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Unemployment For A Young Population

Posted on 03/02/11 by User_image_bgnickjames

User_image_bg nickjames View Profile
Member since 24 February 2011
  • 15 Posts
  • 13 Comments

I live in the United States, New York to be specific. I've got countless friends who can't find jobs. These individuals are bright, talented, and hard workers. I always think about the daily struggles of other young people around the world when trying to find work.

I remember when I was jobless. Ashamed to spend time with my friends who were proud members of the working class, never wanting to hang out with people in my free time because either I didn't want to spend money, or I didn't want someone to bring up the fact that I wasn't employed (it embarassed).

I realize now that this is a subject where people can't be humiliated about. As many economies around the world struggle, I think its imperative that we as a young population come together around the issue, and learn from each other. It's also important for those with jobs to help others without find guidance and support. Feeling connected by a job is also more about the financial benefit, its about feeling like you belong to something bigger than yourself.

I think its important that countries with low unemployment rates (South Korea, Switzerland, Netherlands) share best practices and strategies with countries that posses the highest. The stronger the relationships of young people throughout all countries, working together, the better of our global young population will be. Working together builds trust, and trust creates a relationship. A relationship breeds compassion and sincerity. This sincerity is essential in a collaborative effort, as passion behind our motives is critical in young people finding their place.

I look forward to hear your comments! Thanks All!

Image from The Economist

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Comments

  • on 03/03/11, by nuorder:

    that's a great piece. thank you. youth unemployment is a growing problem. even after a good education many remain jobless. governments need to mount youth employment programmes more vigorously and look, as you say, at what has worked in other countries.

  • on 03/03/11, by madeleine:

    Hey you might be interested in this article I posted about unemployment among children of immigrants in France (feel free to "google-translate" it): [http://voicesofyouth.org/fr/sections/poverty-globalization-and-unemployment/posts/emploi-en-france-les-enfants-dimmigr%C3%A9s-d%C3%A9savantag%C3%A9s]

  • on 03/04/11, by nuorder:

    thanks i looked at the article. that's great. the whole issue around gypsy children and youth in France has been highly disturbing.
  • Ogunyeye Olusegun Taiwo

    on 03/05/11, by Ogunyeye Olusegun Taiwo:

    Sincerely, the rate of unemployment in my country NIGERIA is alarming. Graduates with good grades find it difficult to secure job. I think it is now time the international body come to our aid in NIGERIA..........

  • on 03/07/11, by IsabellaGoh:

    The fact that it is getting harder for youths to get employed is a disturbing issue. One of the reasons behind this issue is that the older generation nowadays wants to remain employed for a longer time, hence, we often hear many nations lengthening the retirement age for working adults. As the older generation works for a longer period, there will be lesser job opportunities available for the young generation because jobs are taken up by adults who will remain working for a longer time. It is only after the adults hit their extended retirement age when job opportunities are created and young people get employed. This also means that the nation will have an 'old' working population which may not be very efficient and may hinder the nation's economic growth. With the economic recession and unstable stock markets lately, young people who generally do not have much work experiences, will probably remain unemployed as companies will be busy retrenching workers to cut down on their budgets while keeping their well-experienced workers to pull through this period filled with difficulties. Hence, for the time being, young people will probably need to bear with the problem of unemployment. But the most worrying phenomenon is that many young people may suffer so many setbacks in hunting down jobs that they eventually lose all their determination and interests, causing them to give up totally. When this happens, there will be a lot of 'lost' and 'dispirited' youths lurking around without jobs. This will bring to a number of social problems, such as stealing, drug addiction, etc. Besides that, this also means that youths who come from poor families will remain stucked in poverty and the cycle of persistent poverty continues. So, the problem of increasing unemployment rate for young population brings about serious consequences to a nation. It is important for nations to address this issue as fast as possible.

  • on 03/09/11, by MobileYouthInnovator:

    In developing countries I think we really need specialized trainings to prepare young people for the 21st century work place. For example, in Kenya the M-Pesa revolution for mobile banking (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-Pesa)has created thousands of jobs. Some friends have said people are using their cell phones and facebook to make shoe sale delivery. How can we get young people involved in these industries across the least developed countries!?

  • on 03/10/11, by nickjames:

    I think Germany's system of training workers with specific skillsets throughout their upbringing could be emulated throughout many developing countries throughout the world. Allowing young people to choose particular lesson plans through tablet or cell phone could prove hugely favorable in 10 years time once young people have learned greatly from their trainings. Imagine a culture in which 10 percent are trained on phones to become architects, supported primarily by online resources 80 percent of the time and apprenticeships set up by the government the other 20. If each industry had this kind of format, it would propel an economies GDP highly, if all went according to plan (which I know always doesn't seem to be the case...)

  • on 03/15/11, by jkcarillo:

    @nickjames Nice post! I really liked it. I agree with you @IsabellaGoh. Main reason as to why younger generations are finding it difficult to get a job is 'cause the older generation are staying in their position for a longer time than expected. I know a lot of old people who refuse to stop working. They are workaholics and are still very healthy. They still feel young and always on the go. They are also very good at what they do too. Many of them also are very highly qualified with twenty years plus of experiences and have Masters degrees. We can never compete with them unless they retire.

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