Global societal paper DUE IN 36 HOURS

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January 21, 2020

There are about 290 million youths aged 15 to 24 years who are unemployed in the United States. This may be because the economy does not create adequate job opportunities. When the economy is performing poorly, many people lack jobs because companies that would have employed them do not survive in the market as others merge or get dissolved. The huge number of youths who are unemployed shows that the United States is not fully utilizing its labor resources. Some youths may, however, lack the necessary skills to do various jobs. This forces employers to employ other people such as foreigners and older people. Lack of employment has led to an increase in crime levels among the youth. It has also led to a high level of drug abuse especially among the unemployed. Further research on the topic of unemployment uncovers more causes and consequences of unemployment. This paper aims to examine the causes, effects, and solutions to unemployment and lack of economic opportunity among youths in the US and other countries.

Unemployment among the youth has increased in both developing and developed nations. In developed countries, the companies set up production industries overseas to cut costs. When the companies are set up in developing nations, there will be a low cost of labor and less strict regulations. Globalization causes companies to set up industries in various areas and to also hire workers from developing nations who won't have many demands (Ananat et al, 2017). This results in unemployment and lack of economic opportunities among the youth in the developed countries. In developing countries, youth also face the problem of unemployment due to a lack of job creation programs. Some of the effects of lack of employment include depression, mental disorders, and involvement in crimes.

There us a skills crisis among the youth in various parts of the world. Most of them lack a quality education, therefore, they are not equipped with the skills that are needed in the job market. A skills gap exists especially among the youth in developing countries and what the employers want. There is a mismatch between what students learn and what is required at the workplace. “One global survey found that more than 55% of employers worldwide believe there is a "skill crisis” as businesses witness a growing mismatch between the skills students learn in the education system and those required in the workplace” (Edwards, 2016). Bridging the gap between skills learned by youth in schools and those that are required by the employers would assure them of job opportunities.

Unemployment in some of the nations is caused by unfair selection procedures, lack of adequate job creation programs, poor governance and political unrest. Unfair recruitment procedures may be caused by job selection due to social ties and political affiliations. Politics are influential in many industries, therefore, those who are politically affiliated to specific parties are given jobs while other qualified candidates are ignored (Shpilina et al, 2018). If there could be enough job creation programs, many graduate youths would, however, be employed. Lack of adequate finances or financial resources has also caused unemployment since financial institutions are unable to loan many youths so they can start their businesses. Institutional traps also increase unemployment levels.

One of the solutions to the problem of unemployment and lack of economic opportunities among the youth would be having training programs for the youth and active labor markets. When the youths are adequately trained, they will work in companies due to the skills they will have adopted. Companies will not have to other people from developing nations or older people when there are skilled youths in their localities. The skills gap will be reduced since the youth will acquire the skills that employers need at the job market. The training programs equip youth with skills that will be useful in the job market. Educational programs should ensure that they teach the skills that employers want the youth to obtain. Students should be taught 21st-century skills. “All educational institutions should work towards adopting or creating a suitable skills framework that aligns with the labor market, which is flexible enough for educators to adapt their subject or grade level” (Molla, 2019). The youth can also be taught on entrepreneurial skills to ensure that they can also run businesses successfully.

Another solution would be having adequate financial resources for youth and giving them loans to start businesses. The youth can team up and form groups of up to ten people whereby they give their business plans and get their loans secured. Entrepreneurship would be a solution to youth unemployment because not all of them can be employed in various companies. When funded by financial institutions, the youth can create their enterprises rather than going to look for jobs in already established companies. “Teaching children, the skills to start, manage and operate their businesses would be the first step in creating a more independent and driven generation of youth” (Vancea et al, 2017). There should be vocational education to ensure that the youth understand the kind of businesses or companies they should start depending on the availability of markets, labor, profitability, and other factors. This would help youths in choosing careers that would be easy to either get a job or start one's own company.

It would be good for colleges and universities to establish partnerships with various employers. The partnerships ensure that these schools have their curriculum aligned with the skills needed in the job market. The partnerships would give students an opportunity for internships in various industries. The students would also be equipped with more skills and high training standards once they get the internship opportunities (Vancea et al, 2017). There should be fair opportunities for those who are disadvantaged. This would ensure that all youth receive jobs irrespective of their backgrounds, race or physical disability.

The causes of unemployment and lack of economic opportunity among the youth may vary depending on the country. For example, youth in developed countries mostly lack jobs due to a skills gap. However, those in developing nations also face the challenge of a skills gap. Globalization has made it harder for those in developed countries to get jobs since they also face competition from workers in developing countries. Lack of employment and economic opportunities causes depression, mental disorders and increases the crime levels. More youth are involved in drug abuse. To solve the problem of youth unemployment, colleges and universities must teach the skills that employers need workers to have. The schools can ensure that they teach the right skills by collaborating with various industries to ensure that students receive training from them. Students should also be taught on entrepreneurial skills to ensure that they do not rely on jobs only.

REFERENCES

Ananat, E. O., Gassman-Pines, A., Francis, D. V., & Gibson-Davis, C. M. (2017). Linking job loss, inequality, mental health, and education. Science, 356(6343), 1127-1128.

Edwards, J. (2016). No one size fits all' solutions to youth unemployment. Eureka Street, 26(12), 29.

Molla, A. (2019). Challenges and Opportunities of Unemployed College Graduate Youth in Woldia Town (Doctoral dissertation, Addis Ababa University).

Shpilina, Tatyana, Ekaterina Vasiutina, Anton Mosalev, and Robinah Nanyunja. (2018). "MODERN PROBLEMS OF YOUTH IN THE LABOUR MARKET: GLOBAL TRENDS AND RUSSIAN SPECIFICS." Economic and Social Development: Book of Proceedings (2018): 765-773.

Vancea, M., & Utzet, M. (2017). How unemployment and precarious employment affect the health of young people: A scoping study on social determinants. Scandinavian journal of public health, 45(1), 73-84.