Summer is Almost Here! Are You Ready for Staff Training?

"We're hiring!"

That's the message of most out-of-school time (OST) programs in May and early June. OST professionals come in all shapes and sizes and their programs are called by an alphabet-soup of names: out-of-school, after school, school-age care (SAC), extended learning opportunity (ELO), 21st Century, youth programs, youth development, summer care, summer camp, summer school, and the list goes on. They are a diverse group of employees—after school workers, youth workers, credentialed teachers, social workers, parks and recreation staff. They have varying levels of education in varying degrees with varied volunteer and work experiences. According to Youth.gov (n.d.), 27 percent of the full-time employees and 53 percent of the part-time staff hold a second job. Furthermore, yearly turnover may be as much as 40 percent. So there's a lot to manage.

Research shows a strong "summer workforce is key to providing young people with the experiences, connections, and outcomes they deserve" (Afterschool Alliance, n.d., para. 1). 

And all OST staff want to do a good job, providing K–12 youth with a safe, interesting experience. We can help! Check out the resources we've pulled together to help get newly hired summer staff up-to-speed to work with school-age youth. If you are hiring staff to work with other age groups or to work in full-year, full-time positions, we also have resources to help you. A recently launched course, Onboarding for Educator Success and Retention, is filled with guidance for directors or HR managers who regularly hire staff. It includes this template about What to Expect on the First Day that can be personalized to your program to help with important preboarding communication.  

Directors, you are not alone in your challenge to hire and retain summer or long-term staff. BKC has recently updated its website section designed specifically for you. Program administrators can buy a pre-payment code and pay for course completions in bulk. Many programs find this to be a great convenience when trying to bring a lot of people on board at one time. Check out all the ways we can support you in your work.

References

Afterschool Alliance. (n.d.). Workforce. Retrieved April 2024.

Youth.gov. (n.d.). Afterschool Workforce Development. Retrieved April 2024.