Exploring the dynamics of youth unemployment:
Challenges and Solutions
What young people are doing right, what they are doing wrong
Are Tertiary institutions like MBCC responding to the reality?
What are we not taking into consideration?
Leahcim SemajSpeaker & Transformation Specialist à The JobBank/ Above or Beyond
4. Leahcim Semaj, Ph.D.
Chief Ideator & Resultant
The JobBank/ Above or Beyond
5/20/2017 4
Keep In Touch!
www.Above orBeyondJM.com
5. Today’s Flight Plan
Exploring the dynamics of youth unemployment: Challenges and
Solutions
Jamaica's Youth Unemployment level
The reasons for this high unemployment rate among young people
What young people are doing right, what they are doing wrong
Are Tertiary institutions like MBCC responding to the reality?
What are we not taking into consideration?
6. ‘Pathways to Prosperity’
One of the major reasons for Jamaica continuing to be poor is
because
we have not succeeded in unlocking the entrepreneurial
productive capabilities of the majority of our people.
To a large extent our socialization mantra for the majority of our
people has been and still is –
"Go to school, study hard, pass your exams
then go beg a job".
7. Many Jamaicans from the Majority Class
who have started business have done so
unwillingly, as a second option,
many times because they were fired.
Many of these reluctant business persons do not
aspire for their children to come into the business to
expand it
or to start on of one of their own.
8. Many Jamaicans from the Majority Class
They often do not even socialize the children
into the workings of the business.
They continue to preach the same mantra to
their children.
"Go to school, study hard, pass
your exams then go beg a job".
9. The only difference is that
they now wish that the children make it into the
professional class.
(Ideally something ending in 'er').
This has not been the situation for the ethnic
minorities who have run businesses
and have socialized their children to continue to do just that.
11. The Other Jamaica
Many years ago I had a very important conversation with
the patriarch of one of Jamaica's business families.
I was directing a project to align the cultures of the
hospitality resorts over which he presided.
I wanted to understand what were some of the critical
forces driving the family business.
He told me a story about his children, who on
completing High School being desirous of going to
college,
even though it was understood that they would be coming
into the family business.
This was not a concern because he had gone to college.
12. The Other Jamaica
The 'problem' arose when upon completing the degree, they
wanted to go on to Graduate School.
One child wanted to study finance while another wanted to
study marketing.
His biggest concern however, was for the one who was
talking of 'becoming' an accountant.
He wondered where he had failed.
This drove him to arrange a meeting between the
'misguided' offspring and the grandfather who carefully
explained to the grandson;
"You do not become an accountant, you hire an accountant."
13. The Business Class
How many of Jamaica's ethnic minority
business families have had similar
conversations with their children over the
decades?
They have been socializing their children
to own the means of production.
14. The Majority Class
What proportion of the Black majority
has heard any such admonition?
We have serious work to do if we are to
release the creative, entrepreneurial and
productive capacity
of the mass of our people.
15. Rex Nettleford
in his inimitable way,
long ago reminded us that the
foundation of the Jamaican
economy was created by the
bottom third of the class (room),
those with less academic
achievements, that left school
and went out and created
businesses.
They then hired the top third of the
class to run those businesses.
16. The accumulated result of this experience
is that up until today the majority of Black
Jamaicans' main aspiration is to get a job in
one of the industries run by the ethnic
minorities
or to get a "safe and secure" job in the
Government service.
This process has not significantly changed.
Many Jamaicans of the Black Majority cohort
still hold these aspirations.
17. We are now in The New Work Order.
It is no longer muscle of the masses toiling in the
cane field and factories that drive the economy.
It is now brain power driving intellectually based
enterprises that powers knowledge based
economies.
The requirement today is for the top third of the
class to go out and create the jobs for the rest of
the class,
if Jamaica is to be able to evolve into new economies that runs
the world.
18. Post Colonial and Post Independence Jamaica
had a different dynamics than we do today.
The realities of the global, regional and especially
the national economy
Job growth has been disproportion to
population growth.
