In recent years, more and more young people feel as if someone has swept them off their feet. They did everything right and as their parents, teachers and the environment in general expected of them. They were studying. They had good grades, they went to college. They graduated. Because they were promised that a job would be waiting for them afterwards. But there is no job.
It is not hard to believe that all such advice was well-intentioned. They were certainly perfectly reasonable from the perspective of our parents' generation. Until the end of the 21st century, the future was actually very predictable from the point of view of an individual who was looking for a way to support himself throughout his life - there was almost no difference between the path to the first job of our great-grandfather, grandfather and even father. Everyone learned a trade or a trade and then did it all their life. As a rule, their duties were of the "do this and this and that" type. They were enforcers.
Today's generation is growing up in a fundamentally different world. Technological development has completely changed our way of life - and in an unimaginably short time. If a few decades ago it was believed that only someone with a really huge amount of capital could start a big company, today anyone can do it with a laptop on their couch. If once it took a lot of effort and resources to make a product global, today a viral post on social media is enough. If once the development of new products was the exclusive domain of institutions and corporations, today we can send a sketch of a product to a 3D printer online and have it in our hands the very next day.
The result of these new possibilities is a flood of new products on the market. If a hundred years ago there was a single baker in the place who knew all the locals by name, today there is a franchise on every corner selling hot buns and sandwiches, and someone works behind the counter through a student. And there is probably also a mobile application with which you can order burek to your home.
In such a world, the competition is much fiercer than ever before. "Old" companies are closing down because they are overtaken by more innovative ones, and new players have significantly fewer employees because they knew how to use modern technologies for a lightning-fast appearance on the market. This is exactly what makes the world unpredictable. There are significantly fewer jobs, and those that remain are much more demanding. The most common tasks of modern workers are "organize this", "fix that" or "solve this problem". Modern workers are creators.
Young people today are forced to specialize much more in order to survive than in the past. And because companies are created and die much faster than before, they are forced to "sell themselves" and market their knowledge significantly more often - either when they are looking for a new job every few years or when they sell their products.
No one systematically teaches young people these skills. They were given everything they needed to succeed through the school system - sometime in 1970. They were raised to be doers and grown into a world that needs creators. The result is one of the highest youth unemployment rates in Europe.
This is happening even though many of them have great ideas, rich knowledge and interesting hobbies. But no one taught them proactivity and the steps to turn them into a source of income. Thus, they become more and more committed to their destiny instead of realizing their potential.
Today's world offers a huge number of opportunities for those who know how to recognize and take advantage of them.
This is proven by many young and successful entrepreneurs who have implemented their ideas. Seen from a historical distance, this generation is the most privileged so far. Just a few clicks away, he has access to all the knowledge in this world and cheap methods to make his products. At the same time, it has healthcare and education, which is free and accessible to everyone, as well as student status with all its benefits, which allows young people many years of unburdened life.
There probably isn't a young person who hasn't been told by their parents to do something serious when they followed their hobby with a spark in their eyes. That it is necessary to have good grades and thus create a future for yourself and not to deal with stupid things. Today, the advice for success is the other way around – side projects provide knowledge, experience and skills that open doors for the future. Even if the business fails, the experience will remain.
I recently met a girl who sews dresses in the shape of Pokemon and sells them through the Etsy platform. I'm sure she's been told countless times by her mother to smarten up. And probably mom changed her mind at least a little when the massive popularity of the Pokemon Go app made it quite a profitable business.
Column author: Matija Goljar, entrepreneurial mentor, head of Prvajalnik
