From the way we shop to the way we get around, learn and socialise, technology helps youth unemployment whilst changing the face of society as a whole. And according to a report from Youth Economic Opportunities this brave new world of innovation could also be harnessed to tackle the issue of youth unemployment.
With the rise of disruptive innovators like Uber, AirBnB, and eCommerce giant Square, along with increasing social networks courtesy of FaceBook and other online communities, technology and the ability to use it could hold the key to creating hundreds of thousands of jobs globally.
Here’s a breakdown of how…
Brings skills to youth
No longer is attaining an education or gaining additional skills confined to physically attending an institution. Recognised and regarded educational opportunities are increasingly available online. From part-time university degrees and distance education to quick online computing or software courses, skills can be learned and certified from whatever you are, whenever you have the time via online learning.
Increasing networks
Supporting this ability to quickly upskill is the opportunity to seek jobs via extensive social networks.
Not only do most large companies now link their job vacancy pages to Facebook and even twitter, but your social network can be used to actively seek out employment through an extensive virtual grapevine.
Meanwhile networks like LinkedIn offer the opportunity to post your resume and skills online and build on it throughout a career, allowing employers to come shopping for you.
New age careers
While traditional youth employment like trade apprenticeships, hospitality work and customer service remain very real, new career models that have never previously existed also flesh out the employment landscape.
The general consensus is careers in sectors like aged care and health will continue to rise due to the baby boomers entering their twilight years, while new career paths are opening in coding, data collection, tech services and IT support.
These fresh opportunities also extend to digital content managers, social media officers and a plethora of jobs behind the scenes in IT, with many of these operating beyond the confines of the 9am to 5pm, 40-hour office week.
Outsourced online tasks
Supporting this shift from conventional workplaces is a growing demand for capable casual and freelance workers.
Spurred on by websites like Upwork, Ozlance and Freelancer, these online marketplaces see people skilled in IT, writing, social media or graphic design forging very real careers in a global workspace.
Even early skills like data entry and administration assistance are highly sought after, with corporations outsourcing a variety of ad hoc requirements.
Meanwhile sites like Airtasker connect people with all sorts of available tasks for cash, from picking up packages or holding a place in a queue to designing websites.
Digital entrepreneurship
With a focus on digital skills and technology allowing the easy set up of retail stores and service websites, the Youth Economic Opportunities report notes it is now easier for young people to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities.
“Digital technology is enabling young people to create and manage their own ventures, be it maintaining and servicing technology itself through Internet kiosks or mobile phone servicing, or creating digital start-ups via mobile apps.”
This is coupled with increasing access to start-up capital through crowd funding, seed funding or venture capital.
The final word
The jobs of tomorrow may be very different to those of today, and the number of career shifts in a lifetime may continue to rise. But the reality is technology creates a brave new exciting world for young people where they can truly be the master of their own destiny working wherever and whenever they please.
The Father James Grant Foundation Mission Engage program provides young people with access to employment training and workplace experience, arming them with the skills and confidence to embrace the future. To learn more about what we do, see here.
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