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EmployingThe
NextGe
nerationA report by Generation Europe Foundation and The FutureWork Forum
Part 2 : The Right Skills in the Right Place at the Right Time 2010
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Generation Europe Foundation / The FutureWork Forum 2010
Quotation from the report is encouraged with attribution: Source: Employing the NEXTGeneration 2010: The Right Skills in the Right Place at the Right Time, by Generation Europe
Foundation and the FutureWork Forum. For further information on editorial use, article
preparation or interviews please contact: Catie Thorburn, President, Generation Europe
Foundation. 123 Chausse St Pierre, B-1040 Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32 (0) 26481542 /
email: [email protected] copies of the report are available from Generation Europe Foundation at the
address above at 25.00 (post paid).
All rights r eserved. Neither this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form or by means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without the prior permission of Generation Europe Foundation. All information in the reports isveried to the best of the authors and the publishers ability, but neither can accept responsibility for lossarising from decisions based on this report. Where opinion is expressed it is that of the authors, which
does not necessarily coincide with the views, mission or policy of the Generation Europe Foundation orthe FutureWork Forum.
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Generation Europe Foundation FutureWork Forum
Employing The Next Generation Part 2: The Right Skills in the Right Place at the Right Time
1
Foreword
The NEXT Generations in trouble and they know it ! Record levels of
youth unemployment, economic chaos and mass clearouts of both the
public and private sectors in many countries means that the prospectsof landing a job much less holding onto it are grim indeed. When we
launched this second edition of Employing the NEXT Generation early in
2010 many wise heads suggested that this wasnt the time for a survey
into this contentious issue. Now having heard from over 7,000 young
people across Europe (and beyond) were glad we did.
Why ? Because weve gained some amazing insights into how the NEXT
generation see their futures. We know what they worry about, we know
what they will do to get a job and we know a lot more about where the
future is likely to take them. Most interesting of all perhaps, is that while
a large number of those interviewed look to national and international
governments and institutions to solve their problems others feel equally
at home just getting on with looking after themselves.
This has been a fascinating journey. And it isnt over yet. The Generation
Europe Foundation and the FutureWork Forum are planning more of
these initiatives, both as surveys and as a platform for discussion. Wehope the ndings of our far-ranging survey on the NEXT generation help
you to understand this important sector of our society. If you have any
views please let us know. We want to hear what everyone has to say on
this subject.
November 2010
Catie Thorburn Mike Johnson
President Chairman
Generation Europe Foundation FutureWork Forum
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Employing The Next Generation Part 2: The Right Skills in the Right Place at the Right Time
2
Employing the Next Generation 2010 is a joint research initiative by
Generation Europe Foundation and the FutureWork Forum, with the
nancial support of Manpower Inc conducted between April and June
2010, with data gathered on-line and in face-to-face interviews. On-line
research and the essay competition were hosted and organized by the
Generation Europe Foundation, a youth communication agency that hosts
a leading European youth online community and discussion platform.
The FutureWork Forum, which has over 20 partners in all parts of the
world, was founded in 2003 as an independent global think-tank working
with senior management in public and private organisations helping them
anticipate the future of work. The FutureWork Forum help organisations
create exciting programs to drive new levels of employee engagement,
customer satisfaction and business performance. Full details are available
on the FutureWork Forum website www.futureworkforum.com
Generation Europe Foundation works with various stakeholders
(industry, policy-makers and civil society) to address with them issues
that concern, or are of concern, to young Europeans. Both on and off-line,GEF engages in debates about important issues that affect the individual
and collective futures of young Europeans.
Generation Europe Foundation is committed to facilitating multi-sectoral
dialogue that helps young people Shape the Future. This is done by
collecting their views and opinions on topical issues, and representing
them to industry, policy-makers, civil society and the media.
Discover all the Generation Europe Foundation activities at
www.generation-europe.eu.
Author :
Mike Johnson, chairman of the FutureWork Forum
Research Supervision :
Nick Winkeld, partner FutureWork Forum
Project Director :
Catie Thorburn, founder Generation Europe Foundation
Production Manager :
Arnaud Houdmont, Generation Europe Foundation
Media Integration :
Sandy McLean, Partner FutureWork Forum
Advisors:
Gran Hultin, Partner FutureWork Forum
Richard Savage, Partner FutureWork Forum
Principal Sponsor :
Manpower Inc
With thanks to Generation Europe Foundations Partners and Youth
Ambassadors and in particular to Epp Adler in Estonia, Judit Boros in
Hungary, Flavio Conti in Belgium, Anastasia Ghika in Greece, Chiara
Palieri in Italy, Lenka Petrkov in Czech Republic and Marcin Senderski
in Poland.
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Highlights
The most important thing to remember about the survey sample is that
were dealing here with the smartest of the NEXT generation. These are
the ones with the college and university educations. If they are worried,everyone else should be too. Most interesting perhaps is the fact that this
best and brightest bunch of young people are not fooled by what their
so-called elders and betters have done for them. They know that we are
not doing a very good job in getting them into the right jobs. Heres what
they think:
They are very, very worried about their inability to get meaningful, valid
work experience. As one put it No experience = No job. No job = No
experience. The one thing that needs to happen is a real long, hard
look at how potential employers can be encouraged and motivated to
change this vicious circle.
Career advisory services dont work. They are either non-existent or,
perhaps worse, irrelevant. Career counsellors are out of touch and
dont understand the expectations and needs of todays employers.
This area needs a complete, drastic rethink.
Schools, colleges and universities still persist in turning out graduates
qualied to do jobs that have already vanished and will never come
back. Educators need to change their curriculums to be relevant to the
employment needs of the real world. Most importantly, these smart
NEXT generation people are nally understanding that a lot of what
they are being taught has no practical application in getting them
employed.
A lot of frustrated NEXT generation graduates are giving up on
mainstream employment and considering the other option working
for themselves. But this throws up another set of issues around how
can they be funded to give it a try. Again governments faced with
massive youth employment need to think creatively and positively
about this space.
