At no point in history were so many young people without a job. The particular term under focus is emerging adults referring to individuals aged 15-24 years. The unemployment rate globally reached a level of 6.5%, recording an increase of 1.1% from the previous years by 2020 (“SDG Indicators”). The 1.1 % increase in employment levels amounted to 33 million people, elevating the unemployment rate to 220 million worldwide (“SDG Indicators”). In 2020, employment losses for young people were 8.7%, which is an alarming sign (“SDG Indicators”). Youth unemployment is an important issue because their ability to work and sustain themselves is directly related to future prospects of their children and economies overall. In total, five reasons behind unemployment of emerging adults can be ascertained – consequences of recessions, skills and education mismatch, lack of access to financial resources, lack of entrepreneurial education, and technological changes.
The first reason for youth unemployment is the global instability on financial markets. Mayhew and Anand write that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the labor market by damaging nations’ financial capabilities, education systems, and other relevant structures for job creation, which is especially detrimental for young people (218). The reason why the authors accentuate emerging adults lies in the youth’s vulnerability to sudden employment swings. Unlike mature workforce, young people do not have the financial capabilities or work experience to sustain themselves during a recession and have value for employers. As a result, recessions further lower the chances of young people of staying employed. The COVID-19 pandemic is the most evident example of a large-scale economic turmoil, but by no means is it the only example, as there are numerous disturbances, which directly impact financial stability.
The second reason is the overall mismatch between education and job skills. Mahmut and Eren (560) argue that most countries view the relationship between vocational education the demands of the labor market as strictly linear, thus incentivizing colleges and universities to train students for specific jobs. However, many modern professions exist on an intersection of different educations. For instance, students pursuing Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Statistics must combine it with CPA courses to become an accountant or STATA and PYTHON to become a data analyst. As many educational institutions do not offer such combinations, a situation arises where students acquire undesirable skills for the job market. As a result, the domineering viewpoint of the linear relationship between employment demands and education creates a skills mismatch for contemporary young people.
The third reason is the financial inability of emerging adults to start their own business. For many people the solution to the lack of job opportunities is establishing an enterprise themselves. However, a case study of the agricultural involvement of youths in Kenya determined that there is a correlation between access to financial services and the involvement of youth in agricultural production (Cogito et al. 24). In essence, young people in Kenya are not able to secure a loan because of the tight financial policy and the absence of adequate tax deductions. This issue is not unique to Kenya, as many governments refrain from alleviating tax pressure on entrepreneurs. A simple solution would be to offer tax concessions for businesses started by emerging adults, thus allowing them to become employed and create more jobs.
The fourth reason is the lack of life and entrepreneurial skills preventing emerging adults from successfully managing businesses. Caliendo et al. searched to determine the parameters of entrepreneurial persistence concluding that positive motivation, active engagement, and human capital were necessary for survival in the field of business (623). Such entrepreneurial skills are vital for self-employment for any person, but it is especially important that young people have them. At the same time, neither school curricula nor university programs provide sufficient education for obtaining such skills. Forced to acquire them through experience only, many young people make mistakes and quit before they can learn to generate revenue and run the business efficiently. As few educational institutions provide meaningful practice that would prepare students for business demands, the majority of young people are instantly overwhelmed and are not able to survive on the market. Even though most of these skills are acquired through experience, it is still possible to create conditions, in which young people would acquaint themselves with real firms. However, the low quality of internships or their absence increase the probability of a young person being unemployed.
The fifth reason is that technological engagements and utility have created a revolution in the job market. The rapid advance of digital services and online communications, as well as the unprecedented interconnectedness lead to many jobs becoming obsolete. Most educational institutions do not follow the technological progress thus teaching students knowledge and skills, which may no longer be valued on the market. One research study has determined that instead of training students for specific jobs, it is more effective to equip them with soft skills (Teng et al. 590). This implies that the ability to learn new information and relearn continuously is the most useful competitive advantage a young person can possess. However, most of the emerging adults are still taught according to the traditional linear model, which renders them unable to adequately compete on the labor market.
In conclusion, it should be evident that employability of emerging adults is simultaneously affected by economic instability, skills mismatch, lack of financial incentives, absence of adequate training, and technological advancement. Technology has fundamentally changed the world and the labor market. Old educational strategies, which presupposed the linear relationship between education and labor demands are no longer working. Colleges and universities do not adequately prepare young people for business challenges, while governments do not incentivize emerging adults to start their own enterprises. Finally, the prevalence of recessions add pressure on young people lowering their chances of finding employment even further. All of these factors are interconnected, implying that the solution to the high youth unemployment rate has to be multivariate, encompassing both the education systems and economic conditions.
Works Cited
Caliendo et al. “Entrepreneurial Persistence beyond Survival: Measurement and Determinants.” Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 58, no. 3, 2020, 617–647.
Cogito, Jeremiah Magoma, et al. “Relationship between Access to Financial Services and Youth Involvement In Agricultural Value Chains In Kakamega County, Kenya.” Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 6, no. 2, 2020, pp. 24–336.
Mahmut, Ö. Z. E. R., and H. Eren. “The Linkage between Vocational Education and Labor Market in Turkey: Employability and Skill Mismatch.” Kastamonu Eğitim Dergisi, vol. 28, no. 2, 2020, 558-569.
Mayhew, Ken, and Paul Anand. “COVID-19 and the UK Labour Market.” Oxford Review of Economic Policy, vol. 36, no. 1, 2020, 215-224.
“SDG Indicators.” United Nations Statistics Division, Web.
Teng et al. “Graduate Readiness for the Employment Market Of the 4th Industrial Revolution: The Development of Soft Employability Skills.” Education+ Training, vol. 61, no. 5, 2019, 590–604.