PRINTSummer stimulus
The economy gets a boost from jobs for the next generation
Courtesy of Linda Winn, ABC Laboratories
Bryan McClanahan, a staff scientist at ABC Laboratories, talks to Gov. Jay Nixon on his April 20 visit to the pharmaceutical laboratory to announce the Next-Generation Jobs Team. ABC Labs is one of several Columbia companies participating in the program, which was created to place some of Missouri’s youths in jobs this summer.
May 14, 2009 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Millions of Americans are losing their jobs each day due to budget cuts as a result of a failing economy. Now, an older, more experienced generation is competing for the entry-level jobs typically sought by inexperienced college grads. In an attempt to brighten this bleak picture, Vice President Joe Biden and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon presented young Missourians with what they hope is the light signaling an end to this jobless tunnel.
Last month, Biden and Nixon announced the Next-Generation Jobs Team, a program designed to provide summer employment for 16- to 24-year-olds. Funding comes from a $25 million federal stimulus package that will pay workers’ hourly wages. The plan is expected to create at least 3,000 jobs statewide, and an anticipated 900 of these will go to young people in mid- Missouri.
“The program has two main goals,” says Rep. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia. “The first is to create more jobs now and put some more money into the economy. The second is to provide long-term opportunities for people to get involved in jobs of the future.”
When it comes to Next-Generation Jobs, Webber says his role is letting his constituents know how to get involved. Although he says he’s received nothing but positive feedback about the program, there are locals expressing opposition, some of which is targeted at the limited ages of eligibility.
“I think it’s great they’re giving job opportunities to young people, but there are a lot of adults out there who have lost jobs and no longer have a means to support their family,” says Tricia Krull, a Columbia resident. “I think it would be a better use of resources to start placing adults in jobs.”
Federal income restrictions also exist, but Jim Dickerson, chairman of the work force board for the central region of Missouri, says all prospective applicants are encouraged to apply regardless of whether they think they meet the criteria. “Our advice is to do the application,” he says. “We determine the eligibility of individuals, and we can’t do that unless they apply.” Dickerson says that interested 14- and 15-year-olds can also apply to the program.
The Next-Generation Jobs Team is looking to place participants in paid jobs or internships in what it believes are “high-tech, high-growth jobs of the future,” according to its Web site, summerjobs.mo.gov.
MBS Textbook Exchange is one of several local companies taking part in the project. “It’s an opportunity to give young adults job experience,” says Mark Nistendirk, who works at MBS as a hiring coordinator. Nistendirk says possible employment areas at MBS will be in the warehouse moving textbooks and in the company’s call center.
As for what exactly constitutes a Next-Generation Job, Dickerson says lawmakers originally planned to place everyone in “green jobs.” “I asked federal officials what specifically that meant, and at the time it was undefined, but it seems to be an expanding term,” Dickerson says. He says he believes “green jobs” is more of an umbrella term being used to refer to expanding careers.
Webber says the jobs are financed through the summer, and then it is up to employers and employees to work things out after that. “We’re trying to give people experience as well as stimulate the economy a little bit,” he says.
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