Youth unemployment and ways forward

Young people are finding it ever more difficult to find jobs that match their skills and education. Simon Kwan is part of a group of business leaders who offer professional support to young people in their work and career development.

With the change in economy, like globalisation and the technological advancement in communications, there is a fundamental transformation of many traditional occupations. Young people are expected to think and act more like an entrepreneur for emerging employers. They have to think faster, act quicker and deliver more.

Last year, the global unemployment rate among 15- to 24-year-olds was estimated at 12.6%, with 73 million people jobless worldwide, according to the International Labour Organisation. Youth are almost three times more likely to be unemployed than older workers and finding it ever more difficult to find jobs that match their skills and education. Calls for urgent collective action have escalated, but the scale and complexity of the crisis limit the impact of isolated initiatives. Members of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Youth Unemployment are urging government and business leaders to move from discussing the issue to implementing solutions.

While “Mentoring and Apprenticeship (M & A)” with corporations remains the most conventional approach to address the issue, the Council is calling for new targets and innovative approaches to prepare job readiness of young people and develop tools for companies to better implement an apprenticeship scheme.

These initiatives include firms such as Infosys and Educomp (India), Aramex (Jordan) and CompTrade (Serbia). It also sees the potential for stronger public-private partnerships, given the complexity of the issue. Sustainable solutions can be developed with a clear and comprehensive strategy and commitment by all critical stakeholders to band and work together.

Recent analysis by the Brotherhood of St Laurence of the youth unemployment situation in Australia earlier this year has drawn the conclusion that the issue has reached a crisis point. It argues for investing in young people now in the areas of “Employability” skills, work experience, coaching, vocational guidance, rapid actions and connecting with local employers.

For some students, further study through Massive Open Online Courses or for higher degree with established universities becomes an alternative of informal employment, and many of them may have to pay a fee of up to $2,000 in order to gain unpaid work experience for a short duration with corporations.

Realising the needs of young people as individuals and leveraging on the commitment of a selective group of business leaders, Building an Outstanding Working Life (BOWL) takes an innovative approach to provide comprehensive and professional support to help young people in their work and career development.

It is a customised package to meet the expectation of young people through quality professional services from certified career consultants, registered psychologists, passionate business leaders and an excellent business network. The aim is to help these young people to manage and better own their personal career development plan.

Over the past 12 months, BOWL has successfully helped many young people with different demographics, including overseas students, to establish a clear career directive, improve self and job awareness, enhance personal and employability skills, establish a business network, find work, secure employment and manage their personal career development plan in the areas of commerce and accounting, technology and engineering as well as professional services.

We need more innovative approaches and resources to encourage youth employment as there are too many promising young people without work and financial security and thus a severely diminished quality of life. We should encourage and support these young people who have a lot of energy to do something good for the community.