By Geena Martinez
NewsWest 9
Too many jobs and not enough workers, but if you're a teen or college student.
You can have your pick of the litter. A new program is targeting that group to get them into the workforce.
Take a look around just about anywhere and you'll see them. Signs advertising for jobs.
"This is a job seeker market, there are plenty of job opportunities," Willie Taylor, with Permian Basin Workforce Solutions, said.
Plenty of opportunities but not enough employees. That's where the Workforce Solutions is stepping in.
They're promoting a summer job initiative that's targeting 16-year-old to 24-year-old young adults and partnering them with businesses in need.
"We're gonna be taking those resumes, we'll screen them and then we're gonna refer the kids out to the jobs," Taylor said.
Taylor said the goal is to get these young adults in at any kind of job but especially ones in the service industry.
"Some of your fast foods, your Subways, your Chick-Fil-A's, Rosa's, hotels," Taylor said.
These places can't compete with the oil industry and they're hurting for help.
Now companies are trying to up the incentive.
"We heard that Subway is offering a cash bonus to stay with them," Taylor said.
At Pizza Hut, delivery drivers can earn up to $18 an hour.
"It kind of entices them to come in and ask questions and see what it's all about," General Manager, Irvin Otero, said.
Otero said all positions are up for grabs at Pizza Hut in Odessa.
"It's pretty difficult," Otero said. "We get our share of applications that we have to sort out and most of the kids here that are coming through now are not part of the oil field, and that's what we're trying to look for."
Otero and Taylor are hopeful the job initiative will bring applicants through their doors soon.
"It gives the opportunity for those kids to, not only go to school, but to also come back to the restaurant and make a little extra cash," Otero said.
"We want them to walk away with money in their pocket, good work ethics and understanding of what it's like to be a good employee," Taylor said.
