The musical film La la land recreated a panorama in which the young protagonists tried to succeed in the world of performing arts in Hollywood or, if they did not succeed, their job expectations were reduced to sporadic jobs in hospitality, so they felt the permanent threat of having to leave the city.
In our particular Lanzarote la la land, we could make the same analogy with respect to the tourism sector. Tourism was until recently one of the very few areas in which young people from Lanzarote could train entirely within the island with legitimate aspirations for professional development.
The rest of the island's business landscape has not invited enthusiasm for obtaining high value-added jobs, due to its majority typology of small, eminently family businesses, in which the management bodies are usually made up of family members.
The local business structure has not resulted in the last decades in the generation of enough jobs for the local population, so we have to suffer an island unemployment rate of 24.38% (Lanzarote data 3Q 2021). Youth unemployment data in the Canary Islands reach a chilling 51.2% (EPA 3Q 2021 20-24 years). The island unemployment figures at the beginning of 2022 seem more hopeful.
The good news is that the pandemic years have consolidated several trends that favor this to change.
Firstly, the growing digitization has multiplied the training alternatives available to young people and the not so young. Now you can learn about any subject or trade through distance universities, specialized training websites and even through YouTube. In general, today the one who does not learn is because he does not want to, a very different panorama to the formative isolation suffered by those who could not afford to study outside the island.
At the same time, society changes at such a rate that the model in which one studied a career and acquired a profession in an immutable way is no longer valid. Nowadays, it is necessary to adapt to changes and recycle periodically in order to gather the necessary skills to remain competitive in the labor market.
Another favorable consequence of digital acceleration is the possibility of developing projects with a digital component from the island. What until a few years ago might have seemed like a pipe dream is today a perfectly plausible reality. To encourage the birth of this type of initiative, entrepreneurs will require support in training, knowledge transfer and financing.
Young residents can also exploit the possibilities of teleworking, opting for multiple jobs available remotely throughout the world, mainly in the fields of technology and services.
The recent boost and dignification of FP is the last necessary lever to achieve a favorable environment of employability for young people, with opportunities in multiple traditional trades and in new emerging sectors such as renewable energies. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are many professions that do not require higher education and that will have high employability in the next 10 years.
The first necessary, but not sufficient, condition is access to quality and specialized education. The next is that young people have the confidence and attitude to set ambitious personal goals and professional projects, in an economic environment that favors it.
As Mother Montserrat del Pozo, known as Sister Innovation, said, "we must instill in them the confidence that they can change the world", each one on their small scale. Establishing that favorable and motivating environment is the obligation of all.
