While employers argue that there is a war for talents and that universities do not produce enough talented workers, the unemployment rates in several developed countries are rising beyond what one has thought could be possible. The scariest chart of the labor market has now become even more scary!
Youth Unemployment Rates (%) for selected European Countries
- An aging population.
- Pension systems that cannot afford financing people for 30 years or more after having paid into the system for maybe 30-35 years.
- An older generation that therefore needs to and wants to work longer.
- An academization of the younger generations as a result of the misconception that everyone needs to go to university in order to become successful.
- A mismatch between what is being taught at schools and universities and what is being required on the labor market.
- A lack of experience among the younger generations and at the same time a lack of available jobs for younger people to develop their professional track-record and gain work experience.
- An increase of productivity and automation in the manufacturing industry leading to job-cuts
- Universities that are too ignorant to develop function career-guidance services that help their students prepare for the labor market.
If no suitable labor market incentives are identified, the result will be economic waste as well as an undermined social stability and a marginalization of the local workforce, a valuable natural resource for any country. Entrepreneurship is one of many active labor market policies that need to be focused on. Supporting young people in gaining work experience through starting projects and companies is an effective mechanism to by-pass the challenges of getting an entry-level position. Of course, not everyone is made for entrepreneurship. However, by helping young people realize entrepreneurial projects and ideas, relevant skills for the general labor market are being learned.