Reflection Essay on Youth Unemployment

Unemployment is a major social problem all over the world. However, unemployment rates vary from one country to another with the developed world recording the least unemployment rates. No doubt that Canada belongs to this category of countries that have managed to keep unemployment at single-digit rates for decades. But this is not the case with the current youthful population as the unemployment rate is much higher compared to other groups. Going through the text, it appears to me that the problem of high unemployment among the youth will remain a concern for policy makers and society in the foreseeable future.

Some college and university graduates are taking longer to find jobs while others have been forced to do jobs that are less relevant to their qualifications. What is the reason for this trend? Employers prefer experienced job seekers. To acquire experience, some graduates resort to working as unpaid interns to gain the much-needed experience while any others choose to 'busy themselves' with whatever job that is available. One may interpret such decisions as desperation among the youth and exploitation on the part of the employers. But one thing that comes to the fore upon closer examination of the situation is that the youth get a chance to acquire practical skills in the real working environment. The acquired skills help them to either get permanent job placements or start their own businesses. From a personal point of view, unpaid internships need not be interpreted as desperation among the youth but a valuable opportunity to get the skills necessary to navigate the modern dynamic business environment. No matter how irrelevant a job is to one's qualification, it offers some real work experience at the least. It is not a waste of time.

Some view the situation of increased unemployment in Canada as a product of inadequate collaboration between employers, universities and the government. For me, this is an area that requires more attention if the current unemployment situation is to be addressed sustainably. It is true that the Canadian education system is one of the most fragmented in the world. This makes it difficult for universities to equip graduates with skills relevant to the needs of the real business environment. In the text, it has been cited that Switzerland is one of the few economies that have managed to absorb almost all immediate graduates into employment due to the close collaboration between the government, employers and universities. Although there are significant demographic differences between Canada and Switzerland, I see this strategy as one of the most viable options that stakeholders need to explore to address the issue of high unemployment among the youth in the country.

Globalization is perhaps the most convincing explanation for the current employment situation in the country. Advancement in technology has forced companies to extensively embrace automation. As mentioned in the documentary, machines are taking jobs that were previously performed by human beings at a rate never experienced before. This has fundamentally changed the configuration of the workplace. Additionally, some businesses have resorted to outsourcing to save on the cost of production. Evidently, the competitive advantage that Canadian firms enjoyed for decades has been challenged by emerging economies such as China. For these firms, their top priority is to create wealth for the shareholders hence the increased tendency to outsource for raw materials regardless of its impact on employment. Given these developments, we are likely to see more and more companies resort to outsourcing as technology advances.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is critical that one looks at the problem of high unemployment in the country from several lenses for them to understand the causes behind the current situation. One cannot entirely blame the government or employers for the high number of unemployed youth. Nor can you blame baby boomers for delaying their retirement. As new technologies emerge, and the global economy becomes more interconnected, one can only predict tough times for the unemployed youth in the country. However, a close collaboration between the government, the employers, and the universities can play a vital role in mitigating the unemployment crisis in the country.