In a boom-time survey, students fully expected to have great jobs and to be buying holiday homes. Now, many are weighing up their prospects as the job market collapses and the future for school-leavers loses its glow
STILL BASKING in the warm glow of the boom, college students were asked in an Irish Timessurvey a few years ago about their career prospects. The responses weren't just optimistic; they were positively precocious.
One in five expected to glide into senior jobs and rake in around €100,000 a year by the age of 30. Almost two-thirds expected to own their house or apartment; not only that, but one-tenth of that group assumed they’d also have a holiday home to retreat to. A sunlit upland awaited, they seemed to say, and they knew the way.
That was then. As the icy winds of the recession rattle through what’s left of a ravaged economy, thousands of young people are emerging into an uncertain world. With unemployment continuing to grow, graduates and school-leavers have little choice but to lower their sights and compete for low-paid jobs they once considered beneath them; thousands of others face the unfamiliar world of unemployment and handouts. For a generation that was told it had more opportunities, more choices than ever before, it’s a seismic reality check.
Some economists have even warned of a “lost generation” of educated, often highly qualified young people, who will end up in long-term unemployment unless the Government invests in the future. The figures speak for themselves. Official statistics show young people are bearing the full brunt of unemployment, with jobless rates for the under-25s touching 25 per cent – or almost 100,000 – significantly higher than the overall unemployment rate of 12 per cent.
For thousands of students who receive their Leaving Cert results on Wednesday, it should be an occasion of giddy optimism. But in a deeply uncertain world, nothing can be taken for granted. Research shows younger people scarred by long periods of joblessness are more likely to face job instability and slow progression prospects.
After studying for four years to become a solicitor, Neil Dunne felt a comfortable future stretched ahead of him. As a trainee, the work poured into the solicitor’s firm: conveyancing law, contracts, that kind of thing. But when the property crash came, it all dried up.
“It was like a tap, it just turned off,” says Dunne, who is living at home with his parents in Edenderry, Co Offaly. “I never thought that after all that training, I’d end up on the dole. That was seven months ago. I must have sent out about 500 CVs in total without a positive lead . . . The amount of young fellas everywhere is unbelievable. You see friends and you nearly don’t want to acknowledge them for fear they’ll ask you are you working.”
His fear, and that of many others, is that the longer you spend out of work without experience, the less appealing you are to a potential employer. “You feel in danger of being leapfrogged by other graduates. At least they’re fresh, whereas when you don’t have that much experience you get worried that your skills are in danger of going stale.” His luck finally turned in recent weeks; he has found a part-time job in the legal sector. It’s the first rung of the ladder and he’s determined to grasp the opportunity with both hands. “I think this is different to the 1980s. We’re highly educated, we’re all in this together and there’s nowhere else to go. We have to depend on ourselves this time.”
For all the doom-mongering in the media and among commentators, there is a resilience among many young people caught in the crosswinds of the recession. Yvonne McKenna, chief executive of Volunteer Centres Ireland, sees it on a daily basis. She says young people eager to get some kind of experience by volunteering are applying for unpaid work in droves.
She says the generation is far from being “lost”. Instead, they are motivated to make the best of a very difficult situation. “The numbers in their 20s and 30s has really increased. There’s a confidence about them and they’re coming forward on the basis that ‘I have skills and I want to put them to work.’” Already this year, a surge in the number of young people applying to its 20 volunteer centres around the country has swelled by almost 120 per cent. “The important thing is we respond to this enthusiasm of young people who want to contribute. This means we have to invest in the volunteering infrastructure, which is under serious threat at the moment,” McKenna adds.
But the real risk isn’t so much the well-educated – it’s those who opted out of education and training at a young age, lured by the high wages available during the boom. Community and voluntary groups worry that many young men who worked in construction and other trades are finding there is no demand for their skills.
The Government says it has responded by doubling the number of places on Fás courses, as well as cutting welfare payments to jobless 18- and 19-year-olds who don’t sign up for training or education. It also announced a six-month work placement programme for up to 2,000 young people who have been out of work for more than six months.
“This shows the scale of activity being supported by this Government to ensure that people are best positioned to get back to employment,” says Minister for Social Affairs, Mary Hanafin.
But, given the sheer scale of youth unemployment, to many it feels like a losing battle. There are still too many barriers for young people trying to access courses, says Michael McLoughlin of Youth Work Ireland. “There aren’t enough options for young people and their lack of qualifications often means they can’t access courses available,” he says, adding that welfare cuts for young people would make sense if there were opportunities for them. “We know this isn’t the case and this is purely a grab of resources from young people who are living in poverty.”
