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Young people between jobs crisis and a new beginning
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00:06how happy are you as a young adult happiness researchers are sounding the
00:11alarm young people around the world are unhappier than ever they're now more
00:15worried stressed out and depressed than they used to be one reason why excessive
00:22social media use girls are suffering due to constant comparison with unrealistic
00:27ideal body shapes other reasons include fear of climate change and restrictions from the
00:34COVID-19 pandemic worries about finding a job old age poverty rising debt and housing shortages
00:42are also causing dissatisfaction but the economy needs the young generation
00:47youth unemployment that's today's topic on made
01:03what do young people in Kenya Bangladesh and Nepal have in common they're unhappy with too few jobs
01:11and government corruption Gen Z is taking to the streets
01:18we all share a global frustration a sense of understanding where we see that our governments
01:23are not doing enough or our governments are working against us the youth they don't have
01:28a route to proper employment and then they have to leave the country and if they're in the country
01:35then they don't have jobs and there's a lot of frustration and that frustration has been boiling
01:41over in 2024 protests by young people helped to topple the government in Bangladesh and this year in
01:48Nepal in Kenya the protests ended in bloodshed are there lessons to be learned here everyday life did
01:56return quickly enough in the capital of Bangladesh but the legacy of the protests is still visible in
02:01Dhaka what was the source of so much anger among young students here the system was not fair qualified
02:09people who are not getting government jobs and the safety and security that comes with government jobs
02:14are very lucrative and that was the issue that triggered the whole situation but it went into
02:20a violent protest when the government forces or the political forces attacked on them and it's a
02:26similar scenario in many other countries on different continents too last year a new budget proposal in
02:32Kenya sparked outrage although high prices were not the only issue it was about taxes that were to be
02:40increased on different things but mostly on the basic needs you know like food on things like
02:47sanitary products you know for women and girls we already have a huge population of women and girls that
02:52cannot afford this and you want to increase these prices there was also about medicine you know about
02:58hospitals about health care people are going to hospitals and being turned away and you don't have
03:03money to pay out of pocket back in Asia tensions escalated dramatically in Nepal in early September with
03:11protests erupting due to a government ban on social media platforms the resulting crackdown by security forces
03:17left dozens of people dead and prompted the prime minister to resign the youth in these countries often they are
03:26educated but under employed they feel that they are paying the prices for systematic failures while a small
03:36elite or political you know class reaps the reward of the growth that we have been seeing the problems are
03:43familiar ones everywhere stagnant wages too few jobs high inflation and housing shortages and corruption is also
03:52rampant in a global survey of 180 countries Bangladesh ranks particularly poorly in 151st place with Nepal
04:01and Kenya not much better for Ashraf ulalum Khan and his fellow students corruption is indeed a massive issue
04:09for his generation we had structural barriers and it was not easy to come up with new ideas in Bangladesh
04:17it
04:17was not easy to start something new because of the bureaucratic red taps and everything the corruption and
04:22all so I think the economy will bounce back very soon if we can check the corruption part because that
04:29ends
04:29everything he's applying for jobs now before even having graduated due to the tough situation that might
04:36well await him as a student of social science we always have the option to work in humanitarian projects
04:42especially the NGOs and I NGOs in Bangladesh but with the global context in mind the fundings are being
04:49loosened and we have challenges there as well he's one of many young people who are thinking about leaving the
04:56country and brain drain is a growing problem for Kenya and Nepal too an additional factor here is that
05:02human capital flight also makes the domestic economy more dependent on the income the people send back home Nepal being
05:09a good
05:09example while five years ago remittances amounted to over eight billion US dollars by 2024 that figure
05:16had more than trebled to almost 29 billion Nepal's over reliance on remittance and weak job creation
05:22combined with poor education system mismatched skills and policy inconsistency created a perfect strong
05:30the political instability could lead to cutting off the channels of remittance in the most extreme case
05:37exchange rate changes could could interfere with real transfers of resources back home and dissatisfaction
05:46I mean imagine if a large number of expatriates earning and sending money back home suddenly became
05:53disaffected because of these movements maybe because they support them and maybe they're against repression of young people
