I followed a session on youth unemployment with live connections to young “global shapers” (below 30), located in various hubs in Asia, Africa and America. The discussion was also supported by heavy social media participation from around the world and participants could sense that this was not a complacent debate. The Situation: People need jobs and jobs need people. Yet these connections are not happening for people – especially youth. Today we have more than 75 million young people without a job. This phenomena exists in mature economies impacted by the crisis and where jobs tend to be automated. It is also critical in emerging economies where tens of millions of newcomers enter the job market every year. Preparing for the Worst: In the mid- to long-run, the fact that so many people are excluded from participating in the economy will have dramatic implications on crime, health and basic inclusion. Society as we know it is in danger of collapse. In lots of countries, governments dont quite seem to see the enormity of the problem. They are not driving the required changes, especially in employment regulation, education, and in supporting entrepreneurship, etc. Taking Action: What can we do to improve the situation? Employers and properly qualified job seekers aren’t finding one another. In today’s hyper connected world, this situation is unacceptable and is only starting to be addressed by improving technology Closer collaboration between the public and private sector is required to provide more channels for young people to enter the working environment. Education has to be better tailored to current and future needs. Apprenticeship and internship in companies must be developed. We are seeing a number of initiatives such as Nestlé’s Alliance for YOUth aimed at mobilizing companies determined to play a positive role in getting the young people of Europe into work. Looking Forward: Despite progress, we might be in front of a situation that will require even more structural rethinking. The fact is that new technologies are much less job intensive than the previous ones. The sharing economy, for example, is clearly capital and resource efficient, but not necessarily creating jobs. Of course, innovation creates demand but what’s the net-net? We also have to rethink the way we consider employment. The goal cannot be only about getting a traditional job in a corporation or a public institution, but to first enter the employment system. Of course education plays a key role, but it’s not just about knowledge and rather about “employability.” With employability, mindset, character and resilience play a big role as well. Further, communities play big roles as they support, advise and even coach – this an area where the developed world might learn from the developing one
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 08:20:46 +0000
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