 and up in Craven County, but the amount of job seekers are low.

Walker said she does not know the number of teenagers who have successfully landed employment because the numbers rest with the employer. She did say there are a lot of great opportunities, but young applicants are not taking advantage.

"It is not hard for a teenager to get a job, but there's a lot of factors that goes into that decision," she said. "The child can want to go to work, but whoever that guardian is, is making that decision."

The top skills that employers need in the area is pretty much everything. Walker said available jobs for ages 16 and up include stockers, cashiers, delivery drivers, fast food, life guards, screeners at CarolinaEast, Target and Walmart positions and the list continues.

Most fast food restaurants have increased their wages to acquire individuals and they are willing to train those applicants.

"We often see a lot of high schoolers around here work at restaurants during the summer. My two kids did it so it's not an unusual thing at all," said Kevin Roberts, President of New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce. "The businesses in this market are very open to teens working."

Local restaurants love hiring teen employees

Mildred Green, Owner of Cow Café in New Bern, has about 12 employees ages 18 and under and usually hires about three or four additional teens in the summer when school is out.

"We are so blessed to have a great group of young folks working with us," Green said. "They're generally very dependable. Good attitudes. The ones that we've got, we just can't say enough about them."

She said the teens that are already hired generally connect with their friends who may need a job as well. This is how Green said she receives most of her young employees.

"I'm sure there are teenagers out there that aren't working, but we really haven't had too much of problem getting teenagers on board," Green said. "They're a great asset to your business and we were all teenagers at one point and somebody gave us a chance."

Alayna Aylward, owner of Vine in New Bern, said she receives submissions year round of teenagers between ages 15 and 19 seeking a job.

She said the younger employees who are still in high school typically work nighttime shifts and only work about three to four hours a day.

"They're some of the best workers and I don't know why that is, but they work without complaining and they're just lovely people," Aylward said. "But reasons to not hire someone is really only if their schedule doesn't really comply with mine."

She said she does not have a high turnover rate because of her ability to be flexible with younger workers. Her employees typically stay as a Vine employee for at least a year.

Aylward said as long as you have a good attitude during the interview, age doesn't matter.

"I don't think anyone should not hire someone based on their age, because at any age you can have great work ethic," she said. "So if a business is looking they should absolutely hire a 16-year-old if they need to just because they work just as good as someone that's a little bit older."

Green said winter hours are limited because it marks their slow season, but summertime is when teens apply more frequently.

"We always see an influx in the summer and hopefully we can see a lot more of our teenagers take an opportunity to fill these positions and also learn how to manage money and time," Walker said.

Both restaurants agree individuals obtaining jobs at a young age is good to start to a thriving work ethic.

"That just gives them a good start in their future to have that kind of first job experience," Green said.

Walker said just because a teenager may desire a job, doesn't mean they can obtain it.

"We could sit back and say, 'yeah, they should be working,' but we don't know their family life," she said. "We don't know the transportation issues. We don't know what they're dealing with when it comes to COVID-19."

This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: Craven County labor market in favor of teenagers seeking employment