Finally, these hard times mean that the NEXT generation isnt tooworried about what kind of company they work for, or what sort of work
conditions they have. They just want to earn some money and perhaps
hope for some future job prospects. These people are growing up fast
in a hard, unforgiving labour market. The question is, can we nd jobs
for them to do ? And if we cant what then ?
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However, many students felt that there was only one language that
counted English. Theres little doubt that amongst the NEXT generation
an excellent grasp of the English language is seen as a huge plus point,
vastly improving chances of getting a job.
Lets Hear It for the Volunteers
With work experience the number one concern of the NEXT generation
how to get that experience occupies a lot of student time. And while the
majority would like to be paid (a decent amount it should be added) for
their labours, there was a strong feeling that as a last resort volunteering
(working for free) was perhaps the only way to get that hard-to-nd work
experience. Said one respondent, We know employers dont want to pay
for people with no experience, but they may well be happy to get a free
pair of hands. Added another from Germany, Volunteering seems to
make both sides happy. Employers get a bargain and the volunteer gets
the experience they so really need to progress and get a full-time job.
As I see it, the key soluon to gaining work experience is
volunteering.
Student, Armenia
Let Me do what I Like
In every piece of research, there are always one or two people who push
against the prevailing trends. While the vast majority of our sample were
seeing the need to be very specic in training for tomorrows jobs others
were still hopeful that it would all work out OK. A female student from
Estonia spoke for this vocal minority when she commented, People
should be encouraged to study whatever they want, because Imabsolutely sure that whenever people do something they truly like they
do it as well as possible.
Nice thoughts. Sadly as the majority of the NEXT generation have already
discovered the world isnt working out that way.
Employing the NEXT GeneraonThe Right Skills in the Right Placeat the Right Time
The sample
Young people (between the ages of 19 and 29) were recruited by the
Generation Europe Foundation and interviewed either using paper
questionnaires or on line, between April and June 2010. 7,062 responses
were received. 95% were aged 18-30. 62% were female and 38% male.
Of these 50% were students, 12% unemployed, 9% part-time employed,
24% full-time employed. (The remaining 5% replied other, probably
indicating some combination of these categories, e.g. student + part-
time employed.) It should be taken into account that several countries
dominated the results notably Greece, Italy and Hungary. However,although these countries made up a majority of the overall sample, returns
from other countries made it a viable sample that allowed us to draw
overall conclusions about the expectations and attitudes of this NEXT
generation. There is a complete country breakdown in the Appendix
section at the back of the report.
The Language of Success
More emphasis on learning languages in school was a popular must have
theme from respondents (especially those in Europe). Everyone needs
to speak three or four languages to ensure their ability to be employed in
different places at different times, was a common suggestion.
It is essenal for every young person in the EU to speak at least three
or four languages to ensure they can get a sustainable, meaningful
job.
22-year-old, Hungary
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National differences
The numbers considering their prospects of nding a meaningful job to be
poor vary from country to country, reecting in part though not entirely
the prevailing economic conditions in different regions at the time of the
survey. Among the countries for which we have enough responses to
analyse, the most pessimistic is Italy, the most optimistic Estonia.
Prospect of nding a meaningful job(Current levels of youth unemployment are shown
for comparison.)
Country Percentage considering
their job prospects to be
poor (0 or 1)
Youth
Unemployment*
% %
Italy 22 28
Greece 14 281
Czech. Rep. 12 22
UK 9 201
Spain 8 41
Poland 8 23
Hungary 7 28
France 7 22
Germany 5 10
Belgium 5 25
Estonia 3 321
* Source: Eurostat:February 2010 - under-25s1 December 2009
It is clear that the NEXT Generation see themselves as untypical of
youth in general. Except in Italy, and to a lesser extent Greece, the Czech
Republic and the UK, they see themselves as much more employable
than the average youth unemployment levels (see graph above) would
suggest they should expect. This is understandable: they were recruited
for the survey from among the educational elite of Europe.
Employment prospects
Less than one-third think their prospects of nding a meaningful job are
good and 14% think them poor. Just over half of the NEXT Generation
takes a middling position, unsure of their future prospects.
How good do you consider your job prospects
in securing a meaningful job ? (5 = excellent / 0 = very poor)
3,6%
10,2%
19,2%
35,1%
24,3%
7,6%
0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0% 40,0%
0
1
2
3
4
5
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Is the NEXT Generation being given the tools
and guidance it needs to prepare it for the
employment market ?
Skills and experience
Less than one-third of the NEXT Generation believe they were (or are
currently being) denitely given the required skills at school / college.
One in six of them believe they have not been given the right skills, the
majority being somewhat uncertain (see graph below).
Do you think you were given the required skills at school/college
to nd and hold onto a sustainable job in the present employment
market ? (5 = yes, very much so / 0 = not at all)
National differences are signicant. The number believing
they are missing out on preparation for the employment
market (0 or 1 out of 5) are particularly high in Italy and
Greece, and lowest in Germany and the UK.
Gender differences
Gender differences were signicant
across the different countries.
This is in spite of similar levels of education,
and broadly similar experiences at school
and college of skills training and career
guidance. The difference may possibly
reect the much-discussed decline in
morale and relative performance among
young men in recent years. But it may
also reect differences in expectations: Do men still expect, or at least
hope for, more meaning than women from their jobs ? Are women more
willing, or resigned, to accept a lower-level job as meaningful ?
A sustainable and meaningful job is work that helps young people
realise their full potenal, making them understand that they canwork independently anywhere without the fear of job insecurity.
Student , Cambodia
4,5%
11,4%
21,0%
32,3%
23,2%
7,5%
0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0%
0
1
2
3
4
5
Gender Percentage
considering
their job prospects
to be
poor (0 or 1)
%
Female 14
Male 24
I believe the real problem is that we
only learn in school, but lack real world
experiences. Student, Sweden
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Further evidence for this analysis is that, among those of them who have in
the past been turned down for a
job, insufcient qualications
is given as the reason a quarter
of them (17.5% of by the total
sample). Lack of experience is
the main reason, given by over
half of those who had been
turned down.
What are the reasons you have been turned down for a job ?
