In recent years, stemming
from the increasing number of jobless youngsters, youth unemployment has been a
hot issue under much discussion in society. This worsening situation brings a
lot of harm to all Hong Kongers. Many people then put the blame on the new
generation that they don’t strive to seize the working opportunities. However,
it is already proved that there are numerous external factors determining the youth
employment rate. In this article, I would like to have a deep insight at the
whole issue, hoping to inspire you more about youth unemployment.
To address a problem
comprehensively, looking into the causes of it is an essential process. So,
what are the crucial reasons behind why more and more youngsters are not getting
any jobs? Needless to say, we can instantly come up with tons of ideas like
lower youth competitiveness, poor working conditions, etc. However, I
would like to divide them into two different aspects: internal factors and
external factors.
The first internal factor
is the deterioration of youth competitiveness. Hong Kong is an international
city where many cross-border enterprisers come to operate their businesses.
That’s why English is so important. Nonetheless, the English proficiency of
Hong Kong students is deteriorating due to less exposure to English. With
average language skills, it is challenging for the youth to
communicate and co-operate with people who are not Cantonese speakers and their
career paths may not coincide. Meanwhile, we notice a new term wisely used in
the news “Hong Kong kids”, describing children with low ability
of self-care who meet
daily life problems. What’s wrong with the new
generation? Not only do they lack self-care, but they are also self-centered.
They always complain about their working conditions, how badly they are treated
by their boss and so on. The above emotions make them give up their career
easily and become unemployed.
On the other hand, there
are so many external factors but the most influential is employers’
preferential impressions on youth. Influenced by the local media’s
highlights of the negative aspects of the new generation, employers in Hong
Kong are more likely to have a feeling that young people are not responsible or
capable enough to take the jobs they offer. Thus, they prefer experienced
workers instead of the new power.
Though the problem of youth
unemployment seems to involve the new generation and employers only, this is
not the true picture. In fact, this is everybody’s business.
Firstly, the
sustainability of Hong Kong will finally go downhill. As the number of
unemployed youths is roaring, the unemployment rate of Hong Kong rises
simultaneously. What does this imply? Deterioration of labor power? A lack of
new blood in the labor market? Not just these! The
most serious one is that our city may not be able to keep developing; it may become less competitive than other regions like Singapore which is
becoming stronger these
days.
Furthermore, facing the
downward movement of competitiveness, Hong Kong citizens will lose their sense of pride. In the past, Hong Kong received glorious honors such as “Food
Paradise”, “Shopping Paradise” and “the Pearl of the East”. These kinds of
admirations have given Hong Kong citizens a sense of pride. However, once we
lose all these positive feelings, our sense of belonging will definitely be weakened
and the whole city may be surrounded by a gloomy atmosphere.
After reading the above,
are you more
concerned about youth unemployment? If yes, don’t
worry! There is always a way out. From my point of view, curing an existing
problem from the root is the most effective measure. The government should step
up the education
reform to improve the education
system. It is undeniable that not everyone in the world is born with a
brilliant mindset and a hardworking manner. Hence, to encourage less-talented students,
the government should offer more occupational courses for them so they can
acquire specific working skills to have a higher possibility of being employed.
Moreover, there should be further co-operation between schools and parents so
as to nurture a correct and positive attitude among the youth. This must
definitely help to raise the youth competitiveness.
Youth unemployment is
surely a huge problem in Hong Kong and has become a headache for the HKSAR
government. Unless things change for the better, it will only create hurdles
and obstacles in the path of Hong Kong development. Therefore, all citizens have
to cooperate so as to create a better Hong Kong.
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