What's up youths?

A while back I wrote an ode to the millennials, acknowledging that they're not all bloom and gloom. It's with the very millennials in mind that I write this as well. 

Just the other day, millenials in Kenya were trending all for the wrong reasons. This time someone on Facebook was lamenting how whenever there are job interviews, the youths who attend always leave a bitter taste in the mouths of the interviewers. This sparked a hot deabte online with people weighing in on their own experiences conducting interviews and working with millenials.

What came out was this;

✓ Poor letter and CV writing skills. 

✓ Inappropriate dressing.

✓ Lack of etiquette.

✓ General laissez-faire attitude.

✓ Too straightforward and/or blunt.

✓ The education system producing half baked would be workers.

So the debate centred on the fact that youths can learn all the above online and some they have already learnt in highschool. How about the attitude, where did that come from? Is it the harsh world they find themselves in?Why is it that there's so much information for them to better themselves yet they still remain ignorant? It is said that one doesn't fear having too much information, it's the fear of practicing the information obtained that plagues people. Could that be the case? 

These are the questions I ponder about whenever the issue of youths in employment arise. 

To me I think young people are just frustrated, the rate of unemployment is high and the jobs available have less than ideal working conditions, just the bare minimum not to fall under the human rights bar.  They know that we struggle to eke a living under bosses who sexually harass us, under jobs which pay peanuts, under management which doesn't reward good and honest workers, under corruption among others. They see it all and wonder, don't you older generation want to change things? Aren't you tired of the status quo? 

I don't have an answer for all these questions but to keep mentoring and hope that a young man or woman may become self aware, self reliant and productive in future. That's what life skills mentoring is all about, impacting skills applicable in their daily life which result in smart decision making in all aspects whether social or professional.