5,3%
17,5%18,3%
30,5%
40,2%
0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
35,0%
40,0%
45,0%
Other Insufficient
Qualificaons
Don't know I have never been
turned down
Lack of
experience
This points to work experience rather than formal education or training
solutions, and to the urgent need to increase the involvement of employers
and employer-organisations in preparing young people for the workplace.
CountryPercentage NOT given
the required skills (0 or 1)
Percentage considering
their job prospects to be
poor (0 or 1)
% %
Italy 22 22
Greece 21 14
Czech. Rep. 10 12
UK 6 9
Spain 13 8
Poland 16 8
Hungary 8 7
France 13 7
Germany 6 5
Belgium 13 5
Estonia 9 3
There is a message here foreducation policy makers: hands-
on work experience could go
some way in addressing the skills
gap that prevents young people
from landing a rst job.
However, the correlation between poor skills preparation and job prospects
is less than perfect. For example, the NEXT Generation in France,
Spain, Belgium and Poland are among the most critical of their school/
college experience, but relatively optimistic about job prospects. On this
evidence, it will not be enough
to improve the provision of
relevant skills much of the
problem lays elsewhere, i.e.
in the job markets themselves,
or perhaps, as we shall see
below, in the poor career
guidance that most of them
have received.
The problem for us is a lackof guidance throughout the
educaon process.
23-year-old, Finland
Universies need to be
acvely creang opportunies
for their students to apply
what they have learned.
Graduate, USA
Career guidance services dont inform students properly. They
try to nd people a profession they like, but dont menon
anything about job prospects.
Student, Greece
Employers are more aracted
to work experience than to
their university degree.
24-year-old, Italy
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Do you / did you have a career guidance service
at your university/school ?
7%
11%
6%7%
10%
3%2%
5%
10%
8%
10%
22%
43%42%
23%
30%
52%51%
52%
20%
23%
13%
36%
28%29%
30%31% 31%
15%
33%
37%
33%
39%
35%
19%
22%
40%
28%
15%
31%
10%
33%
38%39%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Belgium CzechRepublic
Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Italy Poland Spain UK
No, and I would not use it anyway No, but I would find it useful Yes, but it is not useful Yes, and it is useful
This is a wake-up call not only to schools, colleges and education policy
makers, but also to employers and employer-organisations, who should
be persuaded to make more effort to work with them to ll the career
guidance gaps, as well offering more work experience.
What the Sample Said
As the statistics suggest, two big issues dominate the views of the survey
respondents:
No help with career guidance
A struggle to nd meaningful work experience
Career guidance
The levels of skills provisions are lower than would be ideal. But the
levels of career guidance given are a great deal worse. The chart below
represents a serious indictment of the way career guidance is, or more
often is not, provided. Only half the NEXT Generation say they have been
offered a career guidance service at their school or university and, of
these, only 40% say it has been useful.
Meanwhile most of those who have not had such a service, wish it had
been available to them.
Do you / did you have a career guidance service
at your university/school ?
5,4%
19,8%
29,3%
45,5%
0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
35,0%
40,0%
45,0%
50,0%
No, and I would not
use it anyway
Yes, and it is useful Yes, but it is not
useful
No, but I would
find it useful
There are two clear messages for educators:
1. Provide a careers guidance service. This applies to alleducational
establishments from which students may enter the world of work.
2. Do it a lot better than at present.
The national differences are telling, and Italy and Greece are conrmed
as the countries with the biggest hill to climb to make this work. But none
of the countries surveyed appears to be consistently getting it right.
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There were hundreds of similar comments, reecting the fact that career
guidance is an area where the educational establishment consistently
fails to meet the needs of the 21st Century marketplace.
Work Experience
If you are lucky enough to get some advice on the kind of jobs that are
most in demand (and therefore might be smart to train for) the next big
hurdle for the NEXT generation is getting experience. This is the tough
one. With unemployment rates at historic highs, nding employers who
want to take on young graduates and high school leavers is extremely
hard.
Indeed, one pragmatic female student from Italy created what could be
regarded as the NEXT generations formula:
No experience = No job / No job = No experience
This Catch-22situation was echoed by a Czech student who commented,
The main problem with employing the NEXT generation consists of thisfatal loop : You cant get a job which youre qualied for without experience
and nobody gives you a chance to gain any experience because you
dont have any previous experience !
Yes, its a vicious circle that currently seems to be spinning out of control.
Time and again our sample reported that the barrier between them and a
job was that elusive work experience. Without that prospective employers
had no interest. As one Hungarian graduate commented, Employers
dont want to spend time and money on teaching fresh graduates.
One solution to the experience issue was proposed by an Estonian
student. It would be good if, for example, two days per school yearstudents would have the chance to choose one profession and be a
work shadow to someone who is doing the job. This would give them
the opportunity to see how different jobs work in practice.
Career Guidance
Not only did many of our respondents claim that there was little or no
guidance from their school, college or university, they also pointed out
that where there was some sort of advice available it was either out of
date or just plain useless.
In the essay section of the survey, where respondents were encouragedto write in their views, a vast majority took the opportunity to explain
that career services for students were often not at all relevant to the
current marketplace. As one Greek student commented, The career
guidance services are not informing students correctly. They try to help
people choose professions they like, but they dont say anything about
job prospects. As a result many students get their degree and become
unemployed, because there are no jobs for their skills.
Said another from Spain, Universities should give students the knowledge
that the market needs, and not retrain them in unimportant things. And
another added, we need career guidance early on from the school, so we
can shape our education to meet real market needs.
More damning comments on the parlous state of career services included:
Most of the universities give far too much theoretical preparation and
too little preparation about how to face the real world of work !
Most students dont know anything about the business world and how
to get the right preparation for job interviews
Since I experienced the great difference between reality in my job
and the theory that I was taught at university I would suggest having a
eld study, practical experience as an obligatory part of the process.
Too many times I hear people lamenting after they graduate that they
had to learn almost everything again at the work place, because the
knowledge they got at university (or high school) was useless.
Universities can do a better job of career advice. Many students still
dont know what they want to do when they graduate. So, the more
options you have, the more exible you become. This poses a real risk
for would-be employers who wants to invest in a person who can
change his mind tomorrow ?