19. 5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 19
READING THE TRANSFORMATION
1970 - Future Shock - Alvin Toffler
The coming post-industrial
1980 - The Third Wave - Alvin Tofler
The New Work Order approaches
1991 - The Work of Nations- Robert Reich The
New Work Order is here
1995 - The End of Work- Jeremy Rifkin
The Coming Work Order
20. “The End of Work”
In the book "The End of Work" Jeremy Rifkin predicted from
as far back as 1995 that
many of the low skilled and low paying jobs would shift to China
once they became part of the WTO.
"Mr. Chin" will work for $1 per day and a bowl of rice,
Jamaicans will not
21. What Got
You Here
Wont Get You There
Unless You Find A New Gear
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 21
The Bad News
22. 225/20/2017 225/20/2017 22
“We have all that we need
to create what we want
because all the resources
we need are in our minds”
Theodore Roosevelt
25. 6 Paths to Prosperity in Jamaica
The Best & The
Brightest
• The best way to get a job today
The Tried & The
Proven
• No more retirement
The Fittest & The
Fastest
• Our natural resource
The Dangerous &
Desperate
• Productive or Destructive
Health & Wellness
• Leading force globally
The Resurrection
of Ganganomics
• Our green gold
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 25
27. The Jamaican Hybrids
Roasting
run business on
someone else's costs
Hustling
seasonal opportunities
Owning a job
one person operation
27www.Above orBeyondJM.com5/20/2017
28. What’s Your Choice?
Small Business
Operator?
Entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurship, Competitiveness and Development
Dr. Sandra Palmer, Ms. Mardene Carr and Dr. Leahcim Semaj
www.Academia.edu (2014)
29. Entrepreneurs
Wealth Creation/Financial Freedom in ~ 5 years
Focus on growth, expansion and innovation
Works on the business *Takes more risks
Strategist *Business is an asset to develop, shape, sell
Thrilling ride *Investors/Financiers
Willing to risk it all *Wants to change the word
Leave a legacy *Trouble-shooter
Visionary *Embracing the urge to create
New business model *Mindset to roam freely
30. Small Business Operators
Wealth creation could take a lifetime
Repetitive tasks *Works in the business
Focus on stability, improving the bottom-line steadily
Day to day manager and worker
Sentimental about business *Survival
Slow, steady climb *Personal funds
Not looking to go public
No goal to be on the cover of Forbes or Fortune
Wants to make a comfortable living
Mitigating risks *Minimising mistakes
31. The 7 Other Reasons
Why Businesses Fail in Jamaica
32. Why Businesses Fail in Jamaica
1. Post slavery laws forbidding Black people from doing business
Mothers and Wives
2. Your DT Degree
What did your parents do?
3. Poor Understanding of what people want and who is willing to pay for what
4. Limited knowledge of how money works
5. Forgetting how Human Capital and Social Capital built rural Jamaica
6. Ignorance of the work of Adam Smith - 4 Capitals
7. Lack of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
33. 1. Post slavery laws forbidding Black
people from doing business
37. 5. Forgetting how Human Capital and
Social Capital built rural Jamaica
Human
Capital
Social
Capital
38. 6. Ignorance of the work of Adam Smith - 4 Capitals
The 4 types of Capital
1) useful machines, instruments of the trade
2) buildings as the means of procuring
revenue
3) improvements of land
4) human capital
5/20/2017 38
39. Global Economic Transformation
The Industrial
Revolution
1830 - 1840
The Abolition
of Slavery
1834 -1838
5/20/2017 39www.Above orBeyondJM.com
40. Global Economic Transformation
Slavery
The Slave Trade Act was
an Act of Parliament of
the United Kingdom passed
on 25 March 1807
The Abolition of Slavery
1834 -1838
The Industrial
Revolution
The period of time
covered by the Industrial
Revolution varies with
different historians.
A common view is that it
was not fully felt until
1830s to 1840s
41. Who are you going to believe?
5/20/2017 41www.Above orBeyondJM.com
42. Who are you going to believe?
It takes cash
to care
• Edward Seaga
Labour was the first price,
the original purchase
money that was paid for all
things. It was not by gold or
by silver, but by labour, that
all wealth of the world was
originally purchased.
