1. Employers cannot find people with the right skills
Ironically, employers cannot find the right people with the right skills and experience at the right time and place to perform the required work when they needed them the most.
Employers place the greatest priority on a demonstrated proficiency in skills and knowledge that cut across majors. Written and oral communication skills, teamwork skills, ethical decision-making, critical thinking skills, and the ability to apply knowledge in real-world settings are the most highly valued skills and knowledge. They believe that engaging students in applied learning projects would improve learning and better prepare them for career success.
In their attempt to increase the skill level of school leavers, employers expect school leavers to complete a costly college or university degree as a given pre-requisite for applying for many jobs. This has caused many unintended consequences.
2. More jobs require post-secondary education
Employers are demanding more and more education from job seekers and young people.
In the 1970s, 3 in 4 jobs required a high-school education or less. Today, 2 in 3 jobs require at least some post-secondary education or training.
While people may think that well-paying jobs may not require education after high school, many also believe that the right kind of higher education after high school creates better opportunities.
3. The youth labor market has collapsed
The collapse of the youth labor market, which began in the 1980s and intensified during the recessions of the 2000s, has severely limited teenagers’ opportunities to gain valuable work experience and earn some money at the same time to pay for their future higher education.
Today, only a quarter of teenagers have jobs compared to more than half in the 1970s. This is in part because tasks previously performed by low-skill workers have been automated. This has resulted in a massive decline in available jobs for teenagers.
Besides, employers have shifted the provision of on-the-job training to workers with at least some post-secondary education rather than to those still in or fresh out of high school. As a result, government funding for these programs has also ceased.
4. Growing youth work-experience gap
The collapse of the youth labor market is increasing the gap in youth work-experience.
This is where the demand for both specific and general skills and work-experience in entry-level jobs is increasing just as opportunities to develop those skills are disappearing.
As a result, youths will increasingly find it difficult to acquire the required work skills to secure entry-level jobs without having any work experience!
5. More job seekers going after fewer full-time jobs
From 1948 to 2000, the number of jobs globally grew about 1.7 times over the rate of population growth. This means that there were more jobs available for people during that period to dive into without any problems of finding work. That was our parent’s generation.
However, from 2000 to 2014 (and beyond), the population grew about 2.4 times more than jobs.
This means that there are many more job seekers going after fewer job vacancies.
Under-employment or unemployment of over-educated job seekers and graduates will significantly increase. It will undoubtedly suppress any salary growth that is desperately needed by workers to keep up with the rising cost of living.
6. Millions of young people are out of work
Seventeen percent of young adults ages 18 to 24 are out of work in mid to large cities in the U.S., totaling 2.3 million young people.
This path does not appear to work equally well for all, particularly considering the effects of the Great Recession and the declining rates of employment among teens and young adults since about 2000.
7. Lack of full-time employment prospects for graduates
The reality is that the full-time employment rate among recent graduates has been falling for decades.
Many college and university graduates failed to secure full-time employment within four months of leaving university. Of those who find employment, a significant share is working in roles unrelated to their field of studies.
8. Automation requires fewer employed people
As businesses are operating in very competitive environments, they are significantly increasing the use of technology and automation to desperately reduce cost and generate the required profits for their shareholders.
The rate of automation will only increase in the coming years, as shown in the diagram below. (World Economic Forum, 2018)
Research by the OECD showed that 14% of all jobs across 32 countries have a high risk of automation. A further 32% of jobs may likely experience significant changes in how they are carried out. (OECD, 2018)
As a result, jobs are constantly being transformed (or eliminated) by automation, which will lead to fewer employed people, thus causing significant challenges for our young people.
9. New job titles created by new technologies
When new technologies do take effect, they can create new jobs.
As such, young people must continuously adapt and transform themselves to perform these new or emerging jobs, taking advantage of opportunities presented by automation.
10. A growing emphasis on soft skills
Apart from technical skills, there is a growing emphasis on soft skills and their transferability across different jobs.
Skills that make us uniquely human are the hardest to learn and automate. creativity, originality, problem-solving and the ability to learn to give humans an advantage over machines.
In fact, a young person’s demonstrated capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than his or her undergraduate major.
This is where young people may be disadvantaged because they are more comfortable with interacting with machines and using technology rather than with their environment and humans.