Author: pamelaevette

Originally published by the Post & Courier 5/28/2024

By Pamela S. Evette and William H. Floyd III

South Carolina’s young people are undeniably our future. Though they may be students today, they are our workforce of tomorrow and need to know about the great employment opportunities our state offers, especially to those looking for work for the first time. As South Carolina’s lieutenant governor and executive director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, we have partnered to help prepare our state’s youth with the skills they need to succeed in any career path through the recently launched Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders initiative.

Throughout this year, we are meeting with students and employers from the mountains to the coast. A recurring topic of discussion is the importance of our youth developing the requisite soft skills — effective communication, accountability, conflict resolution and many other important attributes needed to succeed in adulthood — and refining them by joining the workforce. Obtaining work experience while still in high school provides invaluable skills development, allowing teens to learn time management, teamwork and other practical skills crucial for employment.

While education is crucial, actual hands-on work experience through youth employment provides life-long lessons. Through Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders, we’re getting the word out to parents, teachers and teens about the importance and benefits of youth employment and the brand-new resources available to young people to support them on their journey into the workforce.

A new key resource now available to young people is the Youth Employment Site job board, an online job database that features work opportunities for teenagers with no prior experience. This dedicated hub for South Carolina’s youth showcases local businesses statewide that hire young people, as well as the job opportunities currently available to them and how to apply. The YES job board is searchable by ZIP code, age and experience level, and serves as a tailored and interactive introduction to the workforce for teens.

The available resources to support young job seekers go beyond the YES job board. The Department of Employment and Workforce website now has an Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders youth employment page at dew.sc.gov/youthemployment. In addition to linking to the YES job board, this webpage contains helpful information and tips for young people and their parents, including tips for building a resume, answers to parents’ frequently asked questions, educational videos that guide teenagers through dressing for success and other employment-related topics and more.

These resources help prepare and connect young people with work opportunities that benefit their finances and, more importantly, their personal growth and career paths.

Part-time job experience can help shape a young person’s future in more ways than one. For example, exploring different career paths and gaining exposure to different industries and professions can help shape teenagers’ postsecondary plans before they commit to a career, military service or additional schooling.

Part-time youth jobs often supply opportunities for networking and mentorships, which can change the trajectory of a young person’s future through meaningful connections made in the workplace. Depending on a high schooler’s postsecondary plans, a part-time job can also serve as a resume booster for college applications or, alternatively, help young job seekers become more competitive candidates than their peers when vying for employment.

Undoubtedly, the economic impact of having more young people in the workforce benefits our state, by increasing our current and future labor force, consumer spending and tax base. The true achievement we envision for South Carolina is developing a capable and confident labor force by nurturing the potential of our state’s young people so they can become the future’s talented, well-rounded workforce.

From skills trades to retail, hospitality to health care, manufacturing to cybersecurity and everything in between, South Carolina’s teens can learn more about the exciting jobs near them by visiting the YES job board, and employers can participate through the Department of Employment and Workforce interest form.

Pamela S. Evette is the lieutenant governor of South Carolina. William H. Floyd III is executive director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce.

Nothing beats that first job to teach soft skills and empowerment

Originally published by WYFF 4 on May 22, 2024

GREENVILLE, S.C. — When Pamela Evette was a teenager, she donned a polyester uniform and headed to her job at the Dairy Queen, something she says was formative in building the leadership skills and business skills that propelled her success as an adult. 

Now, as lieutenant governor of South Carolina, Evette has created the “Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders Youth Employment Initiative” with the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce.

The goal is to help high school and college-aged students and their parents realize the many benefits of a summer or part-time job, even beyond the paycheck. 

They’ve launched the “Youth Employment Site.”

Evette said, “I’ve heard repeatedly from business owners that graduates entering the workforce often lack crucial soft skills, like responsibility, effective communication, teamwork, and many other important attributes necessary to succeed in adulthood.”