Adam Smith
5/20/2017 42www.Above orBeyondJM.com
43. 5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 43
7. Lack of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
In any year Business Format Franchises report a success rate
of 95%
in contrast to the 50% failure rate of new independently owned
businesses
Where 80% of all businesses fail in the first 5 years,
75% of all Business Format Franchises succeed!
46. In the future,
"everything that can be routinized,
codified, and dissected will
eventually be done by machines.
Social and emotional intelligence is
what humans are uniquely good at
at least for the next decade or two."
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 46
47. UNEMPLOYMENT!
Growing Global Challenge
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 47
Mismatch Between Skill Sets and Jobs
Now powered by technology
Fueled by information and knowledge
Shift from industrial to a knowledge economy
48. The Youth Challenge
Global youth unemployment (ILO)
2013 – 12.6%
2018 – 12.8%
Jamaica – 16%
Spain, Greece & South Africa – 50%
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 48
49. Teens Investing in Their Future
Over the last 20 years, there has been a dramatic
change in how US teens prioritize their lives,
employment no longer plays as important a role
explains John A. Challenger, the CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Some young persons are weighing the options and
conclude that
sports, clubs and summer school are more likely to pay better
dividends over the long run, compared to a minimum wage job
in fast food.
Keturah Hetrick - Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas
THE IMPLICATION FOR JAMAICA?
50. The Skill Set For The Future
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 51
52. Agile Thinking:
Today uncertainty rules the market,
changes are abrupt
yesterday’s market conditions are different to today’s.
Creative thinking,
the ability to innovate,
deal with complexity, ambiguity, and paradoxes
prepare for more than one scenario
critical for future success.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 53
53. Human-machine Collaboration
And Co-dependence:
Digital and technology skills are not only nice
to have, they are a necessity.
workplace automation and human-machine
dependence
a workplace where human-machine
collaboration and co-dependence is the norm.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 54
54. Cross-cultural skills:
Cross-cultural understanding and communication
global operating skills such as
the ability to manage diverse employees
understanding international markets
ability to work in multiple overseas locations
foreign language skills
cultural sensitivity
will be increasingly in demand over the next 5 to 10 years.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 55
55. The Innovative, Entrepreneurial Mindset:
The ability to innovate
“self-starter”
“risk-taker”
“visionary”
someone who “spots opportunity”
You don't need to own a business to be an
entrepreneur,
but you do need the entrepreneurial mindset to be successful
in business.”
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 56
56. Leadership skills:
Businesses today operate in two time frames,
the immediate and the very long term,
the ability to manage contradictions will be critical.
This requires finding new ways of working together.
Major barrier to engagement is trust
must be central to the thinking of future leaders.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 57
57. The Unspoken Rules Of The
Workplace No One Tells You
ANISA PURBASARI HORTON
https://www.fastcompany.com/40419679/new-graduates-these-are-the-new-
unspoken-rules-of-the-workplace-you-need-to-know
58. Graduation is an exciting (and scary) time;
you’re leaving a world where you know all the rules and entering into a world
where what’s expected of you often isn’t so clear cut.
The rules that truly matter in the workplace are often not written anywhere–
they’re simply things that those who have been in it for a while consider to be
obvious.
Many learn these unspoken rules through trial and error, and some do it by
observing others’ mistakes.
But if you’re a recent graduate, there’s no reason why you can’t get a head
start on day one of your entry-level job.
59. RULE NO. 1: YOU ARE THERE TO DO YOUR JOB
Your desire to go “above and beyond” can sometimes result in being
spread too thin and compromising the work that you were hired to do in
the first place.
You might be good at everything, but when you’re hired for the job, you
have to focus on the task at hand.
First thing: Meet the expectations of your primary responsibilities.
Sometimes as a young employee, you have to hold back.
60. RULE NO. 2: IT’S UP TO YOU TO FIGURE THINGS OUT
When you’re in college, you’re given a syllabus of readings,
assignments, and exam dates.
