Dive Brief:

• Even for employers aware of the state of youth investment, it's worth revisiting to be sure organizational efforts are still relevant to meet current needs and challenges of young workers, according to a Jan. 2022 report by Jobs for the Future and the Taco Bell Foundation.
• The report noted that 37% of young workers employed as cashiers on average were earning a median hourly wage of $12.03, with 47% earning a median hourly wage of $11.47 in fast food jobs.
• "While millions of young adults were able to find work in 2021, very few obtained jobs that cover their basic needs and offer opportunities for advancement," JFF’s Associate Vice President for Reconnection Strategies Lili Allen said in a press release. "This growing crisis for young people could have serious and lasting implications for our economy and society."

Dive Insight:

The report How Young Adults Can Advance in a Turbulent Economy  from JFF and the Taco Bell Foundation discusses revamping skillsets of young professionals to land higher paying jobs, and includes best practices for youth employment organizations. 

Data suggests that opportunities for learning — even those that may bolster a worker’s move to a different company — can ultimately be the key to retention. Notably, the 15 key roles identified in this report fall into the protective services, sales, transportation, healthcare and tech industries.

With tech in particular, studies show that workers are hungry for upskilling opportunities. Studies also show that access to those learning programs can be a major factor in job satisfaction.

An October 2021 report from TalentLMS and Workable suggested as much: 72% of the tech, IT and software employees surveyed said they were thinking of quitting their job in the next 12 months. Limited career progression was the one of the top reason workers said they were looking to switch jobs. Additionally, 32% of dissatisfied respondents said a lack of learning and development opportunities was the reason they started to shop for new jobs.

Overall, 91% of tech employees surveyed said they wanted more training opportunities from their employers. 

The desire appears to be more urgent when considering the intersection of industry and gender. In a survey for Skillsoft’s 2021 Women in Tech Report, 86% of respondents said opportunities for professional development are "extremely or very important to them." Meanwhile, only 42% of respondents said their employers currently offered that benefit. More specifically, about 1 in 3 women told Skillsoft a lack of training had held them back when pursuing a tech-related career. 

It’s safe to say that offering opportunities for upskilling could be an investment in equity, in the tech sector and beyond.