Youth unemployment causes

Youth unemployment causes
1. Financial crisis
Though the current youth unemployment crisis was not caused by the financial
crisis alone, the recession just made existing problems in labour markets,
education systems and other structures worse.
Greece and Spain, for example, were experiencing high youth unemployment years
before the financial downturn, and a sudden surging of economies wouldn’t be
enough to put the 74 million unemployed young people to work. Furthermore, the
youth unemployment rate is two to three times higher than the adult rate no
matter the economic climate.
The recession did, however, affect the quality and security of jobs available to
young people. Temporary positions, part-time work, zero-hour contracts and other
precarious job paths are often the only way young people can earn money or gain
experience these days.
2. Skills mismatch
The skills mismatch is a youth unemployment cause that affects young people
everywhere. There are millions of young people out of school and ready to work,
but businesses needs skills these young people never got. Young people end up
experiencing a difficult school-to-work transition, and businesses are unable to find
suitable candidates for their positions.
Similarly, young people who have advanced degrees find themselves overqualified
for their jobs, and many young people are also underemployed, meaning they work
fewer hours than they would prefer. There is an economic as well as a personal
cost here: young people are not being allowed to work to their full potential.
3. Lack of entrepreneurship and lifeskills education
While the exact cause of the skills mismatch is difficult to pin down, it’s a
combination of school curriculums neglecting vocational, entrepreneurial and
employability training in favour of more traditional academics, poor connections


between the private sector and schools to promote training and work experience

and a lack of instruction in how to harness lifeskills most students already have.
4. Lack of access to capital
Young people who want to make their own jobs by starting businesses often
struggle to find access to affordable loans, or loans in general. This is partially due
to a lack of collateral. High interest rates also make it difficult for young people to
repay their loans on time. The World Bank notes that <1% of loan portfolios of loan
providers are directed at those under the age of 30.
5. A digital divide
In some low-income countries, the skills mismatch is compounded by a lack of
access to technology or the internet. If schools are unable to afford the tools to
educate young people in the digital sector, these young people are at a
disadvantage in the job market.

Youth unemployment solutions
1. Education and training programmes
Initiatives or extracurricular instruction that target the skills gap can focus on
anything from employability skills to job hunting and interviewing to
entrepreneurship to vocational education (including opportunities in the green
economy). Ideally, in the future, these kinds of education will be embedded into
national curricula, tackling the skills gap.
Examples of training programmes include our Work the Change initiative and Be
the Change Academies, which provide young people with the skills they need to
succeed in their careers.
2. Youth access to capital
For young people keen to get start-ups funded, they don’t have to rely on banks
alone. Crowdfunding sites like Kiva.org and networks like Youth Business
International give young people all over the world the chance to get the support
they need to build their enterprises and increase their incomes. With more
programmes like these being created every day, the future is getting brighter for
aspiring entrepreneurs.

3. Universal internet access and greater availability of cheap tech


With programmes like Facebook’s Internet.org working towards free internet access
to key sites andComputer Aid providing IT education across 32 countries, this
solution to the digital divide is coming along. However, infrastructure development
(electrical grids, etc.) is obviously key to this goal. As lower-income nations develop
these sectors, the digital divide will continue to be bridged.
4. Skills matching
The private sector, government and education systems need to start collaborating
to determine what knowledge and skills young people should be taught in order to
find rewarding work. Considering businesses are suffering from the skills
mismatch, too, they need to take a more active role in promoting appropriate
education and skill-building for young people from an early age.
Representatives from HR can provide career advice and give advice on job hunting,
too. Social enterprise initiatives and non-profits are helping facilitate these
connections, as are schools individually. However, wider efforts to involve the
private sector in education are needed.
Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 8 and ensuring everyone is able to
secure decent work means ending the youth unemployment crisis, working
with young people and giving them the chance to maximise their potential.