Team Up With Youth!

A Guide for Businesses

Why team up with youth?
It’s good for youth. It’s good for business.

As fundamental building blocks of thriving communities, businesses are in a unique position to promote Positive Youth Development, an approach that builds on the assets and the potential of today’s youth. The Positive Youth Development approach fosters relationships between young people and caring adults who can mentor and guide them; provides youth with opportunities to pursue their interests and focus on their strengths; supports the development of youths’ knowledge and skills; and engages youth as active participants and leaders who can help move communities forward.

It’s also good for the bottom line. People are attracted to communities that are decent places to live and work. And most people want to support businesses that support their communities. Also, an investment in youth is an investment in the future workforce.

Many businesses already contribute financially to their communities. But businesses can offer much more in terms of time and opportunities for young people, and by doing so, they can help create safe and inviting environments in which youth can assemble, learn, and grow.

How can businesses team up with youth?

• Offer job training to help youth develop marketable skills
• Offer internships and mentored employment for young people
• Provide job shadowing opportunities for high school students
• Offer job sharing experiences, especially for youth living in more isolated rural areas where transportation is more difficult
• Give full-time opportunities for advancement or management experience to youth who are transitioning into the workforce
• Collaborate with other businesses to cosponsor a job fair or career awareness day in the local high school or youth development organization
• Partner with the schools on service learning projects and school-to-work or career development programs
• Ask youth to help plan a training or orientation for other youth coworkers
• Ask youth to train older employees on new technologies
• Bring youth with you to local business association meetings, or offer junior memberships
• Sponsor a local youth entrepreneurship contest and offer startup grants for youth-run businesses; invite young people to serve as judges
• Consider youth advisory committees in product development, marketing programs, and community affairs
• Sponsor youths’ attendance at leadership conferences and training sessions
• Invest time and money in your community—for instance, by sponsoring community service projects for employees, donating funds to a new playground or park, or loaning your office space to afterschool groups

Getting down to business
National Groundhog Job Shadow Day gives young people a new perspective on their studies through hands-on learning and a daylong mentoring experience. Students are invited to shadow a workplace mentor for a day for a firsthand look at how the academic skills they learn in the classroom are put into action in the workplace.

Participating in National Groundhog Job Shadow Day, the Alexandria Education Partnership of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce in Virginia partnered with many area businesses to offer job shadowing experiences to local high school students. Students first attended an informational session to cover some of the basics, such as employer expectations and the importance of a firm handshake, good eye contact, proper dress, and being on time. They were also taught the value of networking and were advised to collect business cards. But most of all, students were encouraged to have fun.

National Groundhog Job Shadow Day is a joint effort of America's Promise – The Alliance for Youth, Junior Achievement, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Labor. Companies participating in the event have included Best Buy, J.C. Penney Company, and Verizon. For more information on how you can participate in job shadowing to help prepare students for work in the 21st century, visit www.jobshadow.org.

Resources
America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth
www.americaspromise.org

AmeriCorps
www.americorps.org

Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development
www.theinnovationcenter.org

Junior Achievement
www.ja.org

Job Corps, U.S. Department of Labor
jobcorps.doleta.gov

Youth on Board
www.youthonboard.org

Team Up With Youth! A Guide for Businesses was developed by the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY) for the Family and Youth Services Bureau; Administration on Children, Youth and Families; Administration for Children and Families; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information on positive ways to work with youth, please go to ncfy.acf.hhs.gov, or contact NCFY at (301) 608-8098 or ncfy@acf.hhs.gov. Revised June 2006.