Young and Jobless

problem of young people trying to find a job is one of the biggest

challenges facing Governments in every corner of the globe.

Youth unemployment is one of the biggest challenges facing the world

today. 73 million young people around the globe cannot find work.

It is creating challenges in countries from America to India and

South Africa. The next half an hour, we meet the interns fighting

back in a battle for pay, the young Italians desperate for a future off

the black market, and the Tunisian women who have been through a

revolution but are still young and jobless.

Most of us take work for granted, or even resent it, but increasingly,

working just isn't an opportunity that is available to young people.

Young adults are three times more likely to be out of work than older

people. In America and Europe, the odds are even worse than that. So to

get ahead of the competition, many are taking on unpaid work experience

or internships. But now companies are using unpaid interns to do the

work of paid employees, and the interns are fighting back.

New York City, a mecca for young people around the world wanting to

supercharge their career. The saying goes that if you can make it here,

you can make it anywhere. Before Lucy Bickerton started studying to

be a doctor, she wanted to produce films, but her first taste of the

business, a four-month internship working long hours and getting paid

nothing, left her questioning her career choice. While I was doing my

internship, it didn't occur to me that I was doing the work of a

production assistant, not an unpaid intern job, whatever that really

means. So after I graduated and started getting paid work as a

production assistant, I realised what I had done before was really

that of a production assistant, what is normally a full-time position in

a TV show. So she sued, and one. I think, yes, you should do work for

free sometimes, but more like in a student situation and a lot of

internships these days are not, they are just entry-level positions that

are underpaid. Erica should know. She won a legal action against her

employer, a New York fashion designer, after months of unpaid

work. Exacerbating the trend of unpaid internships is this sheer

number of young and jobless. The unemployment rate for those between

the ages of 20 and 24 is about to appoint 5%. It is 5% higher than the

rate for adults -- about numeric 12.5%. There are a steady stream of

young people who are willing to trade paper work experience.

Internships have become a disposable Labour workforce. Many companies use

them to fill in at extra busy times or a particular project, and there

has been a disingenuous use of interns that has propped up

companies and certain industries in particular are realising they can

take advantage. As a result of the litigious interns, some companies

are abandoning their unpaid programmes altogether. But not

here. These interns at the Nation magazine of the first to earn a

minimum wage. Instead of legal action, their predecessors published

this letter to their own letter, successfully convincing their boss

to pay them more than just a stipend. We should be addressing the

problem of young people's pathway to opportunity and offering

opportunities that have at their core a fairness of a certain set of

payments commensurate with the work. Competition for jobs is fierce,

particularly for the young. Those entering the workplace want to find

a job, just one that actually pays. In Europe, Spain, Italy, Greece and

Ireland have some of the highest rates of youth unemployment ever.

Many young people are having to work on the black market, cash in hand,

no questions asked but no rights or security either. Hugh Pym has been

in Italy to meet some of the young people trying to find legitimate

work and a better future. It may just to look like pizza

dough, but for these young Italians, they hope it is their passport into

the world of work. Officially, youth unemployment in Italy is running at

40%, but that statistic includes many like Stella, who is working on

the black market at a call centre. She is training to make pizza so she

can find a legitimate job and hopefully get a mortgage and start a

family. How can I grow up a child if I don't have a good job? We don't

have any future probably in this moment. From now to the next ten

years, it is impossible here to have something good for you. I am 28 and

what am I going to do for the next ten years? The Italian economy is a

difficult place. Lack of growth means a lack of real job creation

and the unofficial world of work remains a problem. On some

estimates, the Italian black economy is worth the equivalent of more than

one fifth of the country's official national output. It has long been a

problem for the authorities. The police that they are cracking down

on it. This police chief told me that in

raids on businesses, they discovered 30,000 illegal workers last year.

TRANSLATION: It is very important, it harms many interests. It hurts

the state and the national budget, because taxes are not paid, and our

purposes also to protect honest businesses. Those that comply with

the law suffer unfair competition from other companies that are able

to sell goods and services at lower prices. As job-seekers search for

vacancies that this unemployment centre, they are often up against a

lack of openings because employers find it too costly to hire people.

Italian regulation is seen as an obstacle. That is another reason

younger people are pushed towards illegal jobs. Staph hearsay some of

the younger generation have moved into the black economy and stayed

there -- staph here. TRANSLATION: Before, it was a choice

between education and a permanent job, which gave you the chance to

start a family and make a future for yourself. Unfortunately now more and

more young people feel it is the only option open to them. For

Stella, that black economy option is a necessity. She and other trainees

hope their new skills will be a pathway to work, even if it is a

long way from Italy, where the recipe for legitimate jobs still

doesn't seem to be working. With uncertain prospects at home,

Europe's young are increasingly going abroad to find a better

future. Australia is one place they had to, but is there welcome then

now cooling off? Phil Mercer in Sydney reports.

