I was talking with a friend who is struggling to find a job after uni, sharing with her the experiences of recently being a job hunter myself. It’s becoming an all too familiar conversation. There is a wealth of passion and talent in the UK that simply doesn’t know how to advertise itself .
In the age of Social Media, Mobile Commerce and TED Talks, we have reached a peak of knowledge sharing… but have we forgotten how to teach the most important skills in life?
Our society has steadily created a world where younger generations cannot afford to own their own home, they can’t find work & have little real world experience with which to market themselves. This will become a growing problem for our economy unless we address some of the key challenges.
The Key Themes emerging are:
- Identity Crisis: “Where do my skills fit in?”
- Hopelessness: “Nobody will give a job to someone without experience”
- Insecurity: “I have done nothing of value so far”
- Disappointment: “My current job is not challenging”
- Financial Stress: “I’m in heavy debt and can’t escape”
These themes all become apparent at a time in life between the security of childhood and the uncertainty of adulthood, often called the Quarterlife Crisis. There is a Generation of people trying to establish their identity and chase their dream but they don’t know how to do it.
What can we do?
Firstly, it is vital we recognise that Social Mobility has become worse. The ability to come from nothing and make something of your life is harder now than it was 20 years ago. There is a lot of experience locked up in industry, busy being productive. Once we get on that ladder we tend to use all our efforts to climb higher. How much could we gain by lifting the young talent around us on to the career ladder too?
Fixing the Identity Crisis
The criminal mistake of education is not making it relevant. Perhaps you can relate to the scenario of sitting in class being genuinely frustrated. For us to value knowledge we have first to believe it is important to us. How do we make it important?
Universities, and crucially student placement, or first job apprenticeship roles give very little responsibility to a young talent.People learn by doing. Education has become about passing exams, rather than gaining experience.
How would you feel about attending or contributing to an event designed to bridge this gap? Can you help out?
Replenishing Hope
It’s a sad indictment of our society that our young people buy into an election slogan of hope, because they themselves are running low on desire at a very young age. Desire comes from belief, belief comes from hope. Hope comes from our peers, our parents and our society. When did we turn off the “Hope Supply”?
Action for Mentors: Can you find someone that and needs help and give them that shot in the arm, and benefit of your experience?
Action for Apprentices: Can you find a mentor who understands your talent and is willing to spend the time to work with you?
Sometimes it just takes external validation for us to begin to believe in ourselves, enough to pursue a dream.
Insecurity, Disappointment & Financial Troubles
These all disappear, crucially, when we gain experience. Who do you know who needs a chance?… Two key things need to happen. Apprentices need to look for help from their peers, but we, the employed and skilled, need to look for talented young people to lift up. Our society needs it, and our Education System is woefully inadequate.
Starting a movement. We’re racing towards an epidemic of unemployed de-motivated young adults, and by virtue a dying economy if we don’t fix this problem. Can you help? Email me sy@sytaylor.net contact me on twitter @sytaylor or via facebook
Looking for ideas, suggestions or thoughts on an event we can create to start this movement.
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