Building Opportunities for Young Adults: A Discussion on Strategies to Support the Newest Generation of Workers
Audio (MP3)
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About the Event
Young adults and teens face significant challenges in finding quality employment in today’s economy. The employment rate of teens is at its lowest point since World War II, and young adults have seen their employment rate drop by over 10 percentage points since 2000. For young workers, a lack of work experience can be a huge barrier to entering the labor market or finding a quality job.
More businesses have shifted away from hiring entry-level workers and investing in their training and development, and instead prioritize job candidates with experience. For those who have found employment, low wages, part-time hours, and limited advancement opportunities are not uncommon.
Join The Aspen Institute in this conversation to discuss the challenges young workers face in today’s economy and ideas for expanding meaningful volunteer, on-the-job learning, and entrepreneurship opportunities to help our newest generation of workers gain the experiences and skills they need to be successful in the labor market.
Featured speakers
John Bridgeland
President and CEO, Civic Enterprises
LaShauntaye Moore
Earth Conservation Corps
Henry Rock
Executive director and founder, City Startup Labs
Elizabeth Shuler
Secretary-treasurer/chief financial officer, AFL-CIO
Moderator
Nona Willis Aronowitz
National reporter, NBC News Digital
This event is part of the Working in America series, an ongoing discussion series hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program that highlights an array of critical issues affecting low- and moderate-income workers in the United States and ideas for improving and expanding economic opportunities for working people. For more information, visit as.pn/workinginamerica.
Join the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #talkgoodjobs.