The surf at Bondi Beach makes Ireland's economy problems a world

away. Migration to Australia is at levels not seen since the 1980s. The

young are abandoning their homelands in their thousands, but building a

new life isn't always easy. A lot harder than people make out. Moved

to Australia, there are loads of jobs. It is not like that at all.

For lads, it is a lot easier, but for girls, it is hard. You need to

look, but there are jobs if you look. Because I was working three

jobs at the time, it was quite hard compared to when I came here,

working one job and getting double the money for what I was getting at

home. So the quality of life here is way better. But I miss home. The

trade unions worry that foreign workers are not only taking jobs

away from young Australians, but that they could be exploited by

unscrupulous employers seeking cheap, imported Labour. We look at

between 15-19 -year-olds, we have 14.5% unemployment. It is better

than other places in the world was still significant enough saying that

we are not absorbing enough young Australians, Labour is being brought

in as an alternative that is being exploited and seen as a cheap form

of Labour. Parts of the economy rely on migrants, but a lack of training

means that many young Australians cannot compete and academics fear

that of the flood of foreign workers under the age of 25 on temporary

visas could make matters worse. It is important to think about where

future immigrants are going and whether that competition could

merge. I don't see it coming at currently, but I can see it being a

problem in the future, somewhere like the Northern Territory, which

has high rates of indigenous youth unemployment but is signalled as an

area for potential regional migration in the future. People are

Australia's greatest asset, an enterprising and diverse population

has been boosted over the years by successive waves of immigration. The

Irish have played a key part in Australia's rich Anglo Celtic

heritage, and more and more young people young people from Ireland are

seeing cities like Sydney as an escape from economic troubles back

home. The Irish government says it is confident that many young

migrants will go home when the scars of the financial crisis eventually

heal. But as the exodus continues, Ireland's loss is Australia's gain.

When it comes to the young and jobless, South Africa is one of the

hardest hit nations on the planet. But the situations is spawning

solutions in some surprising places. We have been to meet some of those

trying to find new ways to help. OK, I have to ask you this.

Congratulations. Go soap your mouth, you naughty girl. Fresh, fearless

and Frank, this presenter says it like it is. She is the voice for

South Africa's Urban News. A variety of issues are up for debate, among

them unemployment. What I know about the youth and the economy is that

the economy does not really register to them until it is time to get a

job. The only time it bothers them is when they are looking for an

income. It is almost like you're waiting your turn for your bit of

history to be fixed. You watch it and you think the politicians well

sorted. I am saying, it will not come around to you. If you don't do

anything to yourself, you will not get anything. One young person

trying to make it for himself is this man, who has been coming to

this spot to try to find work every day for the past three years. I am

29 years. Give me a job. Every day I am coming here, Monday to Sunday. I

cant get a job. Sometimes I get a job for one day a week or two days a

week. I am suffering. He is a plumber, one of many unemployed.

Official statistics say a quarter of South Africa's population is

unemployed, and 70% of those are under 35. He has no formal education

and that makes his job search difficult. It is tough for

university students as well, like this engineering student. I finished

my theoretical courses in 2011 and it has been difficult to break into

the industry, because there is such a big gap between varsity and

industry. In order to graduate from his course, you needed practical

work in the industry. But without practical experience, few can find

the jobs they need. He is training a resolution circle, using a corporate

network providing young engineers with work experience. The economic

downturn happened. And suddenly we had 50% of our students who could

not get a job. Now they are unemployed again. To give you an

idea, we're running into the thousands now. Now remember, we're

talking engineering students. They should be starting new products,

creating new jobs, helping the economy. That is where resolution

came in. It said, let's employ these guys and give them the experience.

Creating jobs is the key target for South Africa. But the general

feeling is that the Government should not be the root of all

solutions. Possibly the Government should stop lying and saying

everything is going to be fine. They should say, we hate to break it to

you, but from now on, do it for yourself.

Getting the right people in the right jobs is crucial for any

country to grow, but it is particularly true of developing

nations like India. Many graduates are struggling to find work and at

the same time many companies are struggling to fill the positions

they have open. This man runs a factory which makes

metal foil. It is a tough task. The plant needs at least 250 skilled

personnel working around the clock over three shifts to meet customer

demand. But that skilled labour is in short supply.

TRANSLATION: From the time that we hire someone, we take three years to

train them fully so they can independently run a machine. This

significantly increases costs. We often suffer wastage. We are paying

more for trained workers -- we don't mind paying more for trained workers

but where do we find them? It is a problem that most industries here

are struggling with, despite the fact the country has one of the

youngest populations in the world. That is because just about one tenth

of those looking to join the workforce every year receive any

skills training. And those who do are in much demand. This man is

attending a mechanical skills course. He joined the Institute

because he found students had no trouble finding a job.

