Young, strong, smart, but without job. It is the radiography of thousands of young Europeans. The worst case is Spain where in some counties the unemployment rate is about or more than 50% of the active population. Solutions? The European Parliament’s Education and Culture Committee approved last week a packet of proposals in order to decrease the Youth unemployment.
The Government of Spain published last Friday – paradoxically when the media’s attention was totally focused on the Royal Wedding in UK-the latest data on unemployment. 4,9 millions of unemployed (21,29%), where in some counties the youngster’s (less than 25 years) unemployment is more than 50% and the total Spanish average in 45%.
These numbers were expected, they are not a big surprise. However the feeling in Spain is that it is a train without control. And the worst is that the situation will not improve in the next few months. Although the government says it cannot get worse, the most pessimistic analysts are speaking about more than 5 millions by the end of 2011.
It is an issue that really touches me deeply. As I said in Spain in some counties the unemployment rate for the youth is more than 50%. We are speaking about the most productive and prepared people Spain has ever had. One of my friends explicitly told me “better to stay two more years abroad than return to Spain now”.
This sentence made me think, and look what we as young people can do in Europe in order to find a job. I found a website from the European Parliament with 28 proposals that have been approved last week by the Parliament’s Education and Culture Committee. Slovenian EPP member, Milan Zver is steering the proposals through Parliament and it is scheduled to come to plenary in May.
I see the proposals with good eyes, but they are still not enough. Two of them I like most are “Your First job” and “Youth Guarantee”. They consist in:
Your First Job: Can’t find a job at home? Try abroad…This is a pilot project to help young job-seekers get a start abroad, in a different member state where their particular skills are more in demand.
Youth Guarantee: Everyone has been told at some point that they can’t work because they have no work experience. To break the vicious circle, the EU will propose that public employment services ensure that all under 25s are either in education or employed.
I like them because they are trying to improve two things. First of all the mobility of people between countries. It will increase not only the chances to get a job, but the integration and personal experience of working in other culture and society. At the same time, and as an example, the young students who chose their studies because vocation, can find work in other countries using the skills they have achieved in the University. From my experience and knowledge there are some studies that are not demanded in one country, maybe because the job market is saturated, but demanded in other countries or regions. It is the example of hundreds of paramedics, nurses and health personnel moving from Spain to UK in the last years.
The second one is defending “the right to be young and without experience.” In this post I found very well what I want to say with that sentence. That blogpost is ironic, but in my long process of finding an internship, for example, I have seen “job offers” like that. Offers demanding skills and experience, like you would have been working already 10 years. With such demanding conditions, is impossible to get a chance.
As I said before, the proposals are very helpful, but not enough. One of my proposals would be paid internships. And I am not the only one thinking this. In this post there is more information about the process of lobbing in the EU in order to reduce in number the unpaid internships and to form a Quality Charter of Internships.
The precarious work is so absurd in some cases that I laugh when I saw an example Internship “opportunity” like: We are looking for intern with bachelor in entrepreneurship and Master in Fashion. Demonstrable experience of two years in the sector of fashion is mandatory. Internship of 6 months not paid. Apply with subject line Senior Intern Position!!!.
The European Youth Forum, that is involved in the process of lobbying, has published a video time ago with interviews of young people who have done internships to find out their experiences and what they think about the internship system in general. It is very interesting to watch it and I advice it to students, and employers….
INTERNVIEW from European Youth Forum on Vimeo.
Can anyone imagine a strike of all interns in a country, or even in Europe? I am sure more than one company or organization would have troubles to operate normally. Unfortunately there is no legislation about that, and in a lot of countries there are no rights for interns.
Most of us that are looking for internship or have been looking for internship found the situation without too many options: If you want work, it is for free. If not, there are thousands of applicants waiting for your position. Choose.
The proposals are a good start that must be improved, without declining these paid internships.
Javier Ruiz Soler
@spanishwalker on Twitter
great post Javi, but at the same time, try to see the perspective of organisations or companies offering internships (I am talking now strictly about internships outside educational framework). of course it is better for them to sort of test the person that was offered an internship before being granted a full time paid position. labor law wise (as in all sorts of rights like the right to pension) and productivity wise. people and especially young people who are smart and educated and didn’t have a proper job before, will perform in their interest if they are offered a trial period with the prospect of being permanently hired afterwards. of course interns have the right to benefit of salary and days off and normal working hours, but the quality of the internship depends most of the times on the willingness of the intern to stay with the organisation or company or to gain certain skills that will make him or her more desirable on the labor market. at least this is how I see it
I agree with your point: internships are a chance for young people to test themselves in a professional environment, and for the company to test if both parts fit together outside the education program. However, I do no understand “to be tested 3 years” in a internship and later be fired. Or when one has a normal job with the normal responsabilities, but remunerated -if it is- as internship. Internships are taking the places of normal job because 1: cheaper for the company. 2: thousands of applicants deseperated for a first chance, or some salary. In my opinion any kind of internship should be remunerated. Of course not 100% was is paid normally in that kind of job position. I am speaking about 40-50% of remuneration. For companies is very good to take interns that will do the job no one wants to do in the company, and not to pay them a euro. Also work hours, top of years (I cannot understand an intern with 32 years…), rights, etc. In summary a legislation.
Xavier