How Young People Can Improve Their Employability

The world of work is constantly evolving and keeping up with it is not an easy task.

There’s a gap between the demand for skills and what is being offered. The results of the latest ManpowerGroup's Employment Outlook Survey (MEOS) show that 1 in 5 organizations around the world is having trouble finding qualified talent. When we asked employers why certain positions are difficult to fill, 34 percent answered there were not enough candidates with the right technical skills, mainly front office and customer-facing, operations and logistics, sales and marketing, administration and administrative assistant, and IT and data.

In addition, 32 percent of employers reported that candidates do not have enough relevant experience, and more than a quarter (27 percent) said they lack the right soft skills, such as accountability and discipline, resilience and adaptability, collaboration and teamwork, reasoning and problem-solving, as well as leadership and social influence. 

This percentage of candidates who do not have enough relevant experience is mostly made up of young people, of which 40 percent have been looking for a job for more than six months, according to the "Shortage of Job Opportunities for Young People" report by ManpowerGroup in collaboration with Junior Achievement. 

Another finding in this research are the main factors young people consider when taking a job, including  salary and benefits, career development and growth, and having a formal work relationship. Likewise, the factors they take into consideration to remain in their current job are good salary, professional growth, organizational environment, treatment, and the company’s culture.

Contrary to common thinking, it was identified that young people "are not standing idle" and they are working on their own upskilling and reskilling to become more employable and competitive. About 28 percent are seeking to continue studying their current career, 27 percent are taking complementary training, 20 percent are taking technical courses, 17 percent are learning English, and 7 percent are learning other languages. 

Further to these well-used strategies, young people have found other options to get their first job, such as accepting internships, temporary positions, or short-term projects (16 percent), reviewing job opportunities posted in the media or digital networks (14 percent), publishing their resume or uploading their data on job websites (12 percent), and taking their resume or job application directly to employers’ offices (11 percent).

How to Increase Employability 

Currently, job vacancies in Latin America vary a great deal and they are from all sectors: 46 percent are in Administration and Finance, 16 percent in Commercial, Marketing, and Sales, 14 percent in Production or Manufacturing, 12 percent in IT or Systems, 10 percent in Logistics and Transportation, and 2 percent in Other.

Now that we know what the job opportunities are and the talent shortage not only in Mexico but also in Latin America, it is very important to keep the focus on the objective that we have as employers to fill these positions and what young people have to do to reduce the gap versus skills demand.

Here are some recommendations that we believe will have a positive effect if someone decides to follow them.

On the one hand, for young people, an important first step to starting a career is to take internships, temporary jobs, or short-term projects in which they can develop these scarce skills through hands-on learning. Getting a job before finishing their academic education will increase their employability. 

Keep learning and training. This will always be one of the key premises to succeed in life, especially if they focus on learning other languages. This will give them the necessary resources to get more and better job opportunities.

On the other hand, as employers, we should continue promoting alternative and flexible work models. Eradicating old ideas will help us evolve and improve our work strategy. We need to strengthen inclusion in  the workplace to ensure a much more diverse environment and raise awareness among our employees of the equity in their workspaces. We can also open internships and temporary jobs to create opportunities for young people, as well as train them on soft skills and offer them professional development.

Everyone can take advantage of this information and let it be a breakthrough for setting  bigger and more ambitious career goals for 2023, especially if you are young because you have a long way to go and it will not always be easy, and sometimes it will be full of challenges and setbacks  but also full of opportunities that will allow you to become the best professional version of you.

Remember these three simple but effective steps to get a meaningful and sustainable job: 

1. Start in a temporary job, 

2. The younger you begin the more successful your professional career will be

3. Above all, keep on learning, always.

In conclusion, do not forget to promote learnability as one of the most important skills we can develop for ourselves, our employees, and for future generations. Learning is always a win-win strategy for everyone.