By Noémie Feix

What labour perspective do young people who are studying at middle and superior level in Mexico have? Recently, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico (INEGI), informed that almost half (43%) of the country’s unemployed people are professionals: people who have achieved middle or superior education. They are the “elite” and a minority, considering that more than half of kids who start school do not graduate from high school. Among employed people with this education level, more than one third have an informal job, which feeds the vicious cycle of precarious work. What are the solutions to change this situation?

Investing more in universities?

This idea has to be discussed, as an analysis developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that the average expenditure per student in superior education is higher in Mexico (in terms of % of GDP) than in other member countries of the organization. Actually, OECD countries invest more in preschool and basic education.

This proves that the high unemployment rate among professional is not necessarily linked to the lack of expenditure in superior education. As a matter of fact, the deficit seems to be in preschool and basic education, as international evidence shows that early age investment can have highest returns than superior education investments (Heckmann, 2006, Human Capital Policy). Considering that, the higher the education level, the higher the unemployment rate (OECD 2015), the outlook for Mexico is quite discouraging. Conclusion: increasing expenditure as it is being done now, would serve no good to reduce the unemployment rate of young people in the country.

So, what can be the main cause for professionals’ unemployment?

Surely, the problem lies in the lack of relevance of the education provided. Particularly when over half of employers in Mexico (54%) state they cannot find proper staff to fill their vacancies (Manpower 2015). If young people graduate and they cannot find a job, even when there are job offers, it seems evident that they lack the skills that companies need. Besides, there are not enough graduates in technical areas to satisfy the demand, and plenty of job vacancies remain unfilled. The lack of skilled workers prevents the development of technologically complex industries.

Investing better, but how?

Betting on technical courses of study in strategic sectors. There is no magic recipe. However, those countries with education systems that have bet on strategic sectors get very good results in job placements.

Strengthening vocational orientation. Guiding students towards the most demanded and best paid professions of the industry. Clearly, students cannot be forced to pick up a profession, but they can be given tools to make informed decisions.

Enabling learning experiences in the workspace for young people and teachers. Being exposed to a first labour experience provides an early approach and understanding on companies’ needs, which allows students to prepare themselves better for the labour market. In addition, companies can develop a pre-recruiting process and get involved with young people’s training.

Involving companies in technical education. This strategy is based on:

• Partnering with associations or business chambers and identifying leader companies
• Introducing greater flexibility in academic programs to quickly adapt to the needs of the private sector
• Provide incentives for companies to participate in training for employment

These simple and flexible tools can be the key to deliver more employment opportunities for young people with middle or superior education levels.

Originally published in Factor Trabajo