She said her own experience as a working teenager taught her that nothing compared to the hands-on experience of working a part-time job in gaining valuable experience in social skills and financial skills. 

On Wednesday, Evette and SC DEW Executive Director William Floyd visited The Home Depot on Woodruff Road in Greenville. 

Floyd said, “The best first step toward the workforce is your first part-time job, learn all kinds of soft skills, the ability to talk with people, help customers with their needs. It’s a great training ground for future excellence.”

And he said it helps South Carolina businesses and industry fill some much needed positions. 

The Home Depot manager Chris Abdella and assistant manager Bobby Boaen told Evette and Floyd that their part-time student employees often become full-time employees with The Home Depot after graduating from college. 

Grayson Stokes is a 21-year-old accounting major at Clemson University who has worked for The Home Depot part-time while in college. He said that The Home Depot’s tuition reimbursement program is an extra help along with the salary he earns and the soft skills he’s acquired on the job. 

And Logan Hyll, a 19-year-old sophomore at Coastal Carolina said his work experience at The Home Depot has led to additional skills in his major of marketing. 

Employers and young people seeking jobs can now turn to a special page on the DEW website to connect to employment resources including tips for resume building, information about soft skills and answers to frequently asked questions.  To connect. just click here. Interested employers can connect to a digital press kit here.

Lt. Governor Evette joined the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce on Wednesday, May 1st for a joint press conference announcing the launch of the Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders: Lt. Governor Evette’s Employment Initiative webpage at dew.sc.gov.

This is an overview page filled with resources and helpful tips, and the Youth Employment Services/Site (YES) job board, which is an online job database that showcases work opportunities for teenage jobseekers with no prior experience.

This online job board is a safe and interactive introduction to the workforce with a myriad of resources. Young people, parents, and educators can find job postings from employers across the state in various industries. The job board is searchable with filters, including looking up work by zip code, and offers background information, directions, and application resources for all participating employers. The Regional Workforce Advisors (RWAs) at DEW are instrumental in the upkeep and verification of the job database as they are the statewide lynchpins between employers and students.

From small businesses to major employers, seasonal part-time work to apprenticeships, professional growth opportunities, and everything else in between:  This job board encourages everyone to say YES to youth employment! 

Visit the Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders webpage here: https://dew.sc.gov/youthemployment.

Originally posted on May 1st by WCBD by Raymond Owens

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCBD) — South Carolina’s Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette spent Wednesday in the Lowcountry discussing youth employment.

Evette was at Chick-fil-A in Goose Creek, learning about the restaurant’s business practices and the skills younger employees are developing by working there. 

Several employees discussed with News 2 some of the skills they are utilizing on a daily basis at the Chick-fil-A. 

“So discipline, that’s one of the big things for me,” said Taylor Pennington, team member and trainer. “Being a full-time student, I have to discipline myself. Doing schoolwork and then coming to work and being able to serve those guests.”

 Another team member discussed the reassurance they get from having a team to count on. 

“Just being able to step back no matter how busy and no matter how stressed I am,” said Harrison Livingston. “Knowing that I have a great team to rely on and support me in any way I can. It’s really reassuring.” 

Evette toured the location for about an hour Wednesday afternoon, where 30 to 50 employees, many of them young people, work daily. 

William Floyd, the Executive Director of the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, joined Evette for a press conference at the North Charleston Coliseum earlier in the day. The pair announced an online data website that shows jobs available for youth in the state. 

“We connect people with work and work with people, especially included our youth,” Floyd said. “Some youth are looking for part-time jobs because they haven’t graduated yet. There’s a great opportunity to do that through the lieutenant governor’s website that she initiated.”

Teenagers can search for jobs based on their zip code and discover job opportunities available near them. 

“How do we help, first of all, small businesses by getting kids working? And then a message to parents,” Evette said. “Parents, we need to get your kids off the couch. If you kick them out of the house to get them a job when they’re young, that is something that will be a runway of success for them forever.”