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Rules and Regulations
Many students and recent graduates have the big brother solution
let governments take care of it by making new laws that either force
employers to take on a certain percentage of their workforce as new hires
or pay employers to offer work experience. Suggestions included:
There should be some kind of positive discrimination in favour ofyoung people such as quotas.
Tax breaks for companies that employ young people.
EU member countries should create a programme like ERASMUS,
not for students but for young employees.
The EU could adopt a law that would oblige companies with a large
number of employees to have a quota of young people with no work
experience, but with the right qualications.
Provide job placement programmes for the rst two years after your
studies.
Make it a legal requirement that a certain percentage of employees in
any company must be between the ages of 18 and 30. The state must intervene to provide even after leaving full-time
education training courses at affordable prices.
At the regional or national level it would be useful to provide wage
subsidies in order to encourage employers to hire youth and help
them gain that work experience.
Additionally, it seems that the whole world of the NEXT generation wants
a giant Europe-wide (or even global) data-base that they can easily plug
into to come up with that ever elusive job no matter where it may be
(more on mobility later in this report).
Whether in these exceedingly tough economic times there are anythoughts by hard-pressed governments that throwing money at this issue
is a sensible route to take is most unlikely. However, the idea of tax breaks
for hiring job seekers does have its supporters. Also, if governments are
to provide the public and private sectors with a NEXT generation of talent
they need to make sure it is available when needed and fully up-to-speed.
But even if you do get taken
on for some kind of internship,
theres no guarantee that
the experience will be all
that useful. We often hear
about young graduates who
spend internships makingphotocopies and delivering
coffee. Whats the use of that ?
argued a student from The Netherlands.
Added another from Bulgaria, An internship is part of our university
programme, but very often we just end up being exploited and learning
nothing. He went on, I was required to buy water for the entire ofce, go
to the post ofce, put stamps on
envelopes which of course had
nothing to do with my skills as a
translator !
This feeling of being used and
learning nothing was a recurring
theme in the essays from a wide
variety of graduates.
What Needs to be Done
So, if it all comes down to experience, whats to be done ? How do we
marry up the bright graduate work-force of the NEXT generation with
those that will give them a job ? From our sample there were three ways
out of this current quandary:
Create legislation to make it happen
Re-educate the educators
Make the private sector more involved at an early stage
... an internship is a good
starng point, but drasc
changes in the way interns are
treated and trained must be
made.
23-year-old, Bulgaria
More aenon should be
paid to praccal educaon
for internships, not just
coee-making for your work
colleagues.
Student, Hungary
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The Role of the Private Sector
Many of our commentators felt that only by getting government, educators
and the private sector working better together could the problems of
NEXT generation employment be fully addressed. As A Nigerian student
sensibly pointed out, We must align academia closely with industry.
Making strategic efforts to constantly align school curricula with industry
needs will help to ensure that young graduates are really employable.Employment difculties arise when the youth is highly skilled in an area
that industry isnt really interested in.
Another suggested that, Collaboration between governments and
multinational companies is necessary for solving youth employment
problems. They added, Two or three month internships should be
offered to students so that students can realise what their real skills are.
Commented another job seeker from Greece, Companies should be a
lot more present in schools and universities, engaging directly with the
students to build early relationships.
Mixing the private sector and educators, not to mention government, has
achieved some successes over the years. But with many companies
wary of adding staff or any kind at the present, there are unlikely to be
many new initiates in this area.
One thing that surprised both the FutureWork Forum partners and the
Generation Europe Foundation was that not a single respondent to
our essay competition raised the issue of temporary, interim, part time
or job sharing work placement. Maybe there is something in that to be
investigated.
The Role of the Educational Establishment
Theres a huge amount of criticism aimed at the educational establishment
by the NEXT generation throughout our survey. Most of this comes from
the simple fact that they are still teaching and training students for jobs that
simply dont exist or are facing
major cuts in numbers. Time
and again in the survey resultswe have students and recent
graduates calling for a major
overhaul of the educational
establishment in their country.
Doesnt seem to matter where
you live and learn everyones
doing a pretty lousy job in matching real job needs to the qualication of
the graduates being turned out onto the street.
Some comments included:
Many universities have career centres. However, a good deal ofthem dont operate well enough as they are not an integral part of
the system. I think that all centres should be assessed and examined
on a regular basis so that their work really ensures good results by
assisting both students and business.
University programmes should change to better t the needs of the
market. Its useless spending years studying and then be unemployed
for years.
Other pointed out that there was very little practical help on offer to help
students face up to the real world outside the college campus. Help in
creating attractive CVs, job applications and practical life-skills would be
most appreciated. Recent graduates reported arriving at jobs being totallyunequipped for the world of work.
Whether educators are able to make the changes necessary to turn out
graduates that have a real job to go to remains to be seen. But there is little
doubt that students the world over view those that plan their futures from
the classroom and lecture hall need to go back to school themselves and
get a good grounding in practical economics that reect todays realities.
Instuons should analyse
the demands of the labour
market and design their
courses on that basis.
Student, Azerbaijan
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How do you usually look for job openings ?
2,1%
3,3%
13,8%
21,8%
22,0%
43,5%
53,2%
54,0%
74,5%
0,0% 10,0% 20,0% 30,0% 40,0% 50,0% 60,0% 70,0% 80,0%
Other
No idea
Job fairs
Job agencies
Career office
Newspapers
Online job boards
Family / Relaons / Friends
Web sites
Traditional job fairs and agencies are relatively little used. Newspapers
are more widely used, but still by less than half of the NEXT generation.
The implication for employers is that, in order to recruit the top talent
that they need, they should make full use of on-line facilities, also of the
afnity-group and viral marketing methods which successful marketing
organisations already use to great effect. It is also clear that most of the
NEXT generation visit several of these places the average is 2.9 places
per person. Employers will probably want to be present in as many of the
places as possible.
There are differences between the countries. For example, over 90% visit
web sites in Germany and Greece, only 47% in Poland, where family
and friends are much more likely to be used to nd jobs. These national
differences need to be built into employers recruitment strategies.
