Sri Lanka has 4.64 million young people between the ages of 15 and 29, constituting 23.2 percent of the population, according to a UNDP report. Listening to our young people talk about their future aspirations is usually an uplifting experience: they are often bubbling with dreams about their future, replete with appealing goals and some idea of the small and large steps they intend to take towards realising these goals. Listening to youth talk about the future is also gratifying because we know that when one has a clear picture of one’s aims, one is more likely to achieve them.
For the youth, dreams mean hard work, and an early start is already a step ahead in the game. Take the case of Niranjani, aged 20. She is keen to be ‘financially independent’ and a successful professional. She switched from making a career in arts to public relations because, as she says, “You need to make money too”. She says she has always been a ‘focussed’ individual.
Mahesh, who works as a paid intern for a major garment export company, says it’s important for him to work hard to achieve his dreams – to have his own house, a car, and the power to support his family. “I have learnt that money can give you happiness, and am working towards it. I am enjoying this work; meeting new people, and learning new things,” says the science graduate.
In an era of rising material and professional expectations, youngsters like Niranjani and Mahesh feel it’s important to focus on building a career, a path that they believe would lead to the realisation of their aspirations – both material and otherwise.
Aspirations
The aspirations of our youth always existed, but today, the structure of those aspirations has changed dramatically.
With the shift in employment options from the government, or the army or even becoming a doctor, to that involving working with multinational corporations, the aspirations of the youth have also shifted. Today, the question is not about being in a good job, but how much more can one get? In my opinion, a shift towards rising - predominantly material can be accounted for by the change in material conditions of the youth – bank loans are easily available to buy consumer durables, and high salaries paid by big companies make it possible to afford those loans.
At the same time, youth unemployment has become a major issue in Sri Lanka. According to the Central Bank reports, in 2017 the youth unemployment rate was 18.5 percent. This rate is exceeding the global rate by 5.5%, being four times higher than the overall unemployment rate.
Skills training
Over the past three decades the Sri Lankan economy experienced an increasing gap between the types of jobs available and the youth with skills needed to fill these jobs. There was a serious mismatch between jobs available and skills needed. Today, Sri Lanka is looking at a daunting task of identifying and training 5.6 million skilled youths by year 2030 to match with skills needed for the jobs.
By 2030, a demographic dividend combined with increasing urbanization will lead to fewer low-skill agricultural workers and more workers in industry and services that require specialized training.
These new, skilled workers need to have the right type of jobs, with a good pay and other perks. But as we begin to address this, it is not enough to apply an assembly-line approach to churning out trained youth and placing them in jobs without considering their aspirations and their professional and personal prospects for growth.
Our economists need to use definitions to see the scope of a problem and find ways to lift the limits to success. This is especially true for the youth in Sri Lanka.
How can we prepare policies that work for the next generation? Better education is part of the solution. But this alone would not suffice.
Too many well-educated young people struggle to find good jobs. Drawing on new analyses using both macroeconomic and microeconomic data, we must work out new policies.
What youths want to be when they grow up requires careful thought: they need time to learn about and consider all the options. But the rush to get good grades – and the fact that their grades heavily influence what they can and can’t do – means that some students make hurried, expedient decisions, which may not be for the best in the long term.
Pressure is piled on young people to choose qualifications for a career they want now but must wait five to eight years to get. The higher education system does not help either. Universities often demand top grades for certain courses. In the rush to get this sorted, it’s hard to find the time to consider their options.
Personal counselling
It’s not like there’s no support out there. There is, but sometimes it could be as much of a curse as a blessing. Vast amounts of guidance is available to the youth on various career routes. But, on the flip side, the variety of careers that they have, make them more uncertain of what they want to pursue.They are bombarded with numerous options.
The majority of youth do not know what they want to do when they finish education. The few who do know often rethink their choice as they develop and grow.
When youths choose unsuitable careers a worrying scenario could emerge: they could be stuck in them like square pegs in round holes. This is detrimental for them because reconsidering a career would be a big decision. A youth today wouldn’t be the same 10 years hence. The education system needs to give them advice and space to make the right career choice. There is a great need for career counselling services for Sri Lankan students. Initially, it could be an online service until counsellors are found, trained and recruited. A counsellor can provide end to end career guidance to make the right career choice for the youth.