With the phenomenon of teenagers being “NEET” – not in education, employment, or training – becoming more ubiquitous, unsurprisingly, there has long been a perennial debate on whether all youngsters should be mandatorily required to work for unpaid hours in local companies. In my opinion, I firmly believe that this is vital that all juveniles contribute their time and effort to help the local economy and society in any way. This is evident because not only is this practice beneficial to the all-round development of teenagers but also the growth of community in economic and social aspects.
In terms of the advantages on individual teenagers, starting work practice in local companies at young ages can help them better integrate into society in the future. More specifically, when working as a waiter in restaurants, teenagers can build self-esteem and experience a sense of satisfaction w; When working as a sales in local companies, youngsters are able to train their communication skills through interacting with customers, and also analytical and problem-solving skills. When working as an intern student in local business firms, juveniles can apply their finanical knowlegde learnt at school practically on hands-on tasks, as well as building a strong interpersonal network. Therefore, it is undoubted that teenagers who have ever carried out any intern or job-shadowing work in their secondary or tertiary school levels generally develop better social skills and ability as they grow.
Regarding the benefits on the local community, more teenagers working for some unpaid hours fosters the development of society in a number of aspects, such as economic, social, and political. According to a recent study on economics conducted by the University of Cambridge, if all teenagers of the whole country spend at least 100 hours a year working in local companies, the total manual labour force of the country can be increased by more than 25%, thereby causing the Gross Domestic Product to surge by up to 5% on a whole. In addition to the economic benefits, working teenagers also help to build a less individualistic society with more care and empathy to other people and all their neighbouring issues. According to a study on social science conducted by the Chinese Univeristy of Hong Kong, working teenagers show great willingness to fulfill their moral obligation to help the needy since they are generally less selfish and self-centered after experiencing more realistic social situations.
In conclusion, with the proven facts that working teenagers bring personal benefits to themselves and also some macro advantages on the economic and social development of the whole city, it is undeniable that teenagers should definitely be mandatorily required to spend some of their spare time in holidays and the summer break to work for the local community. As a result, I believe that corresponding laws can be publicised and enforced in order to strictly ensure this practice.