Smart Workforce Solutions
Employing Youth: A Fresh Workforce
Young people are eager to apply their skills in the workplace and enthusiastic about learning new workplace skills. They also bring new ideas to their work and familiarity with how to accomplish work tasks more effectively using computer-based technologies. Youth can get the job done and energize the workfplace.
The Missouri Career Centers can connect you to these youth (ages 14-21) through a variety of programs. Employers can hire trained youth for part-time or summer jobs or provide work-based learning opportunities that lead to stable job paths and careers.
Apprenticeships, On-the-Job Training, Work Experience Programs
The Missouri Career Center operates a youth employment and training program for job seekers in-school and out-of-school across seven counties in Southwest Missouri. Funds provide wages or wage reimbursements to employers hiring youth in targeted positions. For more information, contact the Youth Services Department at (417) 629-3000.
Joplin Chamber Youth Workforce Outreach Partnership
In partnership with Southwest Missouri Workforce Investment Board/Youth Council, the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce has launched a work readiness initiative targeted to youth that are not typically eligible for public assistance, but are still in need of job counseling and work readiness assistance. The Chamber partners with Joplin-area businesses in an Employer Pledge to hire youth that are work-ready. The work ready youth have graduated from a program that imparts job search, soft skills, and job survival skills to make them extra-valuable as a workforce. For more information, contact Cary Beasley at (417) 624-4150 or email mbayless@joplincc.com.
Southwest Missouri Youth Council
The Youth Council from the Southwest Missouri Workforce Investment Board is dedicated to providing a bright future for the economy by preparing today’s youth for tomorrow’s workforce. In conjunction with the Youth Outreach Workforce Partnership committee throught the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, the Youth Council identifies duplication and gaps in services and provides strategic direction on the provision of comprehensive services and meeting the complex needs of youth and their employers. For more information on the Youth Council, contact Jasen Jones at (417) 629-3000 or email ceo@workforcezone.net.
Youth Opportunities Program
The Youth Opportunities Program (YOP) is designed to broaden and strengthen opportunities for positive development in community life for youth and to discourage such persons from engaging in criminal and violent behavior. Contributors approved projects can receive up to a 50 percent partial state tax credit for their donation that allows donors to redirect their tax dollars to support local efforts. For example, Legget and Platt, Inc. of Carthage has successfully utilized YOP to help fund one of Missouri’s most dynamic youth apprenticeship programs.
Compliance Resources on Employing YouthÂ
The FLSA Child Labor Advisor is designed to answer questions about workers and businesses that are subject to Federal child labor rules. This Advisor provides information at different levels of detail, depending on who is seeking the information.
Missouri Revised Statutes Section 294.060.1 requires employers who employ youth under the age of 16 to post the following, which is downloadable and printable as a PDF: LS-43 Youth Employment List.