Bump says teens need to work to gain experience

LYNN – A local job-training program is a beacon in the wilderness when it comes to guiding teenagers to jobs, the state’s labor secretary said Thursday.Suzanne Bump praised the North Shore Workforce Investment Board for its skills development programs and said similar programs across Massachusetts must rise to the task of reducing teen unemployment.Bump said the rising number of teens without jobs is significant because employment analysts have closely linked teenage employment with a person’s ability to secure work as an adult.”This is a shocking decline that is most noticeable in cities and Massachusetts is better than the national average,” she said, adding that 39 percent of teens in the state were working in 2006.Some North Shore teens get their initial introduction to work through “First Jobs,” an Investment Board program that works with businesses and employers to bring young people into the working world.”A lot of kids are not work ready: They have no concept of good work habits and customer service,” said Board Chairman William Tinti.Teenagers often indirectly compete for their first job with retired seniors interested in part-time jobs. Bump said more cities across the state need to create programs that work with schools to provide job training and placement opportunities.She also told Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce members Thursday that English as a second language training is the “key to continue to transition immigrants into the workforce.”Bump touted Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan to make life sciences a growing sector of the Massachusetts economy along with resort casinos.Many life sciences jobs are currently confined to job candidates holding doctorates and master’s degrees, but Bump said Patrick has asked the state Legislature to approve $30 million in state spending on skill training for other types of life science jobs.She said the governor’s plan for three resort casinos will create 20,000 permanent jobs “paying good wages and benefits.” Bump said developers interested in building the casinos and bidding on a state license will have to outline plans to promote employees “from the back of the house to the front of the house.”Bump said Patrick’s vision for expanding gambling in Massachusetts goes beyond “gaming halls to shopping and meeting facilities.”