TRANSLATION: This training is really helped me. I have had a couple of

offers from different companies. I think my career will really take

off. That is in sharp contrast with students getting college degrees in

India. The economy has slowed sharply. And fewer jobs for those

finishing university are now available. Even the opportunities

which are on, offer less than what most graduates expect. The job

marketing in India is study so much. We need to get that level of job

also. I don't think that is happening. It should get better. The

better the course, the more opportunity you have. It is not easy

to get a job. I don't think there would be enough job options for us

in the market because market standards are going high and

sometimes going in different directions. The Government has woken

up to this mismatch between skills and jobs. It plans to give

vocational training to 500 million people by 2022. That is a big

target. But it is only when India can reach out to many more like this

man that it can turn its large population into a strength rather

than a weakness. Youth unemployment has been one of

the factors driving the unrest in toppling governments across the Arab

world. The Tunisian revolution sparked what has become known as the

Arab Spring. But the problem of youth unemployment has not been

fixed, and in particular women are increasingly at the back of the

queue when it comes to landing a job.

It is half past ten in the morning and the air is already thick with

cigarette smoke and chatter. A few of the customers in this cafe our

students from local colleges. Most have no class or job to go to. As

Matt has been a regular since she lost her job with a regular since

she lost her job with the advertising company and she is still

finding it hard to adjust. TRANSLATION: The first thing I do

when I opened my eyes in the morning is to check my e-mails, hoping to

find an opportunity or a response to a job I have applied for. I come to

the cafe almost every day, chat to people, look online for work.

Sometimes I will have a few days when I'm depressed and I will spend

the day is sleeping, trying to get more positive.

But the odds are against. Seven out of men -- ten men are last is

participating in the Tunisian workforce, it is less than three in

ten women. According to a leading women's rights activist, the gender

imbalance is based on traditional ideas of women as wives and mothers.

TRANSLATION: There is a mentality that unemployed men must have

priority in getting the jobs will be women stay at home. Even if it

warming is better qualified, it would be given to a man instead

unless it is farming or textile. But they are not getting the jobs that

matter in education, in management. The low levels of female workforce

participation here are not down to a lack of education. Young women make

up 60% of students in universities and their grades are usually better.

And as the country's economic growth, slows, some argues disparity

between -- like the disparity is affecting Tunisia as a whole. We

have a human capital which is no use. It is not used. This is

garbage. This is not profitable. You have resources but these resources

are not used. When Tunisians came out on the

streets almost three years ago and overthrew their president, women

stood alongside men demanding change. But on those streets now,

that optimism has faded. And on the big issue of jobs, the young

Tunisians -- for young Tunisians and women in particular there is little

sign of a breakthrough. As more young people are finding it

hard to find work, they are having to live at home with their parents.

In Spain, that is traditional. What are the secrets of a harmonious

whole life when you are living with mum and dad? Born in 1984, Alberto

is part of a generation of young Spaniards living the effects of the

economic crisis. Aged 26, he moved to find work in London. Aged 29, he

is back. He is living once again with his parents on the edge of

Madrid. I think it is the hardest journey in

Spain right now for the young people. I think it is close to

impossible. Get a job, follow your dreams, because there are no

opportunities here right now. With no full-time job, Alberto is

studying and works part-time for his friend. Jesus's business helps young

Spaniards relocated to the UK. But for Alberto, living back at home has

clear advantages. You don't have to worry about paying taxes or paying

electricity. You are living basically for free. My parents know

me very well. So they know what I like and what I dislike. And this is

why it is so easy to live with them. Basically I don't have to wash my

clothes, I don't have to make my bed, I don't have to buy anything

for me because my mum does all these things for me. The reality is that

living with your parents when you are nearly 30, is nothing new in

Spain or strange. But with such high levels of youth unemployment, more

young people are moving back on. What advice can Alberto and his

parents offer? I have to be patient with them a lot

of times because they never think that I am 29. I think they still

think I am 18. They are all dead are worried about me, when I am going,

what I am going to do, with who I am going.

So living at home with your parents does not have to be something

negative. But it is just a reality for more young people and families

in today's Spain. We have seen just how bad the situation is in many

countries. Youth unemployment is rising towards the top of the

political agenda. No government wants to be the next to fall because

it's young people see no hope. Over the next few months, the European

Union will be spending billions trying to get young people into

work. Many wonder how big the impact will be but it is a measure of just

how seriously the world is taking this epidemic of youth

unemployment. You can find out more about the

issue in a special report online. Many thanks for watching.

Hello, this is Breakfast, with John Kay and Sian Lloyd.

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