Youth unemployment causes

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 u

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.