06:02another big issue is purchasing power while real wages in Bangladesh were increasing slightly a few years ago
06:09more recently they've been in decline and fell by almost two percent in 2024 what needs to happen in these
06:17countries for the situation to improve
06:20what the politicians can do is uh they can focus more on well the practical stuff keeping inflation down uh
06:29keeping prices of essentials under control
06:32but at the same time they can work on developing their infrastructure building jobs that's the medium and long term
06:39plan
06:40which echoes what ashraf ul alum khan says too feeling that things are changing too slowly for young people
06:47so did taking to the streets even help and what hope does he have for his country
06:54right now my main concern is the overall transformation and where we are standing as a nation and as a
07:03student i am very unsure about the
07:05fundamental reforms and what are we expecting because the things are very unclear and i see that
07:11like millions are there we are very confused and we are not clearly seeing what's going to happen to our
07:17nation
07:18with graduation a few months away he's already job seeking and not just in bangladesh he would love to
07:24stay in his country but if no suitable positions are available he'd be prepared to join the brain drain abroad
07:36maybe he could end up at a berlin startup innovative flexible no fear of failure that's how many young
07:43people from all over the world enter the startup scene in berlin but the really big boom is over
07:512024 saw a record number of insolvencies is berlin really still an important startup metropolis
08:01at one time berlin's tech startup hub was a powerful magnet attracting skilled migrants from
08:06all over the world but global challenges and germany's own struggles have dimmed the spark of
08:11berlin's startups the city which used to be called poor and sexy 10 years back is no longer it is
08:18it's not
08:18poor maybe the people are that then the cost of living is quite high now startups face challenges as do
08:25the migrants who drive much of berlin's ecosystem one of the major challenges that immigrant entrepreneurs
08:31will face is about paperwork and language job listings are declining some are migrating once again others
08:38have reasons to stay we are expecting a baby you don't really consider to move into another country
08:44because things will be made more difficult for my family members what happened to berlin's startups can
08:51the city rekindle the flame let's ask the professionals in the tech scene born in afghanistan and raised in
08:58pakistan emal moved to germany in 2015 after being granted a scholarship in machine learning he couldn't
09:04wait to move to berlin so when i was in coblins uh berlin was attractive not only because of the
09:11english
09:11speaking city but also because it's a startup hub of europe and borak came to berlin after finding a job
09:20in
09:20his field when i moved in 2019 i was super excited also like the scene was very lively berlin is
09:29home to
09:29around 3.7 million people and nearly one in four residents is indeed a foreigner among the foreign
09:35residents the largest communities come from turkey ukraine poland syria and india to earning her mba in
09:43india harsha moved to berlin in 2015 throughout her career she has already worked with 200 startups
09:50what could be berlin's unique selling proposition let's call it for the founders is the depth and
09:55diversity of the talent force there is a lot of big migrant communities and they are very risk friendly
10:01they are they are bringing their culture they're bringing their insights into international markets here
10:07so speaking of three biggest challenges in berlin for immigrant entrepreneurs legal things housing
10:14it's very hard to find an apartment and the third one is economy the economy is having a very bad
10:20downturn right now created a lot of challenges for entrepreneurs to raise capital unfortunately one of
10:26my startups voice kit had to go through the same uh problem we couldn't raise more capital and had to
10:34liquidate it in 2024 berlin saw a 27 increase in insolvencies compared to 2023 previously it was
10:43still a little bit easier for foreigners to get early stage money based on ideas and some early
10:49demonstration of proof of concept status forest nowadays space a lot earlier requests for traction and
10:56high due diligence from investors for the first time in a decade germany's unemployment has surpassed
11:02three million people or six point four percent in berlin the rate is far above that at ten point five
11:07percent among foreign workers in germany it's almost 15 percent leaving migrants among the most vulnerable
11:13on the labor market with over 10 years of experience and no career breaks borak thought finding a new job
11:20would be easier averagely i'm applying 30 40 positions in a month generally i got like 90 percent like
11:29automatic rejections i think that the supply and demand balance is very off at the moment so they're
11:35like huge demand but very few job openings ai is booming worldwide and could also revive berlin's
11:43ecosystem david a native spanish speaker who launched a language learning app in 2017 says the
11:50app brings steady revenue but can ai also threaten startups like is yeah definitely ai has changed a lot of
11:56ways in which uh everyone goes to work uh especially if you are a founder that has a product because
