March 10th 2010:
ARTICLE SUBMITTED TO ‘YOUR COUNTRY YOUR CALL’ WEBSITE.
OUTLINE PROPOSAL ON YOUTH/TECHNOLOGY BASED RESPONSE TO ECONOMIC CRISIS IN THE CONTEXT OF CURRENT RECESSION.
While it is generally acknowledged that the severity of the current unprecedented economic crisis has serious implications for Irish society as a whole, it is in the sphere of youth unemployment that its impact is particularly devastating. This has led to widespread disillusionment of the part of the under 25 with the political process itself but has also given rise to a deep rooted questioning of their own self esteem and personal worth in the context of Irish society. Thus, a feeling of abject alienation among the young unemployed in particular is understandably widespread and very pervasive.
There would appear to be a feeling that current government initiatives in the sphere of job creation and training are entirely inadequate and that the only solution in the medium term is to emigrate or to languish in a sort of cocoon of limited social welfare benefits where poverty is the norm and no personal initiative for self improvement is either sought or encouraged. However, I would like to suggest the adoption of a youth based technology policy which would hopefully restore some of the enthusiasm and personal initiatives characteristic of young people when motivated and personally valued. I would like to suggest a new emphasis in government policy for young people that highlights a broad multi-sectoral technology based approach, which should, if applied in the context of the country as a whole, avoid the current very narrow perspective, adopted my many in the government, its agencies and part of the national media.
Youth Perspective: The young generally today in Ireland have a very strong identity with and ability to utilise to maximum effect, a wide range of communication tools, in addition to those acquired as a result of relatively high levels of educational achievement. Thus, for example, they tend to be proficient in broadband applications, from basic message texting, through emailing complex data, blogging and the use of Facebook or other social networking sites. Thus, they could be said to be in a position both to access and respond to employment opportunities in any advanced country in the world. Even the use of these tools between themselves in Ireland can lead to the sharing of ideas and the enhancement of the identity in the context of others young people.
Technology/Employment Perspective: Any employment opportunity depends upon the employer’s ability to match an optimum product or service with the best skill and/or technology required to make it available to the consumer in a cost effective manner. I believe that young people have the technology tools to interact and put forward a range of potential opportunities for employment. What we need is both to encourage and incentivise them to act in this way.
1) Opportunity Assessment: I believe that many young people could use existing broadband providers and related blogging and other internet tools to contact, explore, analyse and assess potential ‘job’ opportunities both here and abroad. This process in turn could be streamlined and optimised by a mentoring system of advice as previously mooted by such as David McWilliams, the economist, in the national press. Specialist programs such as ‘Pivot’ are now being developed by Microsoft and other service providers which could further refine the collected data to provide an optimum business plan and finally this plan could be put before a specialist government agency for funding rather than being dependant upon the vagaries of the current banking system. Rather than recommend the introduction of any new agency, which could take years, I would suggest that a new Bord ‘BLOG’ be set up with representatives of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, the Science Foundation and Specialist University or any other Innovation Centres but most of all that youth groups would be able to nominate people to this Board. I would also like to publicise this Board and perhaps in so doing to run a ‘WI’ (as in Wi-Fi) Factor show on television not to humiliate the contestants as is often the case in the current ‘talent’ show on TV but to show new design/employment concepts in a favourable light so that others might follow suit.
2) The World is our Oyster: The extent of the Irish Diaspora has often been referred to but little has been done to attempt to explore its potential for job creation. Once again the potential of the simple blog can link people and ideas all over the World. I am not naive enough to believe that the internet alone will solve our employment problems. But it could certainly act as a catalyst for contact and exploration of ideas and personal contacts. I would suggest that overseas IDA/Enterprise Ireland offices and even Embassies could be used to build upon initial contacts and firm up business opportunities. These agencies should in turn be charged not just with responding to business contacts but with providing updated assessments of economic conditions in potential markets especially in emerging nations in the Far East where a language barrier might preclude the average Irish young blogger from gaining valuable commercial insights.
I remember fondly the TV show on BBC, in the sixties I think, called Boys from the Black Staff where the main characters’ famous line was: ‘Gi’z a job, I could do that’. It is my contention with proper encouragement and goodwill the new slogan of opportunity for youth in our time could well be:
‘Giz a blog, I can do that’.
I am writing this letter and adding it to my own blog in the hope that it will jog a few ‘commentators’ not just to analyse the very real social and financial problems being experienced by our unemployed youth but hopefully to also to endeavour to provide a genuine momentum and real opportunity for change in the status of the unemployed. We should therefore give back the initiative to young people themselves in this regard.
We could do worse than to start by banning the appalling practice of asking people who are unemployed through no fault of their own to queue for a meagre ‘dole’ allowance.
Signed as an underemployed Architect (due to this recession)
Colm O’Riain.
Twitter contact: COLMORIAIN
BLOG Contact: http://myplanarc.blogspot.com/
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