Approaches to job-seeking
The top two places where young people set about nding jobs for
themselves are also the places where employers go looking for them.
On line: web sites and job boards
Networking through families and friendsA total of 75% and 53% of the respondents respectively consult web sites
and job boards when looking for a job. Family and friends personal
networks come a very close second with 54% of respondents looking
for jobs via these close connections. Newspapers come 4th.
As far as our sample is concerned, job agencies, career ofces and job
fairs are not popular at all among job seekers.
Manpower : Sponsoring the NEXT Generation
Manpower, as the sponsor of our NEXT Generation study, is ideally placed to comment on
how we get young people into the workforce. Heres their view of what the NEXT Generation
need to work on to land those elusive jobs.
Heres a statistic to think about. About one million young people (technically termed fulltime
equivalents : FTEs) in the age group 15-26 go through private employment agencies in
Europe alone every year. Almost a third of these, an average of 320 thousand (FTE) takesup assignments of one to six month duration and an estimated 380 thousand (FTE) take
temporary work assignments while in education. Manpower - as a leading private employment
agency - recognises reality and does not expect young people to necessarily have the required
experience that some employers seem to expect.
Manpowers own experiences at putting young people to work all over the world show that, in
addition to the generic skills like computer literacy, they attach greater importance to the so
called soft skills of young job seekers. These include :
how they present themselves,
how they communicate,
how they project self-condence.
Also the expectations and attitudes are important: is it just a job and perhaps some money
that they need, or do they already know what they want to do and why; will they be committed,
engage themselves in a workplace and seek to make a contribution as members of a work
team?
Wise words from an organization that does this for a job!
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Willingness to cross national borders
This sample of the NEXT Generation is more keen to nd work close to
home than further aeld. This seems strange, especially as they seem
very concerned about getting meaningful job experiences and learning
to speak other languages. Also it is a change from our survey four years
ago, where it looked as though the Europeans at least had embraced the
concept of cross-border working.
Where do you look for job openings ?
13,9%
17,7%
20,8%
26,8%
34,8%
0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
35,0%
Anywhere in the
world
Anywhere in my
country
Anywhere in the EU Regionally Locally
The national differences are signicant. The most globally adventurous
are the Italians and Spaniards, where youth unemployment is very high,
but even in these countries only around a quarter say they would look for
job openings anywhere in the world.
The EU is the preferred employment location for the French, Germans,
Spaniards and British. The most stay-at-home are the Eastern Europeans:
Czechs and Poles most of all.
How do you usually look for job openings ?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Belgium
Czech Republic
Estonia
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Poland
Spain
UK
w eb si te s r el a on s o nl in e j ob b oa rd s n ew sp ap er s j ob a ge nc ie s c ar ee r o ffic e j ob f ai rs
I am travelling to improve my
English and my employability.
23-year-old, Czech Republic
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Are you prepared to leave your country to nd the right kind of job,
if necessary on a permanent basis ?
5,6%
20,1%
41,9%
32,4%
0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
35,0%40,0%
45,0%
Definitely not Probably not Probably Definitely
So, many of the NEXT generation are looking for jobs close to home, but
would probably be willing to look further aeld if necessary. We mighthave expected that, in todays difcult employment climate, more of them
would have started to explore the international options more proactively.
What is holding them back ?
Perhaps it is because many of them feel governments are not doing
enough to make cross-border employment possible for young people:
two-thirds of the NEXT generation denitely think governments are
probably or denitely not doing enough.
Most respondents who supported the idea of cross-border working felt
that it needed to be backed by some type of national or EU government
support. The creation of a Europe-wide clearing house for jobs was a
popular concept. However, there were few suggestions that job-seekers
should just go and nd out what opportunities were like in other nations
they shied strongly away from that sort of overt activity.
Where do you look for job openings ?
37%
44%
44%
42%
17%
27%
36%
34%
44%
20%
28%
44%
42%
17%
27%
36%
34%
44%
46%
46%
48%
58%
20%
24%
13%
27%
10%
39%
27%
23%
27%
23%
23%
6%
27%
8%
29%
29%
27%
31%
20%
45%
39%
21%
3%
19%
20%
10%
11%
18%
28%
9%
25%
13%
23%
Belgium
Czech Republic
Estonia
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Poland
Spain
UK
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Locally Regionally Naonally EU World
BUT three-quarter of them would be prepared to leave their country
permanently for the right job.
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Do you think enough is being done (by governments)
to make cross-border employment possible for young people ?
11%
4%
8%
23%
15%
4%
9%
3%
9%
15%
19%
11%
18%
8%
8%
7%
36%
5%
35%
16%
8%
10%
46%
23%
41%
45%
40%
20%
61%
17%
33%
38%
39%
32%
55%
44%
23%
37%
40%
25%
45%
42%
40%
32%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Belgium
Czech Republic
Estonia
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Italy
Poland
Spain
UK
Definitely Definitely not Probably Probably not
Do you think enough is being done (by governments)
to make cross-border employment possible for young people ?
5,9%
23,8%
29,5%
40,8%
0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
35,0%
40,0%
45,0%
Definitely not Definitely Probably Probably not
Message to European leaders: the NEXT Generation seems to have
narrow horizons. Can national governments be persuaded to helpbroaden them ?
The national differences are very marked, reecting some combination of
the extent of government activity in each country and the expectations of
the individuals.
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This is conrmed by the reasons they give for turning down job offers.
Money heads the list.
What are the reasons you have turned down a job oer ?
3,6%
6,4%
8,6%
9,5%
13,7%
17,0%
21,6%
22,6%
26,3%
33,5%
0,0% 5,0% 10,0% 15,0% 20,0% 25,0% 30,0% 35,0%
Other
I did not feel qualified
I did not like the people I met at theinterview
It was a short-term contract
Too far away / long commute
The job turned out to be uninteresng
No development possible
I was offered a beer opportunity elsewhere
I have never turned down a job offer
Insufficient financial offer
In all the countries, an insufcient nancial offer was the main reason
for turning down a job offer, closely followed by the offer of a better
opportunity elsewhere.