You know exactly what you are supposed to do by which date,
and you have a person who tells you what you need to learn, and who
points you in the right direction when you’re completely lost.
This is not the case in the workplace.
“Learning doesn’t happen like it does in the classroom, “Nobody is
going to sit down and teach you.”
61. RULE NO. 3: FEEDBACK WILL NOT COME AUTOMATICALLY
school is structured in a way where immediate feedback is
built into the grading system.
But in the workplace, You’re not getting graded on every
single task that you do.
In many cases, it’s up to you to ask for feedback, but it’s
also important that you pick the right circumstances and
ask the right questions.
62. RULE NO. 4: ATTENTION TO DETAIL IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
As a junior employee, it’s highly likely that you’ll be tasked
with administrative duties at some point, which might seem
mundane but also equally easy to mess up.
At times, the cost of these mistakes might be small, but
there will be times where not paying attention to detail can
hurt the company, and perhaps even put your job in
jeopardy.
63. RULE NO. 5: UNDERSTANDING HOW YOU FIT IN THE
BIGGER PICTURE GOES A LONG WAY
“When you come in as a new person, you’re very focused and you become
specialized in what you do, and because you’re learning it for the first time, it’s
hard to see a bigger picture.”
Understanding how your role fits into the bigger picture will also help you find
more meaning in your work, because you know why what you do matters, even if
it seems like a very tiny slice of the pie.
Given the amount of time you’ll spend at work in your lifetime, a happy work life is
a crucial ingredient to a happy life.
64. RULE NO. 6: COMPANIES ARE NOT OBLIGED TO
CONSIDER YOUR NEEDS AND INTERESTS
This one is perhaps the hardest to swallow, but other than what
they’re required to do by law and what’s stated on your employment
agreement, in most instances, companies don’t owe you anything.
As an employee, your job is to bring value to the company, and at
times, that might mean putting their needs ahead of yours.
65. RULE NO. 7: NO ONE WILL CARE ABOUT
YOUR CAREER AS MUCH AS YOU
At the end of the day, organizations exist to make money or serve a specific
mission,
not to think about how they can best serve an employee’s career.
Sometimes, that could mean figuring out how you want to grow, and designing that
framework yourself if there is none in your job or your company.
It’s very rare that you’ll have someone looking over your shoulder every day to
check on your career progress.
it’s about really understanding your role, what that entails, and whether they
align with your priorities in life.
66. 2 Billion Jobs to Disappear
by 2030
by Thomas Frey
5/20/2017 67 www.Above orBeyondJM.com
http://www.wfs.org/content/2-billion-jobs-disappear-2030
67. 2 Billion Jobs Disappearing
roughly 50% of all
the jobs on the
planet doom and
gloom
outlook?
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 68
68. This is a wakeup call
To Governments & Unions
letting the world know
how quickly things are about to change,
letting academia know
that much of the battle ahead will be
taking place at their doorstep
5/20/2017 69www.Above orBeyondJM.com
69. The Results
Learn new
skills
every
5 years
Change
career
every
10 years
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 70
70. 6 Paths to Prosperity in Jamaica
The Best & The
Brightest
• The best way to get a job today
The Tried & The
Proven
• No more retirement
The Fittest & The
Fastest
• Our natural resource
The Dangerous &
Desperate
• Productive or Destructive
Health & Wellness
• Leading force globally
The Resurrection
of Ganganomics
• Our green gold
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 71
71. They are in the best position today!
Path 1. The Best And The Brightest
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 72
72. Today
Youth unemployment is rising and
jobs have become scarce for those
leaving school
They can save themselves
(and the rest of us),
if they choose to accept the
challenge.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 73
73. What do they bring to the table?
They are the most tech savvy and demanding generation
ever on this planet
Technology is in their DNA.
The internet is their life.
They will use it for everything
They will be a transient workforce.
They will 'follow the work' and live where the work is based.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 74
74. Gleaner Study on Migration (Jan 12, 2014)
Education levels of those who would migrate
Less than high school …..28%
High School/HEART …….. 37%
College, University, Graduate School
……………………………. 43%
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 75
75. What do they bring to the table?
They are the most tech savvy and demanding
generation ever on this planet
Technology is in their DNA.
