No Country For Young Men

Over the past few years, I have received several e-mails from recent graduates looking for work in my firm and I have had the pleasure of coaching some toward employment in the policy analysis/development fields. Nevertheless, unemployment seems to be hitting many of our countries hard and the worst thing we can do is turn our back on those in need. We can all learn if we put ourselves in their shoes. 

Little do we know about the game we enter when beginning our career as students. Children are often asked since they first set foot in their school: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Each and everyone has their own dream. The sky is the limit. As they grow older, their dreams begin to take on new meanings but everyone still searches to become what they visualize deep in the complexity of their fresh, untouched mind. Usually at this point, they are sitting before their guidance counsellor or faced with the dilemma of getting the grades to make them eligible for a suitable university. Many of our planet’s young are expected to take this step to guarantee a solid future in which they will become self-sufficient. If you apply yourself, anything is possible. Each generation hopes that the next will enjoy a better life. Post-secondary institutions systematically ship off their glamorous portfolios and brochures, hoping to secure more funding than the year before, therefore granting them more status, bestowing a treasured diploma in return to seal the deal.

Another game played simultaneously, or as a consequence of the ballad of education, is the ever feared concept of “unemployment.” None of these kids are sent to school expecting this label to be slapped onto their future. It’s as feared as a criminal record. You are usually threatened that you will become part of a jobless market if you do not apply yourself in school. Strike that. Apparently things have changed these days in schools where children rule and dictate their own terms in defining their curriculum. A fresh unchallenged pool will soon follow those who are currently struggling. These kids, if they don’t want homework, that’s quite alright. However, the graduated generations facing worse than bleak – this would be a compliment for the current global situation faced by many of our young disillusioned – prospects, are finding many doors slammed shut by an ageing population unwilling to relinquish their place and pave the way to the future. Many corporations search for applicants with working experience applicable to their own offices – a clone of who has already bid farewell to the now empty desk - something that precludes those who are in the playing field. There is just no way around this for the new grads (or literally anyone else for that matter) and only the recruiting manager knows who the lucky winner will be after weeks or months of rocking in the chair.

Since 2008-2009, this trend has increased substantially due to the world economy tumbling into an endless disarray of red arrows pointing downward. Hiring freezes, budget cuts, even volunteer opportunities have reached record lows. I recall the catalyst driving us to the red – at least part of it - originated from some hot-shot economists belting out awkward PR-number faux pas – after all, what is money but imaginary numbers backed by words and promises - and suddenly big banks and corporations realized people cannot pay back what they owe. Living beyond your means (i.e. mortgages, loans, credits) is now wrong even though these same institutions still continuously expel volumes of junk mail - including pre-approved credit cards and ideas on reverse mortgages – enticing naïve consumers to borrow what they can’t pay back. Living beyond your means has been an increasingly accepted lifestyle around the world - a major trigger for the United States’ plunge into the dark ages and the Europeans becoming ever so disunited. If it is bad now, why was it good then? Meanwhile, it seems the world’s tycoons, CEOs and other business “elites” are richer than ever, accusing disorganized, leaderless grassroots movements standing in quasi-oblivion of being “communists” or “socialists.”

Occupy Wall St movement

In Canada as in many so-called advanced economies around the globe (UK, US, Spain, only to name a few) the young have surrendered their emancipation, handing over the keys to their freedom to their landlords and returning home to the worried arms of their parents. Others have opted to return to school to pursue higher degrees hoping that a market that betrayed them would give them renewed hope and not a uniform bearing a golden arch. Many successful baby boomers barely completed high school and new applicants for positions in the same companies or public sector are being asked to have a Master’s Degree, PhD, an MBA, you name it. It is the age of certification. You no longer possess the authority to change a light bulb in your home because the city will fine you since you do not have a license. Have we become obsessed with official papers and diplomas? Have we forgotten the human capacity to adapt and learn on the job? Are we afraid to hire newbies because we fear we could get sued or lose face because of them?

In countries where we have ageing populations (most of the developed world), it seems that those who should retire are hanging on, perhaps because they fear a world of peace and rest. They are so used to the a of getting things done that they cannot bear the thought of no longer calling the shots from a desk. On the other hand, some of them did not contribute to a retirement plan - a basic rule in home economics they revolutionized. Regardless, it is time to make a concrete investment in a newer generation that will contribute to the tax base and the shrinking pension pool. In order to combat the post-traumatic stress of soon-to-be retirees, there should be an across-the-board (both public and private sector) programme harnessing the wealth of knowledge of the departing workforce to coach the new on a kind of volunteer status. After all, many hang on as external consultants already. Let’s call this a study-to-work programme. This would be a true service to society and the labour market, as the young have the energy, creativity and ability to learn that comes with their fresh innovative minds. This will add value instead of asking new graduates to return to school as their skills are not needed in the market. If you recall, many students have loans to pay back and this is also a drain on the economy if not accomplished. Should they spend time seeing their skills atrophy by attrition while others take their sweet time in calling it quits?

People who have enjoyed long careers in the public service, private sector or elsewhere take their tenure for granted. They often imagine that those who do not have a job are not trying hard enough, are uninterested, or even lazy. As we are employed, have a salary, are able to make our car payments, we assumed everyone shares our comfortable and protective bubble. I have served as a professional reference, character reference for former colleagues or even just a friend to share my five cents with recent grads, but I have also been in the past on the side of unemployment. Did you know many companies these days will not even give you a reference? How do you prove you can do your job if no one will support you? I know it can be hard to be on the wrong side of the market and it is perhaps the toughest job out there as you have no coworkers who will recommend you, and you are not paid for your efforts. To actually get a job requires much more patience, persistence, networking and being ready to hear things you do not want to. To those troopers out there, do not lose hope. If 5 people are competing for one opening and only one candidate is hired, where do the other four go when there is just no job creation? How are companies still bringing in record profits while more people line up at the soup kitchens of the world?

Youth-peer educators

There must be a strong commitment to today’s and tomorrow’s generations. Schools and universities should start leveraging the skills of the young, teaching them what is needed to carry society forward and what career tracks are in demand for tomorrow’s markets. Someone cannot be allowed to study photo developing when the market is moving towards digital cameras and pictures you can print at home. Internships, co-op programmes and government incentives are not taking us far enough to prepare future leaders to enter the workforce. Many times these are under funded and inefficient. Those who like numbers, we can see that relatively everywhere. We should not have to retrain people straight out of school but get them while they are young, before committing four years to a BA and a life of pointless debt. This will strengthen countries and provide a proper recruitment pool in the long term. We have to tell kids, what would like to be when you grow up out of a certain pool of jobs because it is obvious, “if you apply yourself” does not cut anymore in most fields. Too many fall through the cracks in recruitment campaigns, having more than just consequences for capital generation, but on people’s self-worth. Although economics makes sense in numbers, nobody wants to be in the shoes of the one who is unemployed, and youth unemployment is far above the statistical average in most developed countries, not to mention the developing world.

For further reading, check out No es país para jóvenes by Pablo Simón Cosano regarding Spain's struggle for tomorrow's generation.

Photo credits:
Unemployment: Money Matters
Occupy Wall St: International Business Times
Youth Peer Educators: UNFPA - Eastern Europe and Central Asia