To begin with, I would like to note that I was going to write on the Chinese Hukou System and its historical significance and provide you with an invaluable assessment of its operation in today’s age.
This would, however, have to wait until next week. This change of heart is mainly due to the fact that I have just listened to a report on youth unemployment by BBC’s Business Daily which has agitated me to an extent comparable only to my annoyance with skinny ties.
Let us begin with some statistics, id est numbers that are used by all and trusted by none. Still, here they are:
Data summary
Youth unemployment rates in OECD countries (%), December 2007 to March 2012
Click heading to sort table. Download this data
| ||
Country
|
December 2007
|
March 2012
|
| Note: Percentage of total youth labour force, 15-24 Source: OECD | ||
Switzerland*
|
6.5
|
7.5
|
Norway
|
6.7
|
7.6
|
Germany
|
11.4
|
7.9
|
Austria
|
7.3
|
8.6
|
Japan
|
8.0
|
8.6
|
Mexico*
|
7.2
|
9.1
|
Netherlands
|
6.4
|
9.3
|
Korea
|
8.7
|
9.5
|
Australia
|
9.5
|
11.7
|
Israel*
|
14.0
|
13.6
|
Canada
|
11.0
|
13.9
|
Denmark
|
7.1
|
15.1
|
Turkey
|
17.1
|
15.4
|
United States
|
11.7
|
16.4
|
Slovenia
|
11.5
|
16.5
|
Chile*
|
18.8
|
16.5
|
New Zealand
|
9.4
|
16.7
|
Belgium
|
17.3
|
17.1
|
Iceland*
|
6.6
|
17.2
|
Luxembourg
|
15.1
|
17.4
|
Czech Republic
|
9.6
|
19.0
|
Finland
|
16.2
|
19.4
|
France
|
18.3
|
21.8
|
United Kingdom
|
13.6
|
21.9
|
Sweden
|
19.3
|
22.8
|
Estonia
|
7.3
|
24.9
|
Poland
|
18.5
|
26.7
|
Hungary
|
19.9
|
28.4
|
Ireland
|
9.4
|
30.3
|
Slovak Republic
|
19.4
|
33.9
|
Italy
|
21.3
|
35.9
|
Portugal
|
19.7
|
36.1
|
Spain
|
19.7
|
51.1
|
Greece
|
21.6
|
51.2
|
OECD
|
12.8
|
17.1
|
G7
|
12.2
|
15.9
|
Euro area (17)
|
15.2
|
22.1
|
European Union
|
15.1
|
22.6
|
Allow yourself some time to analyse the above.
Ready? Quite frightening, is it not?
What irritated me about BBC’s programme was that all it did was stress on how bad the situation was. It did not opt to provide any ways around it or ways of making things better- it simply explained why the current state of affairs was as bad as it was.
And that’s the most frustrating bit about it- no one seems to be offering any solutions.
I know that the UK Government has done everything in its power to help young people’s predicament, like increasing the tuition fees from £ 3000 to £ 9000 (see what I did there?), but that simply does not seem to be enough.
Maybe the government thought that if it was to increase tuition fees, less people would actually go to university which would potentially mean that less people would have the legitimate right to complain about not being able to find a graduate job (as there would be less ‘graduates’ as such).
Newsflash, ConLib: the above statistics do not only apply to graduates but also to YOUNG PEOPLE in general, including those who have not gone to university.
Instead of whinging, however, I shall opt to provide several ideas to tackle the above:
- In university I got told to forget all about A- level law as it had nothing to do with the LLB . At law school I got told to forget all about the LLB as it had nothing to do with the LPC. At work I got told to forget all about the LPC as it had nothing to do with practice. Education needs to be reformed and students allowed to learn both academic and practical skills.
- Universities need to include a compulsory two- week (albeit unpaid) placement in the industry for each and every student. I don’t really care how they’re going to do that- they charge £ 9000 now and they will have to think of a way. Such a placement will give the student an insight of the sector; further, it will allow employers to see that not all graduates are ‘useless tools with no practical skills’.
- The government needs to come up with an incentive for companies to take on graduates- i.e. pay their first couple of salaries, ‘tax holidays’, etc.
- There needs to be a law passed compelling companies to take on a yearly intake of graduates based on the company’s size and revenue. Controversial? Maybe. Effective? Definitely.
- A free CV- writing and drafting service must be offered by the Local Council. Further, Local Councils must offer regular workshops on how to use social media to your advantage when looking for a job- i.e. LinkedIn, twitter, etc.
Dear Governments of the World,
I have come up with the above solutions in fifteen minutes, on my way to work.
I would love to hear your excuse for not coming up with anything at all.
I strongly believe that it is high time you understood the immediacy and urgency of the above statistics.
I am looking forward to your changing the present and improving our future.
Sincerely yours,
A Deeply Agitated Graduate.
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