Europe’s neglected resources

By Simone Disegni, ThinkYoung

How does it feel to be “young”? Well, you know, not that special: that usually means that you have more energies, enthusiasm, aspirations and – hopefully – ideals than older people. Whatever the context, most youngsters are hungry for experiences and for their personal growth – they want to see new places, meet other people, taste new things, test the world they live in… and try and do things: be that today’s Arab youth, yesterday’s bohémiens or tomorrow’s Europeans, those are the basic features. If to these natural energies and aspirations, you add the right amount of consciousness and talent, then the cocktail becomes truly interesting. This is exactly what today’s Europe can count on: in its best universities and research institutes (and in many outside the continent as well) is growing one of the most skilled and well-prepared generations of all times – thanks to high-quality teaching, the spread of international exchange programmes and the globalization of information. But prepared to do what, exactly?

If the most brilliant students are earning valuable degrees, sometimes accumulating top-quality masters or Phds, it is far from certain that European societies are genuinely taking advantage of this whole mass of competence and capacity. In too many cases, instead, skills and ambitions gained through numerous years of study and preparation are frustrated at the moment when they would be the most useful: when it comes to bring new life to public or private institutions. In this phase – the transition from studying to real work – an incredible amount of resources are wasted, when fresh degree-holders cannot find any better start than accepting to contribute with minor and marginal tasks to the work of a company or institution: in one word, through today’s internships. If the situation is pretty well-known, however, too little is the public talk about it, and is almost completely lacking is a conscious assessment of the dangers that it entails in economic, social as well as psychological terms.

Let us be clear, there are indeed specific economic sectors in which the situation is less worrying than the one described. There are some countries in the EU that do engage in proactive policies to sustain and promote youth employment; we are not among those who think that everything should be handed over to younger people just because they are supposedly brighter.  However taking serious steps to sustain the efficient integration into the labour market of Europe’s graduates, as well as to support their personal creativity, original thinking and spirit of entrepreneurship, is something that the EU desperately needs, if it seriously wants to keep up to today’s challenges. So how do you exactly tackle this situation? In many cases, the insufficient investment in the youngsters by companies or public institutions derives from a broader cultural misunderstanding around their value – to put it cynically, in many cases a middle-aged father would be the first fan and supporter of the qualities of his son, but in his professional capacity he would think twice before recruiting someone of the former’s same age. Companies, moreover, find it the easiest to hand minor though unavoidable tasks to the cheap and unprotected labour force that graduates/interns represent, especially when they face a high fiscal burden to recruit new staff.

In this context, the answer has to come first and foremost from public authorities at every different level, from national governments up to the EU and down to local administrations. Through all the instruments at their disposal – legislation, financial programmes, incentives and disincentives – they need to ensure that the brilliant young graduates that Europe produces each year can fruitfully give back to societies what they learnt, sustaining integration into the job market, promoting entrepreneurial capacities and ensuring that traineeships go back to what they really should be: strategic and temporary periods of on-the-field learning and training. Invaluable resources are at the disposal of European societies – virtually. Will the EU want to invest in them in the right way? Young Europeans are watching close the evolutions.

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