Without a doubt, their plight in oppressive societies in which they have limited class mobility, few or no avenues for significant political engagement and high levels of corruption could lead them to take to the streets in protest. But levels of youth unemployment are high in the Western world, too. Could the lack of job prospects also lead to social unrest in North America and Europe?
Morgan doesn't think so. On the situation in Europe, he writes:
"... financial woes have driven youth unemployment to more than 20 per cent. Spain’s jobless rate among young people is twice that, comparable to that of the Arab world. But there’s a crucial difference. Low European birth rates have progressively lessened the proportion of youth in society, and the longer-term outlook is for worker shortages as baby boomers retire. By contrast, there are sixteen Middle Eastern and North African countries where at least six out of every 10 people are under 30 years of age."
Since demographic trends in North America are very similar to Europe's, it's fair to extrapolate Morgan's perspective would also more or less fit our situation here in Canada.
Youth unemployment rates are unacceptably high in this country. Ontario has the biggest challenge, with 15% of its young people unable to find work. There is a growing group of unemployed/underemployed, highly educated people increasingly expressing their disenchantment with the current state of affairs. These individuals see their investments in higher education providing ever-diminishing returns for themselves and their peers. More and more have returned to the nest, unable to find decently compensated work that provides enough capital for self-sufficiency. Others have given up and gone back to school for something to do, only to find themselves further in debt and just as unlikely to find work after graduating with a professional degree, advanced degrees or a post-undergrad college certificate.
This, of course, says nothing about the young people who have dropped out of the workforce, are no longer enrolled in school, or who never completed a high school diploma and/or a post-secondary program. Official statistics only tell part of the story. These uncounted youth, equally disaffected, have just as many reasons to be disgruntled by current economic conditions as their brethren with academic credentials. When you add these various populations together, a sizeable proportion of Canada's under 30 crowd are losing the economic battle due to a combination of stagnant job creation by the private sector, public sector employment cutbacks, baby boomer reluctance and/or financial inability to retire, escalating education standards being demanded across the board in hiring practices, restrictive employment regulations by government in certain sectors, and ongoing global economic uncertainty.
Morgan's implied belief that skills shortages will lead to improved employment opportunities for youth down the road ignores the fact that older workers are working longer and harder, thereby blocking younger workers from accessing employment. These older workers are also continuously upgrading themselves (through an added emphasis on skills development training by industry), which helps them remain employed. How does a young person fresh out of college or university compete with that? How do they find work if skills learned in school atrophy or lose relevance after years of unemployment or working low-paying jobs in another sector to try and make ends meet? Worse, how is a young person facing socioeconomic barriers or a lack of educational opportunity supposed to compete on anything approaching an equal footing to others, no matter the age of their competitors?
The youth of Canada live in a country with democratic principles written into its constitution. The need for armed revolt is not high. However, social unrest like we've seen in the Middle East may yet find a uniquely Canadian expression if young people here cannot fairly compete to gather the fruits of their labour past generations have enjoyed.
Since demographic trends in North America are very similar to Europe's, it's fair to extrapolate Morgan's perspective would also more or less fit our situation here in Canada.
Youth unemployment rates are unacceptably high in this country. Ontario has the biggest challenge, with 15% of its young people unable to find work. There is a growing group of unemployed/underemployed, highly educated people increasingly expressing their disenchantment with the current state of affairs. These individuals see their investments in higher education providing ever-diminishing returns for themselves and their peers. More and more have returned to the nest, unable to find decently compensated work that provides enough capital for self-sufficiency. Others have given up and gone back to school for something to do, only to find themselves further in debt and just as unlikely to find work after graduating with a professional degree, advanced degrees or a post-undergrad college certificate.
This, of course, says nothing about the young people who have dropped out of the workforce, are no longer enrolled in school, or who never completed a high school diploma and/or a post-secondary program. Official statistics only tell part of the story. These uncounted youth, equally disaffected, have just as many reasons to be disgruntled by current economic conditions as their brethren with academic credentials. When you add these various populations together, a sizeable proportion of Canada's under 30 crowd are losing the economic battle due to a combination of stagnant job creation by the private sector, public sector employment cutbacks, baby boomer reluctance and/or financial inability to retire, escalating education standards being demanded across the board in hiring practices, restrictive employment regulations by government in certain sectors, and ongoing global economic uncertainty.
Morgan's implied belief that skills shortages will lead to improved employment opportunities for youth down the road ignores the fact that older workers are working longer and harder, thereby blocking younger workers from accessing employment. These older workers are also continuously upgrading themselves (through an added emphasis on skills development training by industry), which helps them remain employed. How does a young person fresh out of college or university compete with that? How do they find work if skills learned in school atrophy or lose relevance after years of unemployment or working low-paying jobs in another sector to try and make ends meet? Worse, how is a young person facing socioeconomic barriers or a lack of educational opportunity supposed to compete on anything approaching an equal footing to others, no matter the age of their competitors?
The youth of Canada live in a country with democratic principles written into its constitution. The need for armed revolt is not high. However, social unrest like we've seen in the Middle East may yet find a uniquely Canadian expression if young people here cannot fairly compete to gather the fruits of their labour past generations have enjoyed.
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