Introduction
Currently, most of the unemployed population in the labor market which faces unemployment are youths. It is because they have presently finished their high school or collages and they are still yearning to get more experience and study to enable them to define their pathways. Besides, those who have graduated from the four-year college still lacked the necessary skills to fit in the job market. The rate of unemployment in the labor market sounds ironical since the job openings in the US stands as high as 5 million (Wyman, 2015). These work opportunities are not filled since there is a mismatch of skills. That is, the workers do not have the skills which the employers demand (Hind & Moss, 2011). These skills may comprise of the ability to manage the team, to solve various problems, ability to write and communicate verbally to other parties and stakeholders and ability to express creative and critical thinking while handling different situations. Since these skills should be learnt practically, most youths still lack them thus cannot fully fit in most organizations even though there are a lot of gaps to be bridged (Wyman, 2015). It consequently calls for the youths to improve their ability and technical knowhow through continual learning to acquire new skills. These can be done through Career and Educational Training process. The program will guarantee them to gain an upper hand in the competitive labor market in the US economy.
The elements which can make a worker succeed in the dynamic labor market
In the article, the author has highlighted various elements which can make the jobless trained college students fit in the labor market which demands dynamism and individuals who possess the problem-solving skills. The main method in which the youths can use to achieve this is through Career and Technical Education training which enhances the acquisition of real work skills thus leading to the acquirement of right education at the right time (Wyman, 2015). These will also enable them to procure the employability skills such as problem-solving, communication skills and time management techniques. The use of Career Education Training also provides students with an opportunity to build the job specific and transferable skills which can help them handle the continuing evolving careers (Wyman, 2015). Besides, before students joining their degree programs, they should set a road map which shall unveil to them the reality whether their profession will lead them to the actual job.
The other primary key to bridging the skill gap which exists between the employers and the employees as well as combating the Youth Unemployment is an adoption of an apprenticeship. It is because, when the government uses their funds to support these activities, the returns which they get in the form of economic growth is worth $27 (Wyman, 2015).Besides, it creates more opportunities especially among the middle class since it does not carry the tuition debts. It allows individual to directly participate in the growth of the economy and eventually connect the youths directly to the work they intend to do from the beginning of their training process. Therefore, it is the prudent method in which most youths should adopt since it pays higher starting salaries and ensure that the student is not burdened with debts. These can be evident in the case of James, a student who dropped from the university to join the Apprenticeship due to strong passion in the automobile industry. According to James, he later affirmed that the process had equipped him with the valuable skills which the entrepreneurs and the mobile individuals need to foster the adaptability in the job market (Wyman, 2015). It is thus a call for the youths not to despise trade and apprenticeship so as to achieve what they are yearning to achieve in future. More clarity can also be borrowed from the LinkedIn survey of 1400 employers in the United States of America who found out that the most required skills in the market are the ability to solve various problems and the capability of the employee to learn as fast as possible and handle the changes which accrue in the organization and the market environments (Wyman, 2015).
Therefore, to ensure that the youths and other unemployed individuals get new skills which are necessary for them to fit in the dynamic markets, they are supposed to adhere to the following steps. They include:
- There is a call for the young employees to start building their skills by following their passion. These will enable them to maximize their talents, interests and acquire new skills hence achieving their set objectives
- Let the students try to gain the practical skills while they are still in high school so as to get the right pathways to job opportunities. Given that there are close links between industries and schools as far as career development is concerned, then the students should take advantage of these and develop their career at a tender age. Besides, students can also seek the part-time work so as to have an opportunity to interact and associate with the work environment.
- The workers, as well as the students, should seek to find those who provide education with an innovative curriculum. These will help to link skills the students are learning in colleges with the respective jobs which await them in the market. These will boost the employability of the students who are mainly youths hence reducing the rate of unemployment as well as bridging the gap of 5 million job opportunities as revealed by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in the year 2015
Cristism of the key elements
Even though there is argument that the use of Career and Technical Training and students joining the apprenticeship as the key was to employability, there are various methods in which an individual can be able to improve their employability after acquiring their degree programs. These include the development of attitude and passion for doing what one is doing best at the university, getting involved in the extra co- curricular activities which include paid work, attachments, internships while still at the university hence boosting the skills and experiences of the student (Sewel & Pool , 2007). Also, the student should make the best of their university networks such as clubs and societies participations. These will create numerous opportunities and linkage to those who have experienced what the student is capable of doing. Besides, they will boost the employability opportunity of the student hence reduction in the level of unemployment in the economy (Sewel & Pool , 2007). Also, through the development of Graduate Development Centers by organizations, students can grip the skill edge which is required of them to fit and be adaptable in the dynamic and competitive labor market. Moreover, the trainings will equip the students with the disciplinary content knowledge, awareness of the workplace, development of generic skills, development of workplace experience and disciplinary skills which shall warranty the youths have met the main components of employability. These include understanding, efficacy beliefs, skills and metacognition (Sewel & Pool, 2007).
In addition, the students can also join the master’s programs so as to be experts in a particular field which can enable them to fit in their area of specialization hence achieving their set career objectives (Gravells, 2010). It can thus be evident that it is not only through Career and Technical training, apprenticeship and acquiring the skills while still in high school to be the only path for the definition of a student’s career success. However, I genuinely agree that to some extent, the curriculums in the university render most of the students who does not diversify as shown above worthless and cannot fit in the job market.
Conclusion
The rate of unemployment among the youths has been in the increase over time due to a mismatch in the job and the skills which the workers (Youths who are young graduates) possess. It is because most of the courses student taking at the university has no clear roadmap to the actual job they will do upon completion or graduation. These thus call for the introduction of Career and Education Training and apprenticeship which helps to equip students with the necessary skills such as communication, planning, problem-solving and decision-making. These will also make the students to do what they like doing most hence achieving their career objectives with a lot of enthusiasm. These will thus lead to labor productivity hence improvement in economic growth. However, there are others methods in which the students can improve the employability at the University. They include having the right attitude and passion for what they are doing best in the university, participating in the co-curricular activities and doing part-time paid jobs, attachments and internships so as to boost their relationship with the employers. Therefore, University education processes remain paramount for the students, but it should be backed by these activities to make the student gain skills which shall make them fit in the dynamic labor market environments.
References
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