Of the 120 million youth that entered the workforce in 2013, 80 percent couldn’t find a job.
That is a crazy statistic. I ran across it as I was reading World Vision’s recent article about the youth unemployment crisis. It’s an interesting read for many reasons, not least of which is that just a few years ago, I was a youth struggling to find a job. However, there was something else that really stayed with me.
Half of the world’s youth are out of school, unemployed, and not in training; in essence they are stuck.
World Vision argues that in order for these young people to become “unstuck” they must be taught valuable skills (e.g., literacy, social emotional intelligence, work-readiness). I agree with this idea wholeheartedly, but...what if some young people aren’t able to fully develop these types of skills?
One of every ten people in the world has a disability. That means that a lot of young people live with intellectual or developmental disabilities (e.g., Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome) that can cause them to develop or learn differently than others.
What about them? How are they supposed to find a job?
It devastates me to think about the number of people with disabilities who are excluded from the workforce, left to sit at home. Employment can play a crucial role in improving the quality of their lives. In fact, employment can play a crucial role in improving the quality of everyone’s lives. Giving jobs to people with disabilities can have positive effects on the economy. One study has shown that exclusion of people with disabilities from the workplace deprives economies of an estimated USD $1.37 to $1.94 trillion in annual GDP gains.
So, what can be done?
I once read a book called: Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. It argues that when trying to change something (e.g., an unhealthy marriage, malnutrition in Vietnam), it’s important to look for bright spots (i.e., things that have already worked in the past) and focus on those things instead of what’s broken. I think this same theory applies to changing individuals. When trying to empower someone, it’s important to focus on their strengths rather than their limitations.
Companies such as Specialisterne have put this belief into practice. Specialisterne assesses, trains and employs individuals with autism as consultants who must fulfill technically oriented tasks and jobs. The company was founded by a father, Thorkil Sonne, who saw strengths in his autistic son and understood the need for his son’s particular skills in the workplace. Sonne even came up with a way to use Legos as an evaluation tool during the interview process. This company is proof that using a more creative approach toward hiring individuals and shaping positions around what people are good at can be mutually beneficial.
Too often, negative assumptions or low expectations prevent people from getting a job they deserve. This type of social exclusion needs to stop. It’s time for companies to hire a more diverse set of people with different types of strengths. It’s time for communities around the world to stop looking at individuals as “this way” or “that way” and start focusing on their bright spots.
The high level of global youth unemployment is becoming a critical issue for the world. Companies have proven that becoming more socially inclusive can help address this issue. Global citizens, you can take action today by supporting policies and practices that encourage diversity in the workplace.