23% of young Brazilians neither work nor study

A survey of Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea) reveals that 23% of young Brazilians neither work nor study, mostly women and low income, one of the highest percentages of young people in this situation among nine countries in Latin America and Caribbean. Meanwhile, 49% dedicate themselves exclusively to studying or training, 13% only work and 15% work and study at the same time.

The reasons for this scenario, according to the study, are problems with cognitive and socio-emotional skills, lack of public policies, family obligations with relatives and children, among others. In the same group are Mexico, with 25% of young people who neither study nor work, and El Salvador, with 24%. At the other extreme is Chile, where only 14% of young people surveyed are in this situation. The average for the region is 21% of young people, equivalent to 20 million people, who neither study nor work.

The Millennials Study in America and the Caribbean: Work or Study? on young Latin Americans was launched today (3) during a seminar at Ipea, in Brasília. The data involve more than 15,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 from nine countries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

Data

According to the survey, although the analysis may lead to the idea that young people are idle and unproductive, 31% of them are looking for work, mainly men, and more than half, 64%, are dedicated to domestic and family care work, mainly women. “That is, contrary to established conventions, this study proves that most of the neither-nor are not young people without obligations, but rather perform other productive activities”, says the research.

Only 3% of them do not perform any of these tasks or have a disability that prevents them from studying or working. However, rates are highest in Brazil and Chile, with approximately 10% of youth apparently inactive.

For Ipea researcher Joana Costa, the results are quite optimistic, as it shows that young people are not lazy. “But they are young people who have access to low-quality education and who, therefore, find it difficult in the job market. In fact, managers and public policies have to look after them a little more”, he warned.

Public policy

The improvement of services and subsidies for transport and a greater offer of child care, so that women can reconciling work and study with household chores, are policies that can be implemented even in the short term, according to Joan.

Based on the information, the researchers also indicate the need for investments in training and education and suggest policy actions to help young people make a successful transition from their studies to the job market work.

Considering the uncertainty and levels of misinformation about the labor market, for them [young people] it is essential to strengthen guidance and information systems on the work and give continuity to policies aimed at reducing limitations on training young people, with programs such as the National Access to Technical Education and Employment (Pronatec). “The conditional transfer and scholarship programs were successful in terms of coverage results”, says the study.

According to Ipea, the private sector can also contribute to improving the skills and employability of young people, through adherence to training programs. young apprentices and encouraging the development of socio-emotional skills required by employers, such as self-confidence, leadership and teamwork team.

In Brazil, for example, according to data presented by Ipea, there is low adherence to the Young Apprentice program. From 2012 to 2015, the number of young people participating reached 1.3 million, however this is the annual potential of young people eligible for the program.

It is still necessary to redouble efforts to more decisively reduce the pregnancy rate of adolescents and other risk behaviors strongly related to school dropout among women and very early labor insertion among men.

knowledge and skills

Opportunities to access education, average years of schooling, socioeconomic status and other elements such as early parenthood or the family environment, are some of the main factors that influence young people's decision about work and study, according to the search. In all countries, the prevalence of early motherhood or fatherhood is higher among young people outside the educational system and the labor market.

The research brings less conventional variables, such as the information that young people have about the functioning of the labor market, their aspirations, expectations and cognitive and socioemotional. For researchers, young people do not have enough information about the remuneration they can obtain in each level of schooling, which could lead them to make wrong decisions about investing in their education. In the case of Haiti and Mexico, this fraction of young people with biased information can exceed 40%.

The survey also points out that 40% of young people are not able to perform very simple and useful for your day to day life and many lack technical skills for the new market of work. But there are also encouraging results. The analyzed young people, with the exception of the Haitians, are very easy to deal with technological devices, as well as having high socio-emotional skills. Young people in the region have high levels of self-esteem, self-efficacy, which is the ability to organize themselves to achieve their own goals, and perseverance.

According to research, delays in cognitive skills are important and can limit the professional performance of young people, as well as the lack of other relevant socio-emotional characteristics, such as leadership, teamwork and responsibility. Added to this is the fact that 70% of young people who work are employed in informal activities. Among those working in the formal market, there is high labor turnover, which discourages employers from investing in training.

Brazilian reality

In Brazil there are about 33 million young people aged between 15 and 24 years old, which corresponds to more than 17% of the population. According to Ipea researcher Enid Rocha, the country is experiencing a moment of demographic bonus, when the active population is greater that the dependent population, which are children and the elderly, in addition to being in a youth wave, which is the apex of the young population.

“It is a time when countries are taking the opportunity to invest in their youth. We must go back to talking about policies for youth, which were already broader, so as not to produce more inequality and so that our demographic bonus does not become a burden, ”he said.

In addition to the constant indications in the study, Enid also highlights the importance of specific health policies for young people with mental health problems, trauma and depression.

The survey was carried out in partnership between Ipea and Fundación Espacio Público, from Chile, the Research Center for Development (IRDC), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), with support from the International Policy Center for Growth Inclusive (IPC-IG). The information is from Agência Brasil.