By Inés Bultó Riera

The lack of employment and precarious working conditions affect the life of all individuals and youth is especially vulnerable in this regard. According to figures of the European Commission, in recent years there has been a leap both in unemployment for the whole population and in youth unemployment in EU-27. Nevertheless, the percentage of young people between 15 and 24 unemployed in the European Union reached 21’4% in September 2011 and more than doubled the unemployment rate. The highest rates were observed in Spain, where almost one out of two young people unemployed. For this reason, in this age of recovery, many European governments struggle to create quality jobs and to promote young people’s entrance in the labor market.

However, the main group affected by this situation is hardly involved in this debate. Indeed, young people are almost never invited to contribute with their point of view in this matter and often have to organize strikes and protests to make sure their voice is heard. Young people, though, have something to say and should be given the opportunity to speak up about youth employment and other issues.

On a similar note, too often politicians and business men seem to be willing to change everything by themselves and to forget the power of youth to drive change in economy and society. Nevertheless, in these times in which politics and business are still based in traditional concepts dating from before the recession that invaded Europe in 2008, young people are the only ones not badly influenced by these conceptions and thus, the most likely to find innovative solutions to the new global problems we have to face.

Young people: putting ideas into action

As formal education is still based in old books that do not consider yet the recent situation, students all around Europe are starting to use the “learning-by-doing” methodology to develop themselves. This enables to foster their entrepreneurial mindset: they become more creative and proactive, they put ideas into practice, they spot opportunities more easily and they take calculated risks. Therefore, young people with this entrepreneurial spirit are much more prepared and flexible to face our current and future challenges in a successful and sustainable way.

Young people, source of economic growth and social cohesion

Moreover, the “learning by doing” methodology promotes youth entrepreneurship and thus, makes a three-folded contribution to economic and social health. Firstly, it is beneficial for youth employment rates as it encourages the creation of new companies and new jobs. Secondly, it is a key driver for creativity and long-economic growth as it boosts innovation among new enterprises developing new technologies or services, as well as among already existing firms in which intrapreneurship is fostered. Thirdly, youth entrepreneurship is a cohesion tool for young people as it develops an individual’s social interaction, his engagement in society and his professional inclusion. Finally, entrepreneurship offers a chance to young people to pursue their interests and dreams and, hence, to be happier and more likely to be socially included.

Young people and technology

Furthermore, youth feels much more comfortable in the current era of information technology and is much more likely to adapt to new technologies and to promote innovation in this field. Indeed, according to the “Digital Diaries” study from Internet Security Company AVG, there has been an important generational shift. More kids can play a computer game than ride a bike and while 19% of kids aged 2 to 5 know how to play with a smartphone application, only 9% of kids these age know how to tie their shoelaces. Additionally, many of the most successful technological innovations come from young entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Naveen Selvadurai (Foursquare) or Daniel Ek (Spotify).

Young people moving around the globe

Finally, while high-school teachers still talk about the globalization era in a surprised tone, their students can barely imagine themselves not drinking a Big Mac and a Pepsi, not buying products “Made in China” and having to travel around Europe with a passport and a visa, instead of taking just their ID. Youth speaks many more foreign languages, is more willing to travel around the world to go work abroad than its parents and understands the current world dynamics much better.

All in all, just as worried parents have to learn to let their kids go and take responsibility for their own actions, older generations should let young people be more involved in the current global issues and trust better in their judgment and preparation.

Inés Bultó Riera is a Spanish student at ESADE Business School and is the Secretary General of JADE, the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises.