Silverwood to offer flexible-hour jobs

Silverwood Theme Park will offer flexible hours to its seasonal employees next year in hopes of coaxing more teens into the summer job market.

The amusement park north of Coeur d’Alene relies on high school and college students to fill 820 positions from May through mid-October. They work as cashiers, cooks, lifeguards and ride operators.

But like other employers of youth, Silverwood finds itself up against teens’ busy schedules. Increasingly, activities such as summer sports, cheerleading camps and homework for Advanced Placement classes are competing for students’ time.

In November, Silverwood queried more than 500 high school students from the Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Lakeland school districts about their attitudes toward work. One survey response stood out.

“What we’re hearing from students is that many of them want to work 20 to 30 hours per week. And that’s it,” said Nancy DiGiammarco, Silverwood’s director of sales and marketing.

The results didn’t surprise DiGiammarco, who thought immediately of her niece, a high school cheerleader who works in the summer but takes time off for cheerleading camps. Her niece’s friends have similar extracurricular commitments.

“We’re looking at how to finesse our strategies” for recruiting teens, DiGiammarco said.

Over the past three years, North Idaho employers have found themselves competing for entry-level workers. As a result of an expanding economy, more companies are hiring. Demographic and social trends are also influencing the numbers of teens entering the job market.

“What we’re hearing from the Labor Department is that the numbers of youth will decrease over the years, and we’re already feeling that,” DiGiammarco said.

Studies by Kathryn Tacke, a regional economist for the state of Idaho, indicate that the numbers of 16- to 24-year-olds entering Kootenai County’s labor market has dropped by 22 percent since the early 1990s.

Not only are the numbers of youth decreasing, but they have different expectations, Tacke said. They’re members of Generation Y, which as a group values flexibility.

“They just desire to call their own shots to the degree they’re able,” and that extends to the workplace, Tacke said.

In Silverwood’s survey, students cited scheduling flexibility as the second most important factor they looked for in a summer job, right behind hourly wage. Park officials are gearing up to respond, DiGiammarco said.

In the past, Silverwood built its schedule around 40-hour work weeks. Managers are being retrained to accommodate requests for fewer hours per week and more days off for family vacations, school activities and sports.

Alva Parvin, a food-and-beverage supervisor at Silverwood’s Theatre of Illusion, already grants many of those requests. She keeps a calendar on which her workers – primarily high school students – ask for time off.

Increasingly, Parvin fields requests related to conflicts with summer sports.

“One of my best workers only worked two days here and there last summer. I let him do that because he was such a good employee,” she said.

As part of the recruiting effort, the park also is reviewing its wage structure. This year, starting pay for 16-year-olds was $7 an hour. Silverwood also may add a shuttle bus to help teens with transportation.

To appeal to parents who put a high priority on summer educational activities, Silverwood has begun emphasizing the learning aspects of having a job.

Last year, parents received letters telling them about the training their children received and the job skills they developed.

“If they were cashiers, they learned how to handle money,” DiGiammarco said. “If they were games operators, they learned how to be outgoing and friendly. … We told parents that this would help them build a resume.”

Robert Krause and his wife emphasized summer jobs for each of their five kids. Their 18-year-old daughter, Dianna, has worked at Silverwood four years. First work experiences generate valuable skills, Krause said. Teens must show up on time and meet their supervisors’ expectations. They also learn to interact with the public and be respectful and courteous, he said.

“They learn responsibility,” Krause said.

Dianna Krause uses her earnings to pay for car insurance and gas. She’s also saving for college.

In addition to the summer job, the Rathdrum teen works part time in Silverwood’s marketing department during winter. Dianna Krause plans to pursue a degree in hospitality at Washington State University next year.

“Silverwood’s been a great experience for her,” Robert Krause said.