The internet is their life.
They will use it for everything
They will be a transient workforce.
They will 'follow the work' and live where the
work is based.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 76
76. What do you bring to the table?
For them the virtual world is real –
Friends, Fans, Followers and Contacts
Geography and distance are
no hindrance,
Everything is here and now - just a click away.
Gil Scott Heron
told us that The revolution would not be televised
But now we have
Facebook, Twitter and BB!
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 77
77. What do They bring to the table?
They are more self-directed
They process information at lightning speed.
They are smarter than any other generation
(how wise? Time will tell?)
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 78
78. What do you bring to the table?
They will give new meaning to the term Social
workers:
Raised in an educational culture of working in
teams
and being highly socially connected through
computers, cell phones, text messaging,
instant messaging, social networking,
blogs, multi-player gaming, etc.,
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 79
79. What do They bring to the table?
This Generation are extremely social
workers.
The first generation to begin to build
relationships virtually
and are now bringing a culture of
constantly working together
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 80
80. It is now time to
Get Disruptive!
Innovation Starts With Disruptive
Hypotheses
(Luke Williams)
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 81
81. A disruptive hypothesis
is an intentionally unreasonable statement that gets
your thinking flowing in a different direction.
…are designed to upset your comfortable equilibrium
and bring about an accelerated change in your own
thinking.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 82
82. A disruptive hypothesis
The ability to ask, “What if?”
is an essential part of every
thinking person’s skill set
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 83
83. With a disruptive hypothesis,
You don’t make a reasonable prediction
Such as…
if I charge the battery, the phone will work.
Instead,
you make an unreasonable provocation
What if a cell phone didn’t need a battery
at all?
You education to date has been predictive
You were socialized to
“see things as they are and ask, ‘Why?
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 84
84. It is now time to get provocative,
time to dream things as they never
were and ask…
‘What if?’
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 85
85. What should They Want to Disrupt?
Our pathological politics?
Our anemic economic model?
Our CRIMINAL justice system?
Our sick Health care?
Our Education system which has failed
the majority?
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 86
86. …. Take your pick
Once you have a situation to
focus on, describe it in one
sentence:
“How can I disrupt the present
reality by delivering an
unexpected solution?”
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 87
87. Disruptive Thinking
Facilitates Foresight
The Single Most Critical Skill for the
21st Century
Foresight is...
The Secret Ingredient of Success
Critical to achievement in all areas of your life.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 88
88. Foresight is…
the key to survival in a world of disruptive innovation.
enables you to see opportunities,
avoid threats, and chart the fastest path to your goals.
People who lack foresight
are likely to find themselves unemployed
when jobs are unexpectedly lost
to new technologies,
competition from overseas,
or shifts in consumer tastes.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 89
89. It is imperative that….
they disrupt the status quo that is
now stifling our country
and become the Leaders,
not just Observers of these global
trends.
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 90
91. What is Your Dharma?
5/20/2017 www.Above
orBeyondJM.com
92
92. 5/20/2017 www.Above
orBeyondJM.com
93
To Raise the (spiritually) dead
Heal the (Mentally and Physically) sick
Teach those who did not learn
Remind those who have forgotten.
So that they may become
Wiser, Healthier, Wealthier and Happier
in Body, Mind and Spirit
93. 5/20/2017 www.Above 94
Develop Job Creation Skills
What is Your (Dharma) Passion?
What Desire can you fulfill
Or Problems you can solve?
Who is willing to Pay?
What can you deliver?
a product - a skill - a service?
Go out and find customers
94. www.Above orBeyondJM.com 95
Develop Job Creation Skills
What needs exist?
Who is willing to Pay?
What can you deliver?
a product - a skill - a service?
Go out and find customers
5/20/2017
95. 6 Paths to Prosperity in Jamaica
You Are The Best and The
Brightest
– You are in the best position today!
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 96
96. We will begin with this Pathway
Path 1. The Best And The Brightest
5/20/2017 www.Above orBeyondJM.com 97