The countries are nearly unanimous about their ve priorities when looking
for a job: a good salary, career perspective / evolution, a meaningful job,
learning / training opportunities and life-work balance. The only country
where money did not come out on top was Czech Republic, wherepeople thought it more important to have a meaningful job. And the only
country that did not include all ve of the above-mentioned priorities was
Germany, where Company Ethics and Goals crept in as the 5 th priority.
The message to recruiters is that your organisations sector, goals and
values do not matter much to them, so talk less about yourselves and
What the NEXT Generation wants
When it comes to wants and needs the 2010 survey differs from the one
carried out in 2006. In those pre-economic meltdown days there was a
lot of soul-searching by the NEXT generation. Choices like only working
for ethical companies and wanting to make a contribution to society
ranked high.
What a difference a few years make. Now, in every country except one,
its all about the money and career prospects.
What really matters are, in rank order:
Money
The job: career prospects, a meaningful job, work-life balance,
stability
The employer organisation: what is it is and does, the sector, size, its
ethics and reputation.
When looking for a job, what really maers to you ?Please rank your 5 main criteria.
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 18000 20000
Company size (MNC vs. SME)
Scope (Internaonal vs. naonal)
Sector (private vs. public)
Company name & reputaon
Company ethics and goals
Possibility to travel
A sustainable job
Stability
Learning / training opportunies
Life work balance
A meaningful job
Career perspecve / evoluon
A good salary
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Respondents from Belgium, Spain, the UK and France show the most
reluctance to set up as a freelance or self-employed person. The countries
with the most entrepreneurial spirit were Estonia, Italy and Hungary.
The message for employers is: 70% will consider working for themselves,
so design jobs where the best can be self-employed - and self-motivated
- within your organisation. This may well be a viable way to providemeaning in employment, and go some way to overcome the difculties
presented by the NEXT generations focus on nancial reward.
From our essay writers, much of the eagerness to go-it-alone stemmed
from the frustration of being turned down by prospective employers as
well as a feeling that they could do things better themselves.
But most also felt that to
encourage young people to go
and work for themselves some
type of tax incentive needed to
be available at least until they
built a reputation.
Going further down that line,
the idea of creating some
type of micro-credit system
was mentioned by several
graduates.
Added to that, several of our respondents suggested that there should
be college education courses that teach entrepreneurism (or part-time
courses that would concentrate on the basics of creating a business).
more about the candidates,
their aims, their concerns, their
expectations. And if you cannot
be among the remaining few
organisations able to offer top
starting salaries, then focus
on career development andwhatever will make the job
seem meaningful to them.
How Entrepreneurial ?
There is an alternative to getting a job - working for yourself. Would
Europes NEXT generation consider this option ? The answer is Yes for
two-thirds of them.
Would you consider working for yourself / freelance ?
6,5%
12,5% 13,4%
43,2%
24,4%
0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
35,0%
40,0%
45,0%
Definitely ProbablyProbably not, because
I would be afraid to
do so
Probably not, because
I wouldnt know
where to start
Definitely not
Micro credits can be part of
the soluon. Nowadays the
young the major source
of innovaon, energy andcreavity oen lack access
to credit.
Student, Czech Republic
Tax reducon for the businesses of young people and zero VAT
for a year or two.
Young entrepreneur, Germany
Im trying to build my own
company which focuses on
young people and will hire
only young people.
22-year-old, Norway
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Micro-credit can be part of the solution to give them the nances they
need to get started otherwise they wait and wait for someone else
to employ them.
Career counsellors should not just offer advice on how to get a job,
but how to establish a small business after graduating from university.
Investing in the companies of young people can create new work
places. Usually, young companies tend to take on other young people
so it begins a virtuous circle.
All the employers told me Im lacking work experience. So now Im
building my own company which focuses on young people and in the
future I will hire only young people under 25 year-old. Im 22 at the
moment.
Here are some comments from the front line:
For meaningful jobs to be created, economies have to become more
competitive open to innovation and entrepreneurship. Universities
should also play a role by prom ting innovation and entrepreneurship.
It would be useful if independent organisations could encourage
young people to build their own businesses. They could provide us
with useful advice and funds to that young people can become their
own boss. The organisations that help out could take their money
invested back over a period of time.
It is self-employment and small company start-ups that must be used
as the vehicle for innovation and youth employment.
There will be a need for governments and major donor organisations
to focus their priorities and channel their funding towards supporting
young innovative entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs.
Coping with bureaucracy is really hard, too oen students
graduate with no idea how to make an invoice, pay taxes the
praccal things.
Student, Italy
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Wed also like to offer a nal word of thanks to our sponsor Manpower
Inc. Without them we couldnt have put this all together. Furthermore,
we hope that by pointing out the seeming lack of student and graduateawareness of the interim work industry it has given them some food for
thought that they may be missing out on some very real not to mention
eager talent.
For updates on FutureWork Forum events, research and publications
go to: www.futureworkforum.com
For news and views from Generation Europe Foundation go to:
www.generation-europe.eu
Where do we go from here ?
From the perspective of the FutureWork Forum and Generation Europe
Foundation, this research project has certainly opened our eyes and given
us some insights into the hopes and the fears of the NEXT generation.We hope that some of our conclusions, data and examples will give you
an opportunity to think in a different way about youth employment and the
challenges it poses.
The FutureWork Forum will continue as will Generation Europe
Foundation to seek out the opinions of this NEXT generation, with the
intention of carrying out another survey project in the near future.
As part of that - and in keeping with our mission - the FutureWork Forum will be
considering these ndings and publishing our own series of recommendations
(early in 2011) We hope that these will go some way to stimulate action from
governments, international institutions and others to address some of these
very real and very worrying concerns. The NEXT generation is our future aswell as theirs and we need to pay attention to that.
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The need for career-counsellor reform in schools, colleges and
universities and how that needs to work to meet the changed economic
circumstances of the world we live and work in.
A root and branch reform of our creaking and not very effective
education systems. Giving young people the opportunity to train for
jobs that will be in demand after they graduate.
