Employers, counselors see 'huge need' for summertime workers

Employers expecting to fill job vacancies with the traditional summertime influx of high school students have been left wondering where the workers have gone.

Many employers are “literally begging for new employees” with little result, said Don Acker, program manager for Equus Workforce Solutions in New Kensington.

“Right now, we have more employers interested than students,” Acker said. “They could basically pick the kind of work they want. That’s how many employers we have interested.”

Many high school students have “no plans to work right now,” he said, and those who do are looking to be paid more than many employers are willing to offer.

“We’re not seeing people returning to a job state of mind yet,” Acker said. “If they haven’t been working over the past year or two, they’re not intending to work now.”

Joseph Thomas, 17, a rising senior at Franklin Regional, said “most people” he knows are seeking summer jobs, but they’re weighing the payoff.

“I’d say (wage) is a pretty big factor,” said Thomas, who is a lifeguard at Westmoreland Country Club. “I know a lot of kids who quit previous summer jobs because other summer jobs were offering more pay. Pay is definitely something they’re looking for.”

Kate McVay, a recent Hempfield Area graduate, said she knows classmates who “expect to make more money than they should” at summer jobs and after graduation.

“They look at a price that they’re going to make, and they’re like, ‘Oh, no. That’s too low,’ ” said McVay, 18, of Greensburg.

McVay is working at CD Warehouse in Greensburg — a job she has held since her freshman year of high school — before heading to Penn State in the fall.

“People want to be paid a lot higher wages, especially with the inflation of prices of everything due to supply shortages,” McVay said. “So it’s very hard to get staff in a business that isn’t able to pay them a lot of money and can’t compete with the big corporations.”

Employers rely on students to help curb staffing shortages and challenges posed by the pandemic, said Sandra Oskin, director of guidance for Burrell School District.

Oskin has been approached by employers looking for student help. She said she believes there are more job opportunities than ever before for teenagers.

“I think there’s a huge need for summer employment,” said Oskin of Murrysville. “(Employers are) coming to us more than they ever have for good high school students … to train … and keep as a lifetime employee if they can.”

Burrell High School counselor Joseph Pham said he believes more students would apply for jobs if Pennsylvania increased its minimum wage, which sits at the federally mandated $7.25 per hour.

Although he didn’t initially want to work and was “kind of forced to find a summer job” by his parents, Thomas said it didn’t take him long to find his job lifeguarding at Westmoreland Country Club two years ago. He said he accepted the job because the pay is good and he wanted to meet new people.

Chelse Davis of Tarentum, a talent development specialist at Equus, said summer jobs allow students to learn life skills such as resume building and interview techniques and to “sell themselves a lot better.”

Davis said she recruits 15- to 24-year-olds mainly from Kiski Area, Burrell and Valley high schools and secures them jobs they are interested in, but the process hasn’t been very successful of late.

“If there are students who want to work, I haven’t found them,” Davis said.

Equus is a partner at PA CareerLink Alle-Kiski in New Kensington, which uses state funds to work with employers to secure job opportunities for students. All students are paid $11.50 per hour through the program, at no cost to the employer.

Acker said he has seen many students, especially recent graduates, set personal workplace standards.

“A lot of our students will tell us that they (won’t) work for less than (a certain number) an hour, which is really difficult because, without experience, where do you start?” Acker said.

Evan Kuba, 16, a rising junior at Franklin Regional, said even though he has been doing “everything right” for months, he has yet to secure a job. He said it is mainly because the employers he is interested in either aren’t hiring or they want workers who are 18 or older.

He said he is looking for a summer position in the automotive industry, such as working on, painting or cleaning cars, where he can “make decent pay” and have an “excuse to get out of the house.”

“It’s been quite a struggle,” said Kuba of Delmont. “I’ve been having a lot of trouble getting a job.”