Evening star., 1936-05-10
Finding Jobs for
School Graduates
By Frederic ]. Haskin.

again, the problem OF flndlng jobs for
the thousands of graduates from high
schools and colleges reappears with all
its accompanying distress. For six years
the United States has had an unemploy-
ment situation worse than 1t ever has
known before. With large numbers of
the adult population unemployed any
way, each year bringing on fresh. crop
Of applicants in the labor market aggra-
Yates the situation. If there Is no place
for the men and women, what becomes
Of the youths?
Hundreds Of thousands of young men
and women have left school in the last
six years. A very small percentage of
them have found work Of a regular and
remunerative nature. With the passing
Of each year their chances of finding
work are believed to be less. The habit
Of idleness, however enforced grows and
ability to find a job lessons. 1t probably
will come as surprise to many people
to learn that there are 100000 young
people on relief. Most Of these have
never had job Of q regular sort In their
lives. They have emerged from school
into world which has not wanted them
because already there was brutal COM
petition for the jobs which existed.
Every employer and every employe e.
knows that the first question asked ands ,
answered on the occasion of application
for job is: What is your experience?
The young man or woman who has Just
come out of school can state that fact
and it serves the purpose amply. But
the youth who has been out of school
hVTn cd
experience is at a bitter disadvantage.
1t is not very effective to explain to a
prospective employer that ones only ex-
perience has consisted in looking for job.
1t is only natural that many young
people become discouraged and, going on
relief. lose ambition and initiative They
feel that they have come out into a
hostile world, and they early begin to
doubt the soundness of the adages and
learning of their school years. The feel
ing that the Government or some one
owes them living grows. To be sure,
personal characteristics and character
have something to do with the outcome.
Some young people will manage to win
through in the face of any difficulties.
As early as $780, when the difficulties
arising from an overcrowded labor mar
ket began to be felt, stay-at-school drives
were conducted by the authorities OF
course, no one then had any idea of how
long the hard times would last. 1t was
figured that no one could be injured by
learning little more, whereas the labor
market would be less crowded if more
youngsters remained in school. The
stay-at-school drives were amazingly
successful. Between 1880 and 1892 high
school enrollments increased almost IA
per cent, while college registrations rose
per cent in spite of the tuition costs.
It was inevitable, however, that this
could not endure. Family incomes de-
clined and the cost of attending school ,
could not be borne indefinitely. Some
families became so Impoverished that
the matter of keeping children decently
enough clad to attend school became a
problem.
1t was in this situation that the Fed
eral Government, in February, 1884, in
stituted its college-aid program. The
National Youth Administration was set
up and special aid given in finding jobs
for students, including secondary school
and postgraduate students. This work
has developed so that young students
are making Sc month and st-gradu-
ates from $25 to $50 month. This is not
very much money, but it often makes the
difference of being able to stay in school
and leaving to enter an inhospitable busi-
ness world and labor market.
The work found varies according to
abilities of the youths. Some students
are acting as private secretaries to prin-
cipals and teachers, while others do such
manual work as repairing class room and
playground equipment. Some assist with
the grading of papers. Others who have
the ability are given museum and library
work, and some assist in reSearching in
such fields as sociology, agricultural
biology and chemical engineering.
Then there are some jobs available in
connection with schools, but of the
campus. There are jobs available in hos
pitals and laboratories. There are now
about 100000 students receiving this as
sistance from Uncle Sam, and with its
$27,000.000 appropriation the National |
Youth Administration expects to extend .
the work materially.
The finding of work to do at school is
but one phase of the function of the
Youth Administration. The older stu
dents quite naturally do not want to
spend an indefinite number of years
in school unless they mean to take up
teaching as profession, and the profess
sion is seriously overcrowded already,
especially in view of the fact that many
schools are closed through lack of funds.
To aid these in finding Jobs, junior en-
ployment counselors have been placed in
"a selected communities. 4
These officials operate usually in CO.
operation with local organization. For
example, in Boston the employment
counselors work with the Recreation De-
partment Of the City of Boston. In so
large city there are many opportunities
for work at the recreation centers, but.
more important, the counselors, finding
so many young people gathered at these
centers. are able to give them the advice
of which they stand in need OF course.
they also keep in touch with United
States employment agencies, and gen.
eral interchange of information as to
the possibilities of any labor market is
made easy and rapid.
Also the relief agencies are kept part '
of the picture, and when jobs for young
psople are found they will be given by
preference to the young people of relief
families.
Training and work experience oppor-
tunities are provided for the young
people at various centers, thus providing