Of course, where there are winners, there has to be a prize and this
one was pretty good. We invited the three winners to Brussels Europes
capital to be guests of the Generation Europe Foundation and the
FutureWork Forum. They also were invited to speak (on the subject of
their winning essay) at the European Employment Forum in Brussels.
Something we hope leads to not only a memorable experience but some
very useful contacts in the months and years to come !
The Essays
We are always delighted by the enthusiasm that our NEXT generation
surveys and essay competitions generate. More than that we are
overwhelmed with the quality, inventiveness and ideas of those thatchoose to take part. This competition was an especially tough assignment
and we extremely grateful to all the participants who sent in an essay.
Judging our winners wasnt easy. In fact it took a panel of us a day of
working our way through a shortlist of candidates to nally agree on the
nal three essays. The winners all showed a real maturity in their writing,
exceptional use of English and excellent concept development.
What we were looking for was some original thought that would not just
parrot popular themes around youth employment, but offer something
more than that. In these three winners we have three different ideas:
The idea that micro-credits, so successful in the economies ofdeveloping countries, could be used as a launch-pad to get more young
people working for themselves and eventually creating employment
for others.
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Fourthly, again at EU level, stimulus packages and schemes should
be created towards fostering the creation of small and medium-sized
enterprises. Furthermore, special funds and commissions may be created
which would allocate funds to graduates and undergraduates with smart
and bright ideas... Additionally, programmes like Erasmus internships
should be extended so that they cover a wider range of activity. Because,
if young people are given the opportunities to intern abroad and travel,of course they would have the incentives to study foreign languages and
undertake the principles of life-long learning.
Last but not least, employers and companies which provide supplementary
training, coaching and interning for undergraduates should be made
eligible for some additional tax relief. In any case, businesses should be
encouraged to involve students at all levels to participate in real business
dealings.
Martin Dechev from Bulgaria,
born in 1986
Firstly, the educational system in many European Union (EU) member
states is not working efciently enough. I have personally observed this
reality in both Bulgaria and Romania. As far as I am acquainted through
friends, other countries also have similar problems namely, students
do not study what they really need for real-life working; emphasis is
predominantly on lectures, and so forth. Thus, I reckon that, at the EU
level, institutions should work towards establishing certain, relatively high
academic standards in close cooperation with the private sector. Like
this, university education will actually correspond to business needs.
Secondly, especially now amid the present economic turmoil, both
graduates and especially undergraduates should be half-motivated,
half-obliged to participate in semi-voluntary engagements if they cannot
nd a job but are eligible for unemployment benets. In other words, such
people should be given this money only if they participate in some social
and/or voluntary activities.
Many universities have career centres. However, too many of them do
not operate well enough as they are not an integral part of student life.
I think that all these centres should be examined and assessed on aregular basis by both governmental and non-governmental organisations
so that their work really ensures good results by assisting both students
and businesses.
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Thus, these micronance institutions should not only lend money but also
act as incubators, allowing these new business options to reach a certain
density and size by connecting them to local resources (local recruitment,
mentors, distribution channels, access to capital etc) and [putting them
together them in clusters. In this way they can combine the advantages
of a large enterprise (e.g. economies of scale in purchasing, production,
advertising and so forth) with the strengths of the small-scale ones, like
motivation, high level of commitment and knowledge of the local area. In
particular, I believe that young social entrepreneurs are the ones who more
than others should be encouraged, as they nd solutions to meet unmet
social needs through market-based mechanisms in a sustainable way.
Europe should especially invest on these prot/non prot entrepreneurs,
enabling them to scale up and multiply. They are the future !
Sara Marini from Italy,
born in 1985
In my opinion the key is creating new employment possibilities and, for
that, microcredit can be part of the solution. Nowadays the paradox is
that the young, who are the major source of innovation, energy, creativity
and vitality, often lack access to credit. So even if they have a high level
of education and innovative ideas that work, they cannot transform them
into legitimate business activities.
Therefore, they wait for someone else to employ them, remain
unemployed and their potential is completely missed by themselves and
their community. This is why the existence of micronance institutions,
coordinated at a European level can be crucial, so that young people
can have nancial means to become their own bosses and by doing so
generate opportunities and jobs for not-entrepreneurial people as well.
However, incentivizing the creation of these enterprises led by young
people is not enough; in fact, as long as they remain too small and
isolated they are not capable to create more jobs, take up opportunities
and make a real impact.
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I think the era of learning everything by heart is pass the kids should
learn where to nd the information they need and to be able to use
their knowledge in practice. School programs should be orientated to
develop pupils individual potentials and skills. High school and university
programs should always follow the working markets needs. To achieve
this, they should collaborate with companies and various institutions and
offer the possibility to their students to have work experience every yearin a real company.
This will allow them to gain some working experiences, let the future
employers have employees with the exact knowledge and skills they
require. The schools which would be the most successful in that should
get more funds from the State. Im convinced that the society which will
reform its educational system in that direction will become the leading
economic force in the world, because apart of the well formed employees
it will have individuals with fresh ideas to constantly develop its economy.
Denisa Kesten from Slovenia,
born in 1981
I think that the key to better employment opportunities for youth lies in the
reform of the educational program of our society, which despite the fast
changing pave of todays world is still commonly fossilized. Just compare
the classrooms of the 19th century with todays.
There is still a table where the teacher writes in front of the pupils so our
methods of teaching didnt change much ! The students have still to learnalmost everything by heart rarely its required from them to present their
own projects where they developed their own ideas or actively participate
in a debate. Also the educational program does not prepare freshly
graduated students adequately for the job they were studying for.
Too many times I have heard people lamenting that after their graduation
they had to learn almost everything all over again at the workplace,
because the knowledge they received at university (or high school) was
useless. Why ? Because, in practice, the work they were going to do
was totally different from how they were taught and it required some
knowledge that they really didnt have. Already in kindergarten children
should learn to improve their creativity and to develop their personal skills
(see Daniel Golemans Emotional intelligence). That learning should be
continued in the elementary school. Later, in the secondary school pupils
should already be motivated to develop their own projects.
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Appendix 1 - Quesonnaire
Part II - Employing the NEXT Generation
The Right Skills ? The Right Place ?
