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No jobs for slobs - youth unemployable
No jobs for slobs - Lack of education, skills, wrong attitude render youth unemployable
published: Wednesday | June 20, 2007
Gareth Manning, Gleaner Writer
A significant number of the nation's 18-24-year-olds cannot find jobs, but at least one career expert says this is because many are unemployable.
The latest Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll, done last month, found that 44 per cent of those in this age group who are on the job market are unable to find work of any kind. Johnson said, "Eight per cent are so discouraged that they are no longer even looking for a job".
Some analysts have identified the lack of job opportunities as a critical reason for apathy among the youth, with the Johnson poll showing persons in the 18-24 age group as those least likely to vote in the upcoming general election.
Want Instant Gratification
Said the pollster: "Although they (youth) may be getting instant information, many of them are not getting the instant gratification that they are looking for and expect (at least as far as finding a job is concerned), and this appears to be having a definite negative effect on their willingness to participate in the electoral process."
Only 12 per cent of 18-24-year-olds plan to vote in the coming election.
But Dr. Leachim Semaj, chief executive officer of the Job Bank, is arguing that a lack of jobs is not the problem besetting youth. He said that many are unemployable because they are either not educated, trained or don't have the right attitude to work.
Not Trainable
"Education makes you trainable, training makes you employable and attitude makes you successful," said Dr. Semaj in an interview with The Gleaner. "A significant number of our young people have none of the three."
He noted that 74 per cent of youth leave high school with two or fewer CXC or GCE subjects. Data from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) support this to some extent, with 2006 data showing 40.6 per cent of students passing one to three subjects and another 22 per cent passing none. Those who do leave with a few subjects, Dr. Semaj claimed, often have no skills. "Now what do you employ them to do?"
Dr. Semaj is blaming parents for failing to motivate their children to want to succeed, but also said that the country's educational system is at fault for its lack of guidance. "We can't blame them totally. Somebody raised them and somebody got paid to teach them," he said.
"On the other side of it, 70 per cent of the prison population is functionally illiterate," he noted. "You see the parallel. So that is what they (the students) are being prepared for."He noted too that there were many tertiary graduates who are just as unemployable as some high school graduates because they have no skills. "Some may have some analytical skills, but I find that theirwork attitude is atrocious," he said. "One week on the job, they want a corner office and a company car."
Start As Interns
Dr. Semaj noted that, in many First World countries, many young people start as interns and work their way up the ladder.
He argued further that, of the three universities in the country, Northern Caribbean University seemed to be the university that tries most to prepare graduates for the job market, noting that more emphasis is put on work experience there than at any other of the island's universities. This is followed by the University of Technology and then the University of the West Indies. "Look in The Gleaner on a Sunday, there are pages and pages of jobs. So I don't buy this that there are no jobs, but the jobs require certain competence or certain humility that you need to work your way up," he said.
published: Wednesday | June 20, 2007
Gareth Manning, Gleaner Writer
A significant number of the nation's 18-24-year-olds cannot find jobs, but at least one career expert says this is because many are unemployable.
The latest Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll, done last month, found that 44 per cent of those in this age group who are on the job market are unable to find work of any kind. Johnson said, "Eight per cent are so discouraged that they are no longer even looking for a job".
Some analysts have identified the lack of job opportunities as a critical reason for apathy among the youth, with the Johnson poll showing persons in the 18-24 age group as those least likely to vote in the upcoming general election.
Want Instant Gratification
Said the pollster: "Although they (youth) may be getting instant information, many of them are not getting the instant gratification that they are looking for and expect (at least as far as finding a job is concerned), and this appears to be having a definite negative effect on their willingness to participate in the electoral process."
Only 12 per cent of 18-24-year-olds plan to vote in the coming election.
But Dr. Leachim Semaj, chief executive officer of the Job Bank, is arguing that a lack of jobs is not the problem besetting youth. He said that many are unemployable because they are either not educated, trained or don't have the right attitude to work.
Not Trainable
"Education makes you trainable, training makes you employable and attitude makes you successful," said Dr. Semaj in an interview with The Gleaner. "A significant number of our young people have none of the three."
He noted that 74 per cent of youth leave high school with two or fewer CXC or GCE subjects. Data from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) support this to some extent, with 2006 data showing 40.6 per cent of students passing one to three subjects and another 22 per cent passing none. Those who do leave with a few subjects, Dr. Semaj claimed, often have no skills. "Now what do you employ them to do?"
Dr. Semaj is blaming parents for failing to motivate their children to want to succeed, but also said that the country's educational system is at fault for its lack of guidance. "We can't blame them totally. Somebody raised them and somebody got paid to teach them," he said.
"On the other side of it, 70 per cent of the prison population is functionally illiterate," he noted. "You see the parallel. So that is what they (the students) are being prepared for."He noted too that there were many tertiary graduates who are just as unemployable as some high school graduates because they have no skills. "Some may have some analytical skills, but I find that theirwork attitude is atrocious," he said. "One week on the job, they want a corner office and a company car."
Start As Interns
Dr. Semaj noted that, in many First World countries, many young people start as interns and work their way up the ladder.
He argued further that, of the three universities in the country, Northern Caribbean University seemed to be the university that tries most to prepare graduates for the job market, noting that more emphasis is put on work experience there than at any other of the island's universities. This is followed by the University of Technology and then the University of the West Indies. "Look in The Gleaner on a Sunday, there are pages and pages of jobs. So I don't buy this that there are no jobs, but the jobs require certain competence or certain humility that you need to work your way up," he said.
