Get millennials into the workforce: Reform occupational licensing

The government is deterring business and entrepreneurship from thriving by implementing strict occupational licensing standards.

Take, for example, aspiring makeup artists, Patrice Lee Onwuka, spokeswoman for Generation Opportunity, said this week. At American University, Onwuka spoke for an event hosted by the Network of enlightened Women, the nation’s premier organization for conservative university women. In order for individuals to pursue careers as florists, makeup artists, and interior designers, certain states have imposed strict requirements for practicing these vocations.

{mosads}“There are barriers to make it harder for you to get the certifications you need to get some of these jobs,” Onwuka said. “What’s interesting is that a lot of these jobs can become a side hustle or they can become your full-time job, your own business. “

“That is a great way for a young person to get started,” she added.

As Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Jared Meyer note in their book, “Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying America’s Young,” young adults are the ones most negatively impacted by occupational licensing and, furthermore, stricter occupational licensing is related to lower employment rates among youth.

“Young people are hardest hit by the effects of occupational licensing, along with the poor,” they wrote. “Costly, time-consuming entry barriers limit the competition that would keep prices down, so consumers pay higher prices while also being excluded from job opportunities.”

“Government stifles business and entrepreneurship.” –@PatricePinkFile @NeWAmericanU

— Enlightened Women (@NeWNetwork) March 28, 2017

The licensing regulations impact young people more acutely because of the expensive and time-consuming nature of these certifications, they state.

As I reflected on this event, Onwuka’s points could not have been more timely. Just last weekend, I had my makeup done for an event by a friend of a friend. I did not know or care whether the makeup artist had a license — all that mattered to me was the final result. For the record, my makeup has never looked better.

Stories like these are personal reminders of just how invasive government is when it comes to dictating career choices, especially because these personal stories are not isolated incidents. In fact, there have been numerous situations where governmental occupational licensing has hindered qualified people from pursuing their careers.

For example, one Mississippi hair-braider was told she could not run her own business unless she completed cosmetology school and became licensed, while spending $10,000 to learn nothing new about hair-braiding itself. This hinders innovation and sets back young people.

Millennials do not have a stellar reputation. However, I push back on the narrative that millennials are lazy and unmotivated. While there certainly are millennials who fit that description, everyone can agree that having a job from an early age teaches individuals critical skills to excel in a variety of fields in the workforce.

One learns to show up on time. One learns to speak professionally. One learns how to present oneself. All these skills can be applied to a variety of jobs, so let’s help millennials enter the workforce and learn these skills sooner rather than later. As millennials struggle to find financial security, one cannot help but wonder whether these occupational licenses could be hindering millennials from growing up to be responsible adults.

“In an economy where good-paying jobs are not plentiful, trades and occupations provide millennials with great opportunity right out of high school or college,” Onwuka wrote. “They also offer entrepreneurs the ability to start and grow businesses relatively quickly.”

Millennials might have less of a negative reputation if they were encouraged to be working professionals earlier in their life. Let’s cut back the occupational licensing regulations and encourage the next generation to start working.

Diana Stancy is a Communications Fellow with The Network of enlightened Women.

The views of contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.