Safety for Working Teens

As school lets out for the summer many teens head to their summer jobs. But the kinds of work that many teens are able to get -- such as in restaurants with slippery floors and dangerous cooking equipment, or doing landscaping or construction work -- combined with lack of training for these temporary workers, can lead to increased likelihood of injuries on the job.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010, there were approximately 17.5 million workers less than 24 years of age, and these workers represented 13% of the workforce. While some of these workers are young adults, many are still in their teens, so it is particularly concerning that the rate for emergency department-treated occupational injuries of young workers was approximately two times higher than among workers 25 years and older.

If your teen has a summer job, it might be helpful to share the information in a publication from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Are You a Teen Worker? which contains information about the age limitations for many jobs, what a young worker should expect in terms of training and safety from their employer, and what hours teens of different ages are permitted to work under federal law. Teens should also be reminded that certain rules about their employment may be impacted by laws specific to their state -- minimum wages, for example, can be higher than the federal minimum, just not lower. You should check with your State Department of Labor for specific information and for instructions for obtaining working papers, which many young teens need to obtain a job.

Photo Credit: Sugarfrizz via Flickr CC

Poll: For Most Business Leaders, Prestigious Diplomas Are Least Important Factor

Young job-seekers shouldn't worry about whether they graduated from a top-notch school. Business leaders don’t. According to a recently released poll conducted by Gallup in November and December of last year, candidates’ knowledge of their field, and their skills, are far more important to potential employers than the school that issued them their degree.

  

623 business leaders based in the United States responded to the poll. While 84 percent said that the amount of knowledge the candidate has in a field was “very important” and 79 percent gave applied skills the same ranking, only 28 percent reported that the candidate’s major was such a critical factor. The least important factor, according to the poll, was the candidate’s alma mater; just 9 percent felt that the applicant’s school was “very important.”

Gallup administered the same poll to the American public and found some interesting differences. 80 percent of those polled agreed with business leaders that knowledge in the field was a very important factor when considering candidates. But the poll revealed that the public is far more impressed than business leaders are by the degree and the school that awarded it: 47 percent categorized college major as very important, and 30 percent said that the candidate’s school was very important.

Gallup points out connections between their findings and the hiring practices of companies like Google that are more impressed by merit and achievement than by diplomas. The takeaway? College is still important, but so is being able to demonstrate that one’s skills extend beyond earning good grades in a classroom.