Editorial: The lost generation

10/02-12 kl. 11:08 Debate

Photo: Jesusito, creative commons license Local bigwigs toast with champagne after a local election in Avilas, Spain in 2011. Behind, the 'indignado' protesters have had enough

Students and graduates that leave university now are being cheated out of their future, writes the editor of the University Post

by Mike Young

In German, the term is Generation Praktikum.

You could also call them a ‘precariat’, a generation of interns that only have a precarious toehold on the job market.

As Europe wades through economic mud, university graduates coming out now have little chance of landing a job.

Privileged clique

It is the harsh, boom and bust logic of generations and job markets: In boom times, new students are hired by businesses and institutions. In times of bust, the few jobs that are there get snapped up by those who already have the network and experience.

In southern Europe, an already hard-hit cohort of students faces youth unemployment rates that leave little hope. Spain had a youth unemployment rate of 45 per cent in mid-2011 and it hasn’t got any better. Greece had nearly 40 last summer, and is now tottering on the brink of bankruptcy.

In these countries, as well as up here in northern Europe, real jobs are kept for the lucky, previous, generation of graduates. It is now a privileged clique of workers and staff, unionised and with high job protection, services and privileges.

Time to be 'indignant'

Now and in the coming months, the University Post, will put a special focus on what we call the Lost Generation.

It will not be all gloom. The ‘Indignado’ protests in Spain show that this generation will not go dying into the night. And disparate protest initiatives like the ones in Britain against university cuts, Occupy Wall Street in the US, and the anti-ACTA movement show that this generation is not one that will be bludgeoned by a spoilt 1990s graduates’ cohort holding on to their privileges, copyrights and paychecks.

We at the University Post will offer stories of graduates’ pain and suffering. We will urge graduates to find common cause. We will also offer tips for extending networks, for making a life halfway in to that elusive, paid job market, and (who knows?) maybe, sometime in the future, landing that cool job.

miy@adm.ku.dk

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2 comments

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14/02-12 kl. 14:37 Dan Hirslund:

Is it a lack of jobs or the economic system that is the problem?

Well-written editorial. The current conflict is clearly generational and it is important not to loose sight of. It is, however, also and more importantly systemic; it is about a model for welfare that has failed partly because it built on a historic advantageous position of European economy and an inability to build lasting socio-political institutions to channel the aspiration of the young generations. In this light, the 'precariat' (nice term!) is a symptom and not the root of the problem, which lies in the social and economic configurations of the neocapitalist system. 'Getting a job' is therefore the last thing we should advocate for the new graduates, at least if this is understood within the existing logic of proletarized labor whether within the academy or as 'intellectual' labor in general. We need a new model of economic productivity that is not at war with social welfare and this requires a rethinking of something as basic as paid work. Since it is not available anyway, this might prove a good time to do so.

10/02-12 kl. 22:19 Robert Jensen:

Praktikanter / student interns

A thought provoking article. The author has hit squarely on the current Zeitgeist, tough times for young people in Europe. However, when I talk to interns and strongly criticise the intern system, they all disagree with me. It goes deeply against my Protestant background that hard work in a professional workplace is rewarded with a pat on the back. It is reprehensible to take on a bright, enthusiastic young person working full time and not pay them a salary. The intern system has got to go. It is the cause of the problem.

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