Scrambling for workers, Boardwalk hires 14-year-olds
SANTA CRUZ » With unemployment in Santa Cruz County the lowest in 17 years, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has hired its first cohort of 14-year-olds to fill 60 of the 1,700 seasonal positions needed to run the amusement park.
In May, Santa Cruz County had 116,000 jobs, the most in 18 years, according to state Economic Development Department data, and the number of people jobless shrunk from 7,700 in April to 6,200, the fewest in 18 years.
Three new hotels have opened, Hyatt Place and Fairfield Inn and Suites in Santa Cruz and Brookdale Lodge, giving job-hunters more workplace choices.
That has “added to the staffing shortages all hospitality organizations are seeing,” said Scott Stillinger, director of human resources at Chaminade Resort & Spa, which has openings to fill.
The Boardwalk has employed 15-year-olds for five years. Last summer, as a trial run, the amusement park hired a handful of 14-year-olds last summer as a test run, then hired 60 this year.
“They have worked out super-well,” Carol Siegel, Santa Cruz Seaside Co. employment manager, said Wednesday. “It’s something our industry has been doing.”
The Boardwalk’s summer hours began last Friday with free Friday night concerts and staying open till 11 p.m. so more workers are needed.
Siegel said 14-year-olds are not allowed to work past 9 p.m., which means they can’t be assigned to the last shift, closing the park at 11 p.m., but they are eager to learn.
“They are very motivated to work,” she said. “They are jazzed. It’s totally their first job.”
About 200 summer openings remain, with the Boardwalk looking for workers 16 and older who are eligible for closing shifts. Starting pay is $11 to $15 an hour.
To make the hiring process easier, the Boardwalk has switched from interview appointments to drop-in interviews 2-5 p.m. Monday through Friday for people who fill out an application online.
Benefits include a free employee shuttle from Watsonville, discount Metro bus tickets, discounts to movies and other Bay Area attractions, scholarships, free bike lockers and flexible schedules.
Siegel said the Boardwalk reviews hiring policies every year, making changes as needed.
“We became gender neutral in terms of grooming,” Siegel said, explaining that men and women can have long hair — or short hair. “Grooming has nothing to do with how you treat someone. … Make our guests smile, that is the top of the cake for us.”
Two years ago, the Boardwalk lifted a prohibition on piercing, allowing employees to have a single-stud nose piercing.
“We listened to our staff,” Siegel said. “They said, ‘This is part of me.’”
One recruitment strategy that works is the $100 bonus paid to employees making a successful referral.
With tourism a key driver of the local economy, employers in the leisure and hospitality sector typically hire for the summer, boosting jobs and reducing unemployment.
In May, the Santa Cruz County unemployment rate, based on the number of people working in the county and commuting elsewhere to work, was 4.3 percent, down from 5.3 percent in April and the lowest since May 2001, when the jobless rate was 4.2 percent.