Capitalising on our talent
Youth unemployment led the agenda at Scotland's National Economic Forum whcih I was invited to participate in this Wednesday in Edinburgh. The forum offered the opportunity to discuss the new youth unemployment strategy and announced the appointment of Angela Constance MSP as the new Scottish Government Minister for Youth Employment. There had never been a greater urgency for the public and private sector to see what they can do together to create jobs and opportunities for young people while concurrently helping businesses to grow and prosper.
Global youth unemployment figures are reported to stand at terrifying levels, with unemployment levels of up to 90% of 16-24 year olds being reported in some countries of the Arab world. Within Europe, Spain has the highest reported youth unemployment currently standing at around 50%[1] and in the UK levels stand at 22%[2]. But why is youth unemployment such a big issue? Surely when the economy recovers the job market will become more buoyant and they will have their whole working lives ahead of them? Worryingly, the research shows that these levels of unemployment can be catastrophic and risk the creation of a ‘lost generation’. The World Economic Forum which met during January in Davos reported that young people who are unemployed for a lengthy period are ‘scarred’ by this experience and:
- will earn less throughout their whole lives;
- will be less employable;
- won't have the skills that business needs; and
- will be more likely to have long-term health problems[3].
As a sector which employs considerable numbers of young people, we have a responsibility to articulate the skills we need and offer learning and development opportunities. This is clearly not an easy process to undertake with rapid change taking place and transforming employment practices, especially towards those which are increasingly flexibilised. Here at CCA, we are committed to supporting the exploration of the necessary skills for our future workers as well as analysing the key issues through our research programme during 2012. We believe it is critical to acknowledge the drivers of change, which are revolutionising the way our organisations recruit, train, manage and develop people. Over the year we are going to ask some of the critical questions in this area including: How do we engage the next generation of employees? Are there ways that organisations can better engage with higher education to shape skills? Do we need to challenge the employment models we currently engage in?
Generation Y have an intuitive engagement with the technologies which are disrupting our business models and practices and, as such, they can offer key insights for our organisations. We need to learn better how to capitalise on these skills as well to provide young people with the appropriate training and support.
To keep updated on our research programme or to offer any insights from your organisation please contact us. We would love to hear your views.
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16784183