The Right Time ?
Win a free trip to Brussels !
Are you 19 to 29 years old ? If so, how does your generation perceive the challenges ahead and what are your
expectations as new or future employees ?
Wed be grateful if you could complete this short survey. It should only take a couple of minutes.
Win a free trip: By completing this survey and answering the optional question at the end (400 words max) you could
win a free trip to Brussels - the capital of Europe - to meet the movers and shakers at the forthcoming Employment
Week Forum on 24-25 November 2010. If you want to be eligible for this great opportunity, please leave us your
contact details at the end of the survey and send us your views.
Thank you and good luck.
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9) 3. Do you / did you have a career guidance service at your university/
school ?
m Yes, and it is useful
m Yes but it is not useful
m No, but I would nd it useful
m No, and I would not use it anyway
10) 4. How do you usually look for job openings ?
qWeb sites q Family/relations/friends
q Online job boards q Newspapers
q Job agencies q Career ofce
q Job fairs q No idea
q Other (please specify)
If you selected other, please specify: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11) 5. Where do you look for job openings ?
q Locally q Regionally
q Anywhere in my country q Anywhere in the EU
q Anywhere in the world
12) 6. Are you prepared to leave your country to nd the right kind of job,
if necessary on a permanent basis ?
m Denitely m Probably
m Probably not m Denitely not
13) 7. Do you think enough is being done (by governments) to make
cross-border employment possible for young people ?
m Denitely m Probably
m Probably not m Denitely not
14) 8. What are the reasons you have been turned down for a job ?
q Lack of experience q Insufcient qualications
q I have never been turned down
q Dont know
q Other (please specify)
If you selected other, please specify: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Survey
1) Gender
m Female m Male
2) Year of birth: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3) Country of Residence: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4) Nationality : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5) Current Occupation
m Studying m Unemployed
m Employed (Part-time) m Employed (Full-time)
m Other (please specify)
If you selected other, please specify: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6) Highest level of studies achieved / Currently studying
m Secondary School m Undergraduate
m Graduate m Postgraduate
m Other (please specify)
If you selected other, please specify: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7) 1. How good do you consider your job prospects in securing a
meaningful job ? (5 = excellent / 0 = very poor)
m 5 m 4 m 3 m 2 m 1 m 0
8) 2. Do you think you were given the required skills at school/college
to nd and hold onto a sustainable job in the present employment
market ? (5 = yes, very much so / 0 = not at all)
m 5 m 4 m 3 m 2 m 1 m 0
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18) 12. Finally, in a maximum of 400 words in English explain your own
ideas for solving youth employment in Europe and getting the NEXT
generation into sustainable, meaningful work. (*)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19) If you answered the open question above and want to be eligible for
a trip to Brussels to attend the Employment Week Forum on 24-25
November 2010, please provide us with your email address in the
space provided below.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thank you very much for sharing your views with us ! The winners will be
contacted in early September.
Best Regards,
The GEF & FWF Teams
(*) Authors of the best essays, judged by their inventiveness, practicality and clarity will
be invited to the Employment Week Forum in Brussels, to present their ideas to seniormembers of the European Union and other economic institutions, private sector partners
and our team.
Disclaimer
Responses to the Employing the NEXT Generation survey are consideredcondential and therefore individual responses will not be released, shared, or
published. Rather survey results will be reported in aggregate data sets.
In participating in this survey, the participant recognizes that the informationprovided on this survey will be used in an aggregate report and thereforegrants Generation Europe Foundation and the Future Work Forum unrestricteduse of this information.By lling out the open question, participants give Generation EuropeFoundation and the Future Work Forum the permission to use, reproduce &disseminate any part of their contribution.
15) 9. What are the reasons you have turned down a job offer ?
q Insufcient nancial offer
q I was offered a better opportunity elsewhere
q The job turned out to be uninteresting
q Too far away / long commute
q No development possible
q I did not like the people I met at the interview
q I did not feel qualied
q It was a short-term contract
q I have never turned down a job offer
q Other (please specify)
If you selected other, please specify: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16) 10. When looking for a job, what really matters to you ? Please rank
your 5 main criteria
Sector (private vs. public) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Company size (MNC vs. SME) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Company name & reputation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Scope (International vs. national) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Company ethics and goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Possibility to travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Life work balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Learning / training opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Career perspective / evolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A good salary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A meaningful job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A sustainable job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17) 11. Would you consider working for yourself / freelance ?
m Denitely
m Probably
m Probably not, because I would be afraid to do so
m Probably not, because I wouldnt know where to start
m Denitely not
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Employing The Next Generation Part 2: The Right Skills in the Right Place at the Right Time
27
Date of Birth of Respondents
0,00% 2,00% 4,00% 6,00% 8,00% 10,00% 12,00%
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1997
1998
1999
Before 1970
Appendix 2
Additional demographics
Naonality of Respondents
35,3%
16,2%14,5%
7,6% 7,5% 7,1%
2,7%0,9% 0,8% 0,6% 0,4%
6,0%
0,0%
5,0%
10,0%
15,0%
20,0%
25,0%
30,0%
35,0%
40,0%
Italy Greece Hungary Poland Czech
Republic
Estonia Belgium Germany France Spain UK Other
This is not a representative sample of Europe. But in spite of some
signicant national differences, the main themes running through the data
are consistent across boundaries, and it seems likely that the countries
with small samples or none at all would follow similar patterns. The NEXT
Generation thus presents itself to us as a European reality, largely unitedby shared attitudes and aspirations. This is in spite of some differences
in experience and expectations, which arise from the diversity of national
economies and institutions.
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Current occupaon
Studying;
49,7%
Unemployed;
122%
Employed
(Part-me); 8,6%
Employed
(Full-me);
23,7%
Other;
5,8%
Highest level of studies achieved / Currently studying
Postgraduate;
19,7%
Graduate;
32,3%Undergraduate;
22,3%
Secondary School;
22,4%
Other;34%
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This publication is part 2 of the Employing The Next Generation series
Part 1 : Integrating People and Technology 2006
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