COVID turns youths’ summer job market feeble: Survey

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, one in every five young people has become unemployed or laid off and as many as 40 per cent lost their summer jobs or internship last year.

OP and the association Economy and Youth TAT have taken some concrete actions to support summer jobs for young people and encourage other businesses to hire young people, said OP in a press release on Thursday.

More than one in every four young people says that they experience daily financial stress, as found in the DigiConsumers and CoronaConsumers surveys funded by the Strategic Research Council, an independent body within the Academy of Finland.

“Despite the pandemic, it is important that young people are given opportunities to take their first steps into the world of work. Summer jobs are important to young people in terms of both personal finances and work experience. We encourage all businesses to do their part in supporting summer youth employment in order to increase the number of summer job opportunities,” said OP Chief Communications and Corporate Responsibility Officer Tuuli Kousa.

OP Financial Group directly employs a significant number of young people in summer jobs. In 2021, OP Cooperative Bank offers summer jobs to the tune of 500 young people, mostly students at universities and universities of applied sciences.

This summer, more than 1,700 young people aged 15 to 17 will find jobs through the campaign. Applications for these summer jobs are open until 18 April.

The summer entrepreneur campaign, organised by TAT with the support of OP, helps young people aged 17 to 29 try out their business ideas and take responsibility for their careers. Applications for the summer entrepreneur campaign are open until 20 April. This year, a total of 250 young people will be accepted into the programme in Espoo, Helsinki, Iisalmi, Oulu, Rauma, Turku, and Vantaa.

“Summer entrepreneurs learn a lot about their work and themselves. Many young people clearly see the experience as encouraging as last year, when as many as 78 per cent of entrepreneurs in the campaign continued their business after the summer,” said Economy and Youth TAT CEO Jenni Järvelä.