Youth Employability
Of the world's estimated 211 million unemployed people in 2009, nearly 40 per cent - or about 81 million - are between the ages of 15 and 24, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Unemployment among young people has been an increasing trend for many years in all parts of the world, in developed as well as in less developed countries. There are many causes for this, yet one major and persistent factor is a lack of skills in young people, which leads to them being less employable.
Facts about youth unemployment
Causes:
1) Lack of quality education
According to the ILO, the least educated and least skilled are the most disadvantaged on the labour market. Exclusion from education and training is one of the root causes of many well-known issues, such as child labour, low-paid jobs, intergenerational poverty as well as social exclusion.
2) Lack of career counselling and personal training
Many young people do not receive proper guidance and motivation in choosing their future career. This choice may then result in failure in their professional life and a feeling of not being able to cope with the challenges of the job. They often do not learn how to write CVs or how to do job interviews.
3) Lack of skills
As the population grows rapidly, competition among people searching for employment is getting fiercer. Being able to compete with peers is only possible when the following skills are acquired: teamwork, problem-solving, communication, language skills, and (increasingly important) skills in Information and Communication Technology.
Consequences:
1) For young people
Of course, young people themselves are affected by unemployment more than anyone. Often, they become victims of stigmatization and their self-esteem is badly affected as they feel themselves incapable of leading an independent life as young adults. A high number of young unemployed people turn to drugs and alcohol in particular, and many of them also manifest criminal behaviour. There is also an increasing suicide trend among the young unemployed, due to living in poor conditions without a decent job.
2) For the economy
Youth unemployment comes with a price tag for the economy as well. And the costs go beyond purely financial ones: there are costs which are hard to quantify, such as the loss of potential, wasted intelligence and the long-term, emotional toll of unfulfilled ambitions.
Unemployed young people are considered a burden on the economy as they contribute nothing and consume what it produces.
Unemployed young people are considered a burden on the economy as they contribute nothing and consume what it produces.
Specific challenges for young people leaving care
The risks of unemployment and working illegally, combined with poor education and limited skills, make some young people leaving care especially vulnerable. This contributes to even more social exclusion in the long term, instead of the hoped-for integration.
Individuals are most employable when they have, among other things: broad-based education and training; basic and transferrable high-level skills, including teamwork, problem solving, a results-oriented approach, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as well as communication, presentation and language skills. More specifically, the modern-day job market also requires that young people are able to prioritise, as well as being pro-active, motivated, focused and ambitious. These are called self-reliance skills.
Apart from the lack of these “self- reliance skills” the main problem for young people in care can be seen as inadequate education and training. Children in care often receive vocational training courses without any job orientation, which responds neither to their interests nor to the labour market demand. The low educational level of many care leavers, documented throughout the world, has a profound impact on their prospects for employment.
But why is there such a low level of education among care leavers? One possible explanation is that many young people with an alternative care background have had disrupted school careers and faced a great deal of instability in many aspects of their lives. This may be driven by frequent placement moves while they are in care, which often means changing school as well. Unstable accommodation circumstances have another implication: young people in care cannot take part in work experience in part-time jobs while still at school. This lack of work experience leads to the problem faced by many young people: no experience, no job. No job, no experience. If they are not able to find work, they are unable to get the experience they need. This creates a vicious circle resulting in many young people failing to develop marketable skills. Consequently, we can see that employment, education and housing are very much interlinked.
Another explanation for the low educational level of young people leaving care might be that these young people often do not have the opportunity to study in the best schools or colleges. Limited access to quality education then restricts these young people in terms of job applications. The highly competitive youth labour market puts a high premium on academic skills and achievement and so the educational disadvantage faced by young people in care can have a lasting impact.
SOS Children’s Villages’ efforts for youth employability
In SOS Children’s Villages, young people are given the guidance they need to become independent, self-sufficient and participating members of society. SOS youth programmes offer young people a variety of support in the fields of education, training and accommodation. These youth programmes are planned according to the needs of the young people and also take account of local economic realities. A special emphasis is also placed on educational and career guidance programmes. Every child and young person in SOS Children’s Villages receives career guidance to help them make the choices which will lead to a future independent life and career. Information about educational and career options is provided in different ways. Sometimes people from different occupations are invited to talk to the children so young people can find out more about a specific job in an easy and interactive way.
During their studies young people are encouraged to work part-time to experience the realities of working life and to supplement their income. These jobs also allow them to gain the work-related skills they need to succeed in their future career. Added to which, SOS Children’s Villages offers scholarships for career-related education, if young people need support to proceed to a higher level of education where the young person’s abilities and talents can be fully developed.
Where employment possibilities are in short supply, head-start programmes offer young people the opportunity to get started in their independent life. These programmes allow young people to build a strong foundation for their future. Head-start programmes offer a range of support measures. These can include:
Income support: Usually, the first step in working life is not paid well. The salary is often low and young people find it impossible to earn their living with this first job; consequently they become less motivated to keep the job. With income support from SOS Children’s Villages the salary is subsidised for a limited period until the young person is able to earn an adequate salary.
Capacity building in management: SOS Children’s Villages offers support to young people who decide to build up their own business. They are given training to enhance their management skills and to teach them how to start up their own small business. SOS Children’s Villages always tries to find ways to link into the youth employment programmes offered by governments, communities or companies. SOS Children’s Villages staff keep up-to-date with possible job and training opportunities for young people and forward this information to the respective young people.
