Youth unemployment poses big challenge

Recession and slowdown in growth are set to drive the youth unemployment rate to a 20-year high with 71 million young people out of work. So, we may see a young population equal to an entire Thailand unemployed by the end of this year.
The findings of International Labour Organisation (ILO) are unsettling because it is the labour market which is the biggest yardstick of economic growth and the growing joblessness in countries across of the world means trouble and tribulation ahead.
And if you thought that youths who have jobs are better off, you are mistaken. The study warned that more than a third of young people who have a job are living in extreme or moderate poverty. They eke out a living somehow to sustain themselves and their families. The conditions in which they are forced to work are extremely dismal and they get paid a pittance for long hours of job. Exploitation at work is rife in many emerging and developing countries.
The North African countries are witnessing the highest number of unemployed youths. The rate in these nations is set to cross 30-perecent mark. Joblessness fuels massive migration, as the youths look for ways to break the vicious circle of poverty while searching for a better life.
The situation is bad in developed countries too, where the youth employment rate has touched 14.5%. The ILO report reveals that about 9.8 million young people in high-income economies were jobless last year. The crimes, violence and unruly activities that are taking place in these countries can largely be attributed to the swelling unemployment trend. With volatility in economy rising by the day and industrial production taking a dip, millions of youths are staring at an uncertain future which traps them in anti-social indulgences.
Given the zooming youth unemployment graph, the UN goal to end poverty seems a chimera. But it is still quite achievable. As Steven Tobin, a senior economist at the ILO and the lead author of the report, rightly said the world needed “to redouble our efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth and decent work, including for youth”.
The UN as well as bodies like ASEAN and EU have to create a budget dedicated to help young people in education and work-based training that can build capacity and entrepreneurial skills while empowering the youths. Programmes should to be formulated that guarantee youths better transition from school to work. They need to be provided the right mentoring as they leave college.
We are living in a globalized world. Globalization offers opportunities galore. Today’s youths have electronic platforms which throw open world markets in front of them. These e-platforms are job-generators and need to be harnessed fully.
Youth unemployment poses a major global challenge indeed. It requires a coordinated effort of the government, business bodies, academia and labour institutes to tackle the crisis. Innovation in business models and giving impetus to start-ups can go a long way in arresting the trend. Focus has to shift from conventional jobs. We have to think out-of-the-box and pay attention to the trades and vocations that are untapped and unexplored. Policymakers have to act as bridges to connect the youths with economic opportunities. Commitment and vision can make them do so!