“What are the terms under which the youth is working after the “pandemic measures”?”
This is a question that arises whilst taking a look at Cyprus’ unemployment rates during the previous years.
The beginning of 2020 brought an overwhelming wave of instability in Europe due to the covid-19 pandemic, affecting relentlessly one country after the other, not leaving Cyprus out of its way. Businesses and service providers closing down or losing a hefty part of their market power naturally led to an abrupt rise of unemployment rates. Forward to a year later, though, things seem to be changing for the better. According to Eurostat, unemployment rates dropped to 6.4% in September2021 and specifically to 15.1% for youth under 25 – a development that leads to the conclusion that a big part of young people now has a job. On one hand, such an outcomewithin a year is a positive indicator for the revival of the country’s economy; but on the other hand, the question “What are the terms under which the youth is working” emerges.
Ms Anna Michael, Key Account Manager of the cypriot branch of the YOUTHShare Transnational Employment Centre, comments: “What I have noticed, as a career counsellor through the sessions, was that many of our beneficiaries were willing to accept irrelevant to their career-focus jobs and lower salaries in order to create a sense of stability in their life. The situation during the last two years has created a lot of insecurity, leading to lower standards for their career. Parallel to this, while most of the business owners were unable to cover a decent salary for local youth but at the same time, they were stating that they needed more help in their business”.
So, although the figures show a positive shift towards increased employment for young peoplesince last year, the terms under which they manage to do so weremore unfavour than before: Lowering their expectations and demands was a key point in their job seeking, in order to be successful. And there’s the other point of view, as well; businesses that can only offer low salaries but are in need of more personnel.
The solution to this conundrumis the helping hand not only of the various European and governmental youth support programs, but also of the regionalstakeholders and other authorities: “Considering the above, there is a great need of supporting both the youth and businesses in a more sustainable way. Even if the government and the EU are already launching different programs to support youth employment and business recovery, local stakeholders and other authorities also bear a responsibility. Each community can cultivate an environment and establish programs that create the integration of youth to the labour market as well as their engagement to the community. The discussion is not only about finding a job but also aboutbetter conditions for youth mental and physical health”.
And here comes the YOUTHShare project.
As Ms Michael notes, “One of the most interesting examples of collective support towards youth is the YOUTHShare project that supports the integration of youth and engages the local businesses as well as the stakeholders of the community. Through the direct feedback we receive from youth participating in theproject, we can create workshops adjusted to their needs or introduce them to different stakeholders who are interested in participatingin the project […]”.
Ms Markella Papanicolaou, Local Manager of the YOUTHShare project on behalf of the Centrefor the Advancement of Research & Development in Educational Technology (CARDET),states that, what makes YOUTHShare to stand out “[…] is the combination of different experts, such as career counsellors, mentors and trainers, with a common vision for the future”.
The cypriot YOUTHShare partners’ effort is combined with theexperience and expertise of the consortium based on the other Med EEA countries, creating a dynamic network for supporting the youth. As Mrs Michael concludes, “The last two years this project has been a pillar for many people coming from vulnerable groups that were seeking to create a more sustainable career. Through the transnational support, we saw people developing their expertise and network but also finding jobs, developing their skills and even creating a change for their peers”.
Authors
Anna Michael, KAM at YOUTHShare Transnational Employment Centre
Markella Papanicolaou, Local Manager at CARDET