Cuts to third-level funding, according to groups such as the Union of Students of Ireland, will mean opportunities for those looking to further their education will dry up at precisely the time they are needed most. There are also growing concerns that many courses aren’t necessarily matching people to the economic opportunities likely to emerge over the coming years.
“If a person can’t progress after training or a course, it’s not giving them the best opportunity in the long run,” says Bríd O’Brien, the head of policy for the Irish National Organisation for the Unemployed.
Even in the midst of the economic maelstrom, many young people remain defiantly and impressively upbeat.
Ashling O’Regan (21) has just graduated with a degree in social care and is on the look-out for a full-time job. She’s living at home with her parents in Raheny, Dublin. “We were being told there were so many choices and options for our generation. Then, things changed very quickly. I’m lucky in that I have a temporary childcare job but that comes to an end in three weeks.
“It can be hard taking all the rejection. I’ve sent out so many CVs and you’re lucky if you get any response. I’d like to work in something related to my field, get some experience, and maybe go back and do a Masters. The social care sector has been hit badly by the recession, like everywhere else. “I’m looking at the options for agency work, going through ads in the paper, and trying not to give up hope. My friends are either looking for jobs, thinking of emigrating, or going back into education.
“There is a lot of negativity, but our parents’ generation went through this, and we can do the same. It’s just a matter of not giving in.”
'The key is just to keep calm and carry on'
JAMES HOOPER (18), from Millstreet, Co Cork, is waiting anxiously for his Leaving Cert results. Ideally, he'd like to take a year out and dabble in film-making, but the downturn means he's more focused on getting a job.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty around at the moment. I don’t know what kind of grant will be available, whether third-level fees are going to be introduced, no one knows. People keeping saying we’re lucky to be going into education now, but it’s not that simple. We live in a council house, so we’ve always been money-conscious. Things were always going to be difficult; now, chances are it’ll be more difficult.
“I know this might sound wishy-washy, but the downturn means there’s less time for personal or emotional development. It would be great to take a year out and travel, or do something in film-making. But I can’t risk fees coming in, so I have to knuckle down.
“I’ve applied for science in UCC. I might have done something broad, like arts, but you have to be more career-focused. There’s lots of disillusionment around, but you have to be hopeful.
“I guess the key is just to ‘keep calm and carry on’.”
'I'm hoping to get a civil service job'
JENNIFER HEGARTY (17), a Leaving Cert student based in Castleknock in Dublin, is hoping to get a job in the civil service when she finishes college. She’s part of a wider trend towards courses that are more likely to offer a steady job in a few years’ time.
“Lots of friends are looking towards teaching, civil service jobs, that kind of thing. They’re moving away from finance or arts towards more bankable courses. Personally, I’m looking at maybe politics, economics or engineering, and hopefully getting a civil service job. At least there would be less stress about losing your job. I’m genuinely interested in economics and the running of the country – and how not to run a country, so we can avoid the mess we’re in. “There are positives. I think young people are more into politics now, it’s more relevant. They’re watching the news, they know what’s going on. I think Brian Lenihan is doing a good job in a very difficult position: he didn’t create the situation we’re in.
“I really admire Obama, the way he admitting screwing up one decision. You never hear that at home, even over a small incident. It’s always, ‘a regrettable decision was made’ or talking in the passive voice . . . if they ever did apologise, I think I’d faint.”
'Hopefully, we can take positives out of this'
KARL MURPHY (26), from Bohermeen, Co Meath, thought the legal profession would provide a comfortable lifestyle. Unemployed since last April, he says jobs in his field are difficult to come by. "I saw it as a prestigious profession which could give me a comfortable life; you'd be held in high esteem and be able to contribute to your community. That was my idea. You never think that after all the effort to do this, that you will end up without a job. When you're applying for something, there are 100 or 150 others looking for the same job, who are just as hungry and as eager as you. It's harder to think about things like settling down or having a family. It's not top of my agenda, but it all seems more distant now because I'll have to spend three or four years before I'm self-sufficient again.
“I’m not in this alone, so I don’t feel disheartened . . . Hopefully, we can take positives out of this, and plan for the future, and ensure it doesn’t happen again. This should make us stronger and better as a people.”
