Building South Carolina’s Future Workforce: Why Teens Need More Opportunities to Work
Empowering Youth South Carolina Executive Director Wendy Methvin (right) met with Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette at the South Carolina State House to discuss ways to help more young people gain confidence and career readiness through early work experiences.
Nearly 75 percent of employers across the nation say they have a hard time finding college graduates with the soft skills their companies need. Eighty-two percent of managers say the members of Gen Z they hire need more guidance, time, and training in soft skills, while three in four say it’s harder to train new hires in soft skills than in actual technical skills.
South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette says this life skills gap is a constant topic in her talks with business leaders and parents across the state.
In a video highlighting her youth employment initiative, Evette says that while business leaders across South Carolina tell her they’re getting great employee candidates from the state’s colleges, those candidates are often lacking skills like conflict resolution or knowing how to deal with clients. She says businesses want to know how these skills can be taught in schools. Parents, she says, want schools to teach fiscal responsibility, as they’re worried their children don’t understand the value of a dollar.
As Evette aptly points out, however, it can be difficult to teach these skills in a classroom. It can also be difficult to teach fiscal responsibility to someone who’s never had a job.
During a recent conversation with Empowering Youth SC Executive Director Wendy Methvin, Evette talked about how these hurdles inspired her to reach out to parents to get kids involved in the workforce.
A Path Through Work
According to the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce, the employment-population ratio for people ages 16 to 24 reached its peak at the turn of the century, but the ratio dropped over the next decade, and despite steady increases in the following years, it hasn’t returned to previous levels.
This shrinking youth workforce has had a ripple effect. Local coffee shops cut hours. Restaurants close early. Small businesses struggle to find staff. But the problem goes deeper than economics. Teens who don’t enter the workforce early are missing out on the kind of growth that only comes from real-world experience.
“These kids who are coming out of college… Most of their resumes show that they’ve never worked,” Evette told EYSC. “When you work, you’ve got a start time, and you’ve got an end time. You’ve got to communicate with customers, problem-solve, and deal in a team situation. Almost every office is a team situation.”
From Evette’s perspective as a business leader, accountant, mother, and now lieutenant governor, the lesson is clear: without early work experience, young people face steeper challenges when it comes time to launch careers and live independently.
This conviction led Evette to launch the Youth Employment Success (YES) Initiative, which is designed to connect teens with jobs, internships, and apprenticeships. The program not only highlights openings but also provides guidance on essentials like interviewing, resume writing, and professional etiquette.
Her vision is practical and forward-looking. She points to companies like Home Depot that hire teens for entry-level jobs, welcome them back during college breaks, and eventually recruit them into full-time career roles. What starts as a part-time job stocking shelves can evolve into a path toward management, marketing, or finance within a global corporation.
“This is setting the runway for some really good career choices,” Evette explains.
Confidence, Responsibility, and Mental Health
The YES Initiative is about more than economic opportunity. Evette believes that work experience strengthens young people’s confidence, mental health, and resilience. Employers consistently tell her that after just 30 to 45 days on the job, a once-nervous teen becomes outgoing, capable, and self-assured.
“Getting kids out working gives them confidence. Confidence leads to strong mental health. And then, with all the skills they learn, it leads to a strong adult,” she says.
Work also teaches lessons about money that textbooks can’t replicate. Teens quickly learn the connection between hours worked and dollars earned — an eye-opening reality check that curbs impulse spending and fosters fiscal responsibility.
The mission of Empowering Youth South Carolina is driven by those same goals. EYSC programs address youth well-being from every angle: academic, social, emotional, and professional. The organization sees workforce readiness as deeply connected to mental health, belonging, and purpose.
"The Youth Employment Success Workforce Initiative really amplifies that message of independence and belonging,” says Methvin. “When young people learn skills like communication, responsibility, and leadership, they begin to see their own potential and purpose. That sense of confidence is what builds hope, and hope is what keeps them moving forward."
Roadblocks to Overcome
A job is never just a paycheck. For a teenager, it can be the spark of identity, the building block of confidence, and a source of hope for the future. It can also be a safe place to learn from mistakes. Early mistakes — like showing up late or mishandling a task — are valuable life lessons at 15 or 16. At 23 or 24, those same mistakes can derail careers.
The road to a stronger youth workforce is not without obstacles, however. Rising rates of anxiety, depression, and absenteeism in schools make it harder for teens to take those first steps. The lure of smartphones and the pressures of social media add another layer of challenge. Evette is candid about the need for parents to play a stronger role in this area.
“It all comes from getting them off the couch,” she urges. “You’ve got to put your phone down. You’ve got to go to work. You’ve got to figure out what this is all about.”
EYSC’s Community Engagement Series provides support for families dealing with the ever-growing influence of smartphones. These public events feature engaging content, Q&A sessions with expert panelists, and partnerships with community organizations who connect attendees with crucial information and resources.
A Shared Call to Action
Both Evette and EYSC stress the same point: South Carolina’s future depends on today’s young people developing the skills, habits, and confidence to thrive in adulthood. And that requires action from all of us — parents, businesses, educators, and community leaders.
For Evette, the message is simple: “There is no downside to going out and getting a job and learning skills.”
For EYSC, the mission is equally clear: build up the next generation by combining workforce readiness with mental health support, mentorship, and community connections.
Together, these efforts highlight a powerful truth: when young people are given the opportunity to work, to learn, and to grow, they not only build stronger futures for themselves, they strengthen the future of South Carolina.