As Job Losses Skyrocket, Industry Leaders Hiring for More Than 150,000 Immediate Job Openings Participate in Today's National Youth Hiring Day

WASHINGTON, May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the 100,000 Opportunities Initiative and Get Schooled are hosting the third annual National Youth Hiring Day online to connect unemployed youth with more than 150,000 job openings and career supports. National Youth Hiring Day is one of the nation's largest online job fairs and participating employers are industry leaders with a large number of entry-level and limited experience job openings they need to fill immediately. Nine national and regional employers are participating: Amazon, CVS Health, Dollar General, Fry's Food Stores, Spectrum, Stop & Shop, Target, UPS, and Walgreens. The interactive online job fair will be hosted at www.HiringDay.org from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET.

Additionally, youth empowerment leaders including City Year, Year Up, Get Schooled and MENTOR are participating. The former two organizations are offering thousands of paid opportunities that also provide skills training and leadership development; the latter two are providing support that helps youth with resume writing, practice interviews, and connecting with mentors who can help young people reach their full potential.

With unemployment claims soaring as businesses shut down amidst state and local efforts to control COVID-19, the growing recession is hitting these young people hard – the spike in unemployment has been sharper for younger workers as well as people of color. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 4.5 million young people in the U.S. ages 16-24 were out of school and unemployed. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for young people ages 20-24 was twice the national average in January of 2020. Now, social distancing is creating a new barrier to employment that keeps young people from entering the workforce or connecting to services that better position them for getting and keeping a job.

"30 million Americans and rising have lost their jobs due to COVID-19," said Charles Hiteshew, Executive Director of 100,000 Opportunities Initiative. "National Youth Hiring Day is a direct response to record unemployment and shifting workforce needs. Young people across the United States will be the backbone of America's economic recovery in the coming months and years, and our coalition has proven how valuable they can be to participating companies. We must ensure that these young people are not the last to be hired and have the resources and support to succeed. We have learned too many lessons to forget the vital role that they must play during this time."

For the past two years, 100,000 Opportunities Initiative and Get Schooled have been pioneering innovative virtual hiring strategies to help connect young job seekers to employers. National Youth Hiring Day 2020 is using these strategies to help young people find employment or strengthen their future employment prospects while maintaining current safety and health guidelines.

This will be the third year for National Youth Hiring Day, but the first time the event has offered an interactive online job fair and career prep platform. This year's event will utilize a custom online platform, built by vFairs, that mimics the best features of an in-person job fair. Available from any connected device with no download or special software, the platform enables youth to learn more about the benefits and openings of each participating employer, engage with recruiters and service providers directly in real time, and apply for specific opportunities near them.  

"National Youth Hiring Day will help young people take the next step in their career — many of whom are youth of color from low-income communities," said John Branam, Executive Director, Get Schooled.  "This online fair will allow young people to work on their resume, get free coaching from a Get Schooled advisor, think about future job opportunities, or get hired into one of the 150,000 jobs available — all from the safety of an online environment."    

Despite the economic turmoil, many companies do have job openings to fill immediately. For example, the healthcare, grocery, e-commerce, and delivery sectors must hire hundreds of thousands of employees to meet the current demand. Many of these jobs are entry-level or require limited previous experience.

All participating employers are looking to fill vacancies immediately, but where jobs are located varies by company. CVS Health and Spectrum are hiring in metro markets across the country; Fry's Food Stores is hiring across the state of Arizona; Stop & Shop is hiring across the northeast; and Amazon, Dollar General, Target, UPS, and Walgreens are hiring across the U.S., with Walgreens having a concentration of openings in Orlando, FL, and Phoenix, AZ.

"We look forward to connecting virtually with young job-seekers at the National Youth Hiring Day online job fair," said Seth Feit, Group Vice President, Talent, Spectrum. "Spectrum employees provide vital connectivity services for residential and business customers through our broadband internet, voice and video products, and we are actively hiring for entry-level career opportunities nationwide."

Another effect of physical distancing is that young people have been cut off from resources that help them build professional skills and make them more attractive to prospective employers. National Youth Hiring Day's online platform also enables young people to connect to nonprofit youth empowerment leaders who can help them craft their resumes, practice interviews, and build other key professional skills.

The goal of National Youth Hiring Day is to help facilitate connections in a tough economic climate and leave young people better positioned to find employment now and in the future.

About 100,000 Opportunities Initiative

100,000 Opportunities Initiative is a coalition of more than 50 national employers, private sector, and nonprofit partners dedicated to employing young people, ages 16-24, who are out of school or unemployed. It was launched in 2015 by the Schultz Family Foundation (founded by Howard and Sheri Schultz), Starbucks, the Aspen Institute, FSG, 30 other corporate partners, and a coalition of national and local nonprofit organizations. The initiative works to connect young people to jobs, apprenticeships, and internships while helping the businesses build their talent pipelines so they can thrive. Since 2015, the initiative has helped more than 200,000 youth find employment.

About Get Schooled

Get Schooled is a free digital college and job advisor helping young people get to college, find first jobs, and succeed in both. Get Schooled has created JobLaunch, the only youth-focused job search tool for entry-level roles. Plus, Get Schooled offers free resume review, a powerful job search tool, and free 1-on-1 text support on specific job-readiness questions. Learn more at getschooled.com.

Contact:

Mary Bushel, The Hatcher Group
443.621.9672
[email protected]

SOURCE 100,000 Opportunities Initiative