OpinionsEye OpenerYouth employment crisis

Youth employment crisis

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Today, millions of young people are going through a treacherous blend of high unemployment, escalating inactivity and risky work, as well as stubbornly high working poverty.

This work deficit does not only put young people vulnerable, but the entire Philippine society is at risk as this can lead to increasing social conflicts and political unrest due to the lack of job opportunities. Not only do underutilized young people suffer significant losses by not fulfilling their potential, it can also activate a spiteful ring of intergenerational poverty and social exclusion.

Challenges in the work force
At present, the youth faces explicit challenges getting into the work force. Their lack of professional experience nose-dives them into the “experience trap.” Since they are not able to get a job, they are unable to gain professional experience that could have allowed them to get a job. In times of economic recessions, young people are the last to be hired (due to lack of experience) and the first to be sacked (due to lack of tenure).

In addition, the lack of alignment between the education system and the needs of employers also generate a mismatch between supply and demand of labor. As a consequence, young people struggle to find jobs that suit their qualifications, and employers fail to recruit the graduates with the right skills set.

In developing economies like the Philippines, where a high percentage of the world’s youth live in underemployment or working in the informal economy under poor conditions, the challenge is to improve the quality of jobs available to them in addition to generating new employment opportunities. Girls and young women are often particularly disadvantaged, and while gender gaps in education are narrowing, in many places here in our country and even here in our city, these gains in educational attainment have not translated into equal opportunities in the labor market.

The cooperative option
Cooperatives, such as DCCCO, are principle-based ventures that place people, rather than the pursuit of profit, at the core of their business. Because of this, they follow a broader set of values, namely — self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity — than those associated purely with making a profit.

Employment opportunities
It is estimated that cooperatives provide millions of jobs world-wide. Although the exact number of youth is difficult to determine, cooperatives are clearly a significant source of employment creation. The cooperative model of enterprise contributes to youth employment not by only providing salaried employment, but also facilitating job creation through self-employment.

The model lends itself to both rural and urban areas and for persons of all academic and skill levels including recent graduates who have limited prospects of finding jobs. For those seeking salaried employment, it is particularly attractive to those who seek work that responds to both their economic needs and their desire to work in businesses that are responsive to people’s needs at the same time embrace democratic practices in the workplace. For those who are looking to start a business, a cooperative enables young people to pool limited financial resources.

The cooperative form of enterprise is an option for young people as it has low capital requirements, limited liability, and in cases where members are also employees, the flexibility of self-employment.

Start-ups, skills, training
Here in our country, most specially here in our province and city, the inclusion of cooperatives as a subject matter in school curricula at all levels is still insufficient. This gap limits young people’s ability to choose the cooperative option to doing business.

In the case of DCCCO, to fill this gap, it offers some sort of cooperative entrepreneurship training and education. This commitment to education and training builds competence not just for young people but also to adult members and employees allowing for job mobility and advancement both within the cooperative as well as skills that they can also carry with them to other endeavors.

The way forward
The scale and impact of the current youth employment crisis on the future of young people in our society is a call for immediate action. While cooperatives are already playing a role in helping young people take their lives into their own hands, there is great potential for further development. Jobs, affordable products and services, opportunities to start a business and the ability to have a voice in how enterprises should perform economically are possible through a cooperative enterprise like DCCCO.

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Author’s email: [email protected]

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