Degrees Without Destinations | The Looming Gen Z Labour Crisis?

Why Higher Education is Failing Our Youth

#newspaperinlearning

I happened to read a very insightful article in today’s Editorial Section of The Hindu.

The article focusses on three cardinal issues facing society today, namely, youth unemployment, lack of skilling, and the gender divide, and frames them as a systemic failure in the transition from education to the workforce.

What alarmed me the most was the article’s focus on the crisis facing Generation Z (born 1997–2012) compared to Millennials.

Firstly, the statistics presented by the authors point towards a shocking reality – that higher education today is not currently functioning as a reliable gateway to employment.

Among Gen Z males with graduate-level education or above, unemployment stands at a staggering 29%.

For educated Gen Z females, it is an even more alarming 36.9%.

Secondly, the authors also highlight the fact that the economy is producing educated youth faster than it can create suitable jobs, leading to profound frustration and inefficiency on the part of the youngsters.

Thirdly, the article shows the disproportionate burden placed on young women. While 41.7% of Gen Z males are in the labour force, a massive 27.1% of Gen Z females are engaged exclusively in domestic duties (compared to a mere 0.32% of males).

Fourthly, the quality of employment is also quite poor. Only 20.1% of Gen Z workers are covered by social security, and an overwhelming 79.9% lack it. Which means, most young people are entering the workforce without basic protections or formal job contracts.

Finally, to sum it all up, the article is an urgent warning that without stronger college-to-work pathways - such as vibrant apprenticeships, better formal hiring incentives, and structural support for women – the problem can translate into a huge social and economic crisis, the writers opine!