The latest analysis by the Balearic government's employment observatory indicates that 15.6% of the region's young population neither works nor studies. Referred to as 'ninis', the 15.6% in the Balearics is the highest percentage in Spain. The age group is 15 to 29, and while the percentage has decreased by almost seven per cent since 2010, it remains the highest in the country.
The national average is 12.7% and the European average is 11.7%. Comparing the Balearic percentage with European countries, it is exceeded only by Italy (19%) and Romania (19.8%). Compared with other Spanish regions, Andalusia is the closest with 14.7%. The lowest rate in Spain is 8.8% in the Basque Country.
The early-leaving school dropout rate in the Balearics is 18.2%, surpassed only by that of Murcia and well off the nine per cent target for the 2030 European Strategy. The lowest dropout rate in Europe is 2.3% in Croatia and the highest is 16.5% in Iceland.
When it comes to looking for work, unemployed young people most ask for jobs as salespeople in shops or as waiters/waitresses; together, these constitute 30% of all job requests.
Despite the fact of very high employment, the retail and hospitality sectors continue to highlight problems with recruitment. Carolina Domingo, vice-president of the Pimeco retail employers association, says that there is a "generational" issue. Young people may want jobs in retailing, but they don't necessarily have sufficient qualification and nor do they have the enthusiasm for working in shops. "Years ago it was a source of pride for young people."
Salaries, which aren't great, and an ever-increasing cost of living are said to play a key role in young people's lack of interest in integrating into a labour market that offers work but not financial stability or the chance for emancipation. In 2008, the Balearics had the highest emancipation rate in the country. This has since slipped from 35.6% to 18.6%, the largest fall in Spain. Prices for finding anywhere to live are a major factor in this.
Pau A. Monserrat, professor of financial economics at the University of the Balearic Islands and an advisor to the Balearic Economic and Social Council, feels that the education system isn't preparing young people for higher education. Students are arriving without a culture of "sacrifice and effort" needed for university and then for a job market which is "increasingly more demanding and predatory".
"The education system has been changing and that change has not benefited our young people." The changes have been aimed at reducing academic failure and to simply facilitate passing exams. "The key is not to make it easier but to make it more interesting and more useful for their future in the job market. You encounter students who come from secondary school and don't know how to study; they don't even take notes. You have to explain the basics to them. It is a failure of the entire education system."
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"Carolina Domingo, vice-president of the Pimeco retail employers association, says that there is a "generational" issue. Young people may want jobs in retailing, but they don't necessarily have sufficient qualification and nor do they have the enthusiasm for working in shops." Right because the qualifications needed to work in a shop are extensive.... How can people have enthusiasm when there is no incentive to sell products for a minimum wage, many straight out of spending years in uni studying. I'm personally 27 with an MBA, fluent in three languages, and four years of work experience in business and YET I still get ghosted or ignored from jobs that a person with a high-school degree could do. Not to mention the ageism in Spain... I can't even open my own bank account in CaixaBank until I'm 36... Young people - we want to work, we have the knowledge and skills, many have the willingness to work hard if you give them the opportunity but the amount of times when my only job options are working as a waiter, in a hotel as front desk, or working in a call center for a tourism company, doesn't inspire any of the aforementioned effort before.
Marvin Le MartianI think it's important to realise that we come from rather heavily consumer-oriented culture. More is always better (to us). Most Spanish aren't really like that. They don't need to have everything. As long as they have a home, a family, enough to eat, they're pretty happy. They don't have the need to have everything. In fact, many consider it rather cheeky if you put your wealth on display (many figure that if you need to show and tell everyone how successful you are, then more likely, you're not). And that explains why so many are sitting on surprising wealth, yet appear to be as common as cats. It's just not a consumer culture. At least not like you're accustomed to. But think about it.. Maybe that's not so bad?
Spains tax regime is onerous, unfathomly complicated and the autónomo plus the endless red tape are major anti entrepreneurial barriers. It needs a complete change. Successful economies need stimulus to grow from within not just giving tax breaks to multi-nationals to locate here.
David HollandYes, there's plenty of enthusiastic well educated young people. And there's some pretty cool startups that live in the present, that are now pretty successful (e.g., Conectabalear, for example). Yet it's important to acknowledge that this isn't any kind of hotbed for high tech or finance or whatever. The two prominent GDP factors are agriculture and tourism. So, the well educated enthusiastic types go to Barcelona or Madrid or Amsterdam or Frankfurt or Munich... That's not to say that high tech business couldn't be attracted. Certainly it could, but it would require a different mindset, a lot of investment, and probably huge tax breaks for high tech companies to establish themselves here. But it could be done. Some have tried, but the overall political will is limited. There will always be resistance to change as extraordinary as something like that. Remember, it was only 40 years ago that this was a military dictatorship. Some would (unwittingly) like to see that return, but I suspect it's because they refuse to acknowledge (or just don't know) the rather extraordinary improvements that have taken place here (and continue to). For some, everything is always bad. So, that's what they (want to) believe. Nonetheless, I'm confident that over time, more and more opportunity will continue to grow. In the mean time, things really don't suck as as bad as some would hope.
Nilocare we talking about Majorcan kids Or London now.
Teach them to speak English would be a start.
I find this report a little strange. Over the 4 decades of visiting Majorca I’ve met many young hard working young people. Although the big difference Over the last 10 years is meeting hard working, ambitious young people, many multilingual in 3 languages. Some well qualified, with professional training and ambition . But obviously very frustrated by lack of opportunities other than the low paid service jobs the island has to offer them. Maybe it’s not the kids but the local economy?
Young people of today would sleep on the floor if there was work on the bed. Nobody seems to have pride in their work anymore. You see a lot of people show up for their salaries and couldn't care less about the company increasing revenue, cutting costs, improving operations, customer relations etc. No wonder companies are failing left right and centre and why prices are so high. One of the key factors to fight high prices (inflation) is more output. If the youth aren't prepared to produce, you have to put up with inflation.
Pathetic excuse, it's more of a generation problem.