The Cause of High Youth Unemployment Rates in Taiwan
According to the Ministry of Labor (2023), one in every eleven young people is unemployed on average in Taiwan. The high youth unemployment rates may bring some problems to our society. For example, it may intensify the wealth inequality which may lead to social unrest and conflicts. The causes of high youth unemployment rates in Taiwan can be attributed to three reasons.
First of all, lack of working experience is one of the reasons for unemployment among young people. In Taiwan’s market, most companies require employees to have a year of work experience at least. However, many young candidates have left campus in less than one year and don’t really spend time on accumulating experience in the workplace. As a result, it was hard for them to enter the workforce and start their first job. Even if they get a job, they may easily encounter difficulties. Due to their lack of experience, they probably do not have enough knowledge to solve problems.
Next, another reason resulting in unemployment
is that graduates are often hard to make study into
practice. Although they may be able to learn the
subject well or get high scores in the exam, they
usually can’t apply what they’ve learned in the work.
There is a gap between theory and practice. Because
the school offers mostly theory courses, there are not
enough practical courses students can choose to study. Students may not experience corporate operation and working ethics early. In consequence, it is hard for them to apply their knowledge into practice in the workplace.
Finally, the other reason is voluntary unemployment. It is a common phenomenon that people would rather choose to stay unemployed than work in an unsatisfactory workplace. Young people nowadays have more stress from families, relatives, friends, and even the whole society if they can’t meet the expectations of social values. Under this circumstance, it may be harder for them to get their foot in the door to find the first job. Sometimes, even though they get into the
workforce, they may not stay there for a long time. As a consequence of being full of challenges in the workplace, fresh graduates need time to adapt to the environment. If they have lower stress resistance and poor ability to solve problems, they may easily be tired of the job and even leave the workplace.
These are the reasons why young people have high unemployment rates in Taiwan. People should have enough experience to obtain a job. If they can put their knowledge into practice, they may have more opportunities to be employed. Furthermore, they should have the ability to adapt to the environment to stay in the workforce although it is not satisfying in the beginning. If the government can improve the three problems and help youngsters to train their ability, the high unemployment rates may be decreased.
Sources:
Ministry of Labor(2023) Analysis of youth labor
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