Today in Latin America and the Caribbean, young people face a high rate of unemployment. Nearly 20 million young people, that means one in every five adults in the region are neither studying nor working. “Ninis” is the term used which defines them in the negative.
This generation has a powerful influence in the society, but has no access to the labor market and has been deprived of continuing education, globally known as the "lost generation”. There is a strong association between unemployment and nonattendance at school with statistics of violence and crime among young people in a community. Individuals between 12 and 25 years old perpetrate almost 80 percent of usual street crimes in Latin America while the number of ninis has grown from two million to 20 million in the region. The problem of the nini youth generation maybe solved through motivating youth, improving employ ability and monitoring.
In order to get a clear understanding of the nini youth phenomenon, we need to perceive the reasons behind this problem. Specifically, the major factors that lead to the nini phenomenon are joblessness, rejection from school, lack of opportunities and access to formal markets, social deprivation, less skill training and most painfully violence (Salazar). With a closer look at the problem and the reasons, we can see that this problem is particularly visible in countries with more economic and social poverty. All these reasons are linked together, increase or decrease of any elements will change the others. Lack of education leads to unemployment and unemployment is the source of great harm to the society. If we try to eliminate these reasons and remove the obstacles from the youth’s path, this problem may be greatly reduced. Overall, various factors aggravate the vulnerability of this generation, so considering the causes of this phenomenon is necessary.
The first major solution to the issue of the lack of education and unemployment is by motivating youth. Specifically, young people living in these regions have lost their motivation to continue to study and find work. Therefore, we need to create conditions that will increase their views towards the future so that consequently they would be convinced that it is possible to study and work. As Bujalance states, “it is crucial to work on the believes that youth and their families may have, showing them an inspiring vision of future and helping them to realize that a job is more accessible than they think” (Effective). In addition, young people with low education need to acquire training skills to enter the job market and receive job opportunities. Private sectors and educational organizations, in collaboration with the government, can provide the right conditions of education and work for them. In this way, the incentive of young people to enter the field of work and education grows higher. In general, giving the motivation to these deprived youth is a basic step in solving this problem.
The second major solution to the issue of young people “neither study nor work” is improving employ ability. In fact, simultaneously with the provision of conditions for acquiring skills, it is necessary to balance this training with the needs of local manufacturing sectors. This concept is supported by Bujalance who states, a number of educational institutions work together to balance training sessions on specific jobs with the needs of local private sectors. These institutions try to teach young people technical skills and provide them with apprenticeships. (Effective). Moreover, youth entrepreneurship can be an important way to solve this problem, but unfortunately, young entrepreneurs in Latin America face major barriers. Due to incomplete knowledge and limited access to information about their work, they are generally at high risk. According to an IDB World Bank report for 14 Latin American countries, "about 62 percent of young entrepreneurs have only incomplete primary or postgraduate education and their business is fragile and often driven out of necessity" (qtd.in Salazar). Generally, improving the ability to work can play a major role in solving this situation for both young people and the community.
The third major solution to the issue of generation ninis is supporting and following up. Specifically, provision of training as well as appropriate working conditions for youth is needed, but not enough. We need to make sure that this process is going well, so support and tracking the youth is needed to resolve the issue. As Bujalance states, “a monitoring system is needed to be committed to the ongoing improvement process, once the youth are placed in jobs, by compiling the feedback from the youth, the job services providers, and the employers”(Effective). Furthermore, government policymakers and public-private systems can play a significant role in this support and follow-up. According to Salazar, ” governments, the private sector and workers organizations can resolve many of the policy, educational and informational issues mentioned above”(Generation). It’s obvious therefore, continuous support and follow up will be extremely helpful in solving this problem.
In conclusion, ninis are a global problem. It is true that we have specifically addressed this problem in Latin American and the Caribbean region, but this is an almost universal problem. It is likely that in the developed or developing countries these figures are lower but has be verified. Statistical surveys around this topic show that this is a serious problem. To solve this complex problem, an international consensus is needed. Therefore, policy makers and investors, along with educational and business associations, should explore this phenomenon and its solutions. Although the ninis problem has attracted much attention over the past ten years, there have been some measures to solve this problem, but much more work should be done.
Works Cited
Bujalance, Francisco. “Effective Solutions for Youth that Don’t Want to Be Neet Anymore.”
Multilatral Investment Fund. Aug 9, 2017.
Rogers, Halsey. “The “nini” Youth of Latin America: Out of School. Out of Work, and
Misunderstood.” The World Bank. Jun 25, 2016.
Salazar-Xirinachs, Jose Manuel. “Generation Ni/Ni: Latin America’s Lost Youth.” Social
Inclusion. Spring 2012.
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