If you have a 16/17 year old at college, do they also have a part time job? What do they do?

[RJB73]

DD16 (17 early May) is at college 3 days a week. She found a Christmas job at a well known UK chain store but since that has ended she has really struggled to find part time work.

It appears to be so difficult finding work in our area (even though our town received city status a few years ago and has been growing at an alarming rate).

Has your dc found it difficult to get work at this age?

Yes! In London so you’d think there’d be plenty of opportunities. My dcs have a good cv for their age (volunteering, proactive) and don’t mind travelling to different areas, have applied for so many vacancies and people don’t even bother to get back to them.
None of their friends were able to get one either unless they had a contact.

Not regular work. It’s tricky to fit in around their school and hobby commitments. They do gardening and odd jobs for their grandparents, some of their grandparents friends and one of our neighbours but it’s very ad hoc.

Mine are all older now but three out of four of them worked as cleaners at their schools, so doing two hours each weekday. It was well paid although not always pleasant work cleaning toilets etc. My older son also worked at McDonalds and kids theme parks through college and Uni - Paultons park etc. Obviously depends if there are any such places near you !

DS1 is also at college 3 days a week and has a job at a posh brunch place as a kitchen assistant. He fell into it really, had a trial shift and that was it. He’s been there about 8 months.
We live in a really popular tourist destination so it’s very busy most of the year although he isn’t getting many shifts at the moment.

We are finding the same. Endless applications forms sent but no one ever gets back to her. I appreciate that they all must have endless people applying for one vacancy but not so much as a short text or email back. It's even the case with volunteer vacancies. It is so disheartening for her.

My daughter does 4 days at college, she works in the hospitality section at our football ground so when the season ends then she will hopefully be able to pick something else up when the season ends.

Yes, my 17 year old works in a pub, 2 evening shifts a week. Very difficult to find work where we are - pretty rural so not much in the way of shops etc so pubs is about the only option.

We are lucky as we live near the coast but she has applied for various jobs at holidays parks but has still been unsuccessful.

DS got his job at 16 in a theatre. He got it mainly because of his volunteering experience but also because he wants to make it his career.

he’s also got a couple of other zero hours jobs. I have a friend that religiously searches for jobs (if you ask her to) and she saw it and sent it to him.

maybe have a look at some niche areas? His job for example was only advertised on the theatre website - not on indeed so you’d miss it if you didn’t look specifically.

We have a fairly large football club in our city, I never thought about that. I will get dd to look on their website as I know they have a lot of social events there.

we live by the coast and ds started pot washing at 15 in a cafe and since last summer is a lifeguard. There is always loads of seasonal work but it is harder in the winter. One of ds friends has done well at M and S .

I’m in Ireland, why would a 16/17 year old be in college?

Would they not still be in school?

DD did contact our local theatres around Christmas time (even offered up her time on a voluntary basis) but heard nothing back apart from one who sent a very snooty email basically saying they are only interested in employing people who have a genuine interest in drama and the arts.

Because that is normal here in the UK. If a young person doesn't go onto A levels they have the option of full time college or part time course and part time work or an apprenticeship.

Ok fair enough. Thank you

We are by the coast too. I'll get dd to print off her CV and we will pop them in to all the cafes in our area and see if anything comes from that.

Dd worked part time in a restaurant age 15-18
ds started Saturdays at a builders merchants age 14, now 16

DD worked in an independent cafe at that age, and also did some tutoring. She just took her CV in and asked if they had any work. It may have helped that the owner already knew us as customers.

DD was also offered a job in a care home when she was 16 but ultimately turned it down as she couldn't fit it in with the other stuff that she wanted to do.

A few of her friends also worked in cafes. Some worked in places like Greggs, Tesco, Macdonalds etc. Might need to be 17 for Tesco.

My eldest is a good rider, so she was mucking out horses, poo picking and the most lucrative was schooling other people's horses and particularly naughty ponies (she's slight enough) for which she charged £20/hour at that age. She also worked on a farm with cows (being used to horses this was pretty easy too)

In London and a lot of the DC I know got work by printing out lots of CVs, making sure they looked well groomed and presentable and walking up and down the streets popping into independent stores and cafes. A few got asked to cover for random shifts at two or three places rather than one more secure type job. Mine had rather a lot of baby sitting and one got a job as clinic receptionist from volunteering at a vaccine centre over COVID.

Local pub, waitressing and kitchen work. She does mainly Sat and Sun lunchtimes with the odd evening thrown in when they're busy.

17 year old DS works 4 or 5 hours a week (1 evening) as a receptionist at a big gym and leisure center.

DD is 17 next week. She has applied for loads of part time jobs, but as she is looking for specific days around college and can't do Sundays, she hasn't been successful so far. and obviously there are hundreds of people going for ever job.

We live rurally, so are very limited here though as it's over 20 miles to the nearest big town and city. The buses don't run on Sundays, and during the week they only go to the city daily and not the town. The train station is 3 miles away on a busy main road so not walkable. So options are very limited.

She has only been looking mainly in retail so far as she thinks she would struggle in hospitality. She has DCD and ADHD, referred for ASD. She did get an interview for Mcdonalds but didn't get the job. She can't apply for anything that is 2-3 days a week, so has been applying for jobs that are 6-8 hours a week.

She is in college 3.5 days a week. She was volunteering in a museum for 3 hours a week, but then they changed policy to say no under 18's allowed, which she was sad about.

She does a bit of paid work for me in my business, but it would be nice to her to work for somebody else.

Mine worked at M and S and Next on 12 hour contracts. They also transferred while at university to their local branch