Youth Unemployment - Corporate World this is your fault

Youth unemployment is one of the greatest obstacles we have to overcome, at least in my homecountry, Greece. This has been a great issue even before the economic crisis. Unemployment sparked when the crisis started to develop, but for young people things just got even harder than they already were. That's why probably you've heard already about

"Brain Drain", the phenomenon of educated and skillful people leaving behind their motherland to find better professional and economic opportunities abroad.

I would like to talk about this from a business perspective!

Apart from unfortunate events that have had taken place in Greece, the heart of the matter is in people's mentality. Findings from surveys painted the picture for us, targeting lack of experience and certain skills as the the main reason that stops companies from hiring graduates. Being a young person myself, I can verify that I've heard from friends hundreds of times "We would like to hire but you don't seem to have enough experience.". Even when seeking for ads, most entry level positions require 2-3 years of experience.

So we are left with apprenticeships (not very popular in Greece) and internships that from time to time are supported by the government, but depend more on the genuine interest and hard work of certain universities or even professors. On top of that most companies are not willing to pay for internships, as if the skillful and talented people they want, don't deserve money, at least for their personal expenses. 

Somehow along the road having a job seems like the most valuable and well kept secret knowledge there is.

Companies feel very generous giving the chance to graduates to work (for free or a little money). Don't get me wrong, I've had many internships and did years of volunteering in my life. The difference is that I was respected for what I could bring to the table.

Both parties had an opportunity!

I could learn and experience the business world, while they could have a passionate, young, creative and willing brain that waits for a chance to shine. 

That's what most graduates seek. A chance to shine. That's why they are willing to work for unpaid internships. I don't believe companies hire as interns the first graduates they come across. There is a selection process always, making sure the most talented are getting hired. And this is a good practice. They seek for the most and best developed skills among the available candidates. This means they see the value that this person could add to the company. At the same time these people don't deserve a proper salary.

We, as a society, value a lot experience rather than ability or willingness. Experience doesn't guarantee any of the two.

In my life I didn't learn the things I know all by myself, someone else took the time to teach me (directly or not). From talking and walking to advanced mathematics and machine learning. In my humble opinion,

I wouldn't hire people that know, but people that learn. I would seek for passion and sparkly eyes.

So if we want young people to be able to stand in the business world, let's value what they have and what they are willing to achieve. Success comes from the urge to keep pushing forward and not having succeeded already. Let's see behind the lines and interpret what they've done already rather than focusing on what we, in an ideal world, would like them to have. 

Young people have skills, have personality, are eager to learn, to experience, to grow. Of course not everyone is the same nor are they equally a good fit. But not having enough experience is not the most important thing. Do you know why? It's easy to let someone in the arena of work and expose him in challenges. He will learn and adapt without a doubt, it's human nature. 

Everyone is capable of accumulating experience. It's not a skill. On the other hand, having disengaged employees, that are not willing to do their best, not able to understand the future trends, collaborate or don't have the right mix of skills, this is an actual problem. In fact a hard to solve one that it might even cost the growth of a company. 

Experience is overrated. What we want is attitude. Young, willing, flexible people, full of ideas and cutting edge knowledge, ready to grab opportunities to prove their value. These are the ones that can open the door to innovation, forward thinking and digital age to your company. 

In conclusion, if you want to develop your company, develop your people! The easiest to develop are the ones with little experience that are still open minded. 

Youth unemployment is not young people's fault. This is a mentality issue that disconnects companies from their future. At the end of the day, people don't leave because they don't have a job or they don't have money. People leave because they feel useless and of lesser importance. 

Give chances to young people. Give them room to try, fail, grow. Their development is going to be your future. Pay them for what they worth. Evaluate their skills, abilities, academic background and willingness. That's what other people did with you once upon a time. Otherwise we all end up in a few years with unexperienced and disengaged middle-aged people not willing to do anything, dedicated to the thought of not being good enough. I don't call this generosity, but survival instinct.