12:03of course it can threaten your way of life if the product that you have can be easily replaced if
12:12we
12:12look at the current challenges of our generation these are the challenges that are too big for us to
12:17solve so quickly on our own so i see ai more as an opportunity that we can use it let's
12:23let's work on climate
12:24change with this topic let's work on biodiversity what i'm not a big fan of is not being mindful
12:31of how we use ai who's building it what's feeding into the algorithm berlin leads germany's ai industry
12:38with nearly one in three ai startups based in the capital but ken berlin's ai startups stay sustainable
12:45so that they do not become profitable it could turn into a bubble and it will burst so when people
12:51are
12:51paying you money that is a very good validator whether your startup is actually something that
12:58worth building further and will become sustainable stay focused entirely on revenue and on sales and
13:04making money what's holding germany back stability and precision have long been its strengths yet many
13:10say that innovation is lacking and the country often struggles to embrace it innovation often
13:17uh takes that mentality of moving fast and breaking things the current economical situation is
13:24signaling that we need to take more risks and do things more unconventionally so that we can take
13:30germany back on it as economical best position it deserves to be startup from the nature that it moves
13:37fast and break things but culturally here like nobody wants to move fast and nobody wants to break things
13:43people in germany do not just dream about growing up and working in a startup they are built to find
13:49some risk-free professions in a very stable shop and that's why they like to work in their corporations
13:54despite stagnation many remain hopeful that berlin's startup scene will thrive again what brought me to
14:00berlin is the vibrant startup ecosystem but what kept me here is actually the challenge of the ecosystem
14:07since i'm living in berlin i'm building a small nest for my two little children i would stay positive
14:14and i would say yes berlin is still competitive are you optimistic about berlin's startup ecosystem
14:20and the future of the german economy
14:27it's not just startups that draw young people to germany service jobs like those in nursing restaurants or
14:34hotels are in urgent need of skilled workers more and more people from asia are filling in to keep
14:40the economy going such as at this theme park in southwestern germany europa park but getting a job here is
14:49often just the first hurdle for young people germany is hiring and this guy has got a job at the
14:58country's
14:59biggest theme park this moment opened a new chapter in my life max it now works at one of europa
15:06park's
15:06hotels the visa process took a bit long about a year foreign workers don't just power hotels they are
15:12behind the attractions the shops and all the entertainment and fun with all the all the workers
15:17from abroad we would have closed half of the park we had issues to fill the positions weekends and
15:24holidays and the evening shifts more than 19 000 workers are needed for hospitality and restaurant
15:30jobs across germany so win-win for europa park and max it but he wasn't prepared for the dialect is
15:37a
15:37bit difficult to understand we only learned standard german at first it was a culture shock for us
15:43housing is scarce across germany so he shares a flat in one of europa park's staff apartments
15:48here's where i live with my flatmate our flats a bit small but it's cozy reality check is he happy
15:56in
15:56his new home actually yes i'm happy but when it comes to homesickness it's a bit strange to stay
16:04here without my family i have a son he's two years old and my wife in the next few months
16:11they'll be here
16:13too until then he makes the best out of his spare time and yes i can ride the roller coaster
16:19for free
16:24and what's the situation like for young job seekers in china not good youth unemployment in 2025 has been
16:32extremely high at nearly 19 percent college graduates in particular are having a hard time finding good
16:39jobs many are having to make do with menial work tangping they call it or lying flat it's also a
16:47form
16:48of protest but others are looking for different solutions
16:54praying for a job when all else fails at llama temple in beijing graduates are hoping for a change of
17:01fortune
17:04they've gone through grueling university entrance exams and decades of study
17:08in the hopes of a better life one that has yet to materialize
17:16i came here to pray for a smooth life and a successful career my ideal job is to work in
17:23a
17:23stable environment
17:27before even someone with a college degree could easily find a job but now even graduates struggle to find work
17:35in a local youth unemployment in china has surged with latest figures nearing 19 percent this summer
17:43when china's largest ever cohort of graduates entered the job market for the first time over 12 million of
17:50them the graduate jobs downturn is part of a wider economic slowdown in china
17:58as the Chinese real estate sector slumps for a fifth straight year.
18:04And carmakers and other manufacturers struggle with oversupply.
18:09On top of that, academic Roy Ying says universities are not equipping graduates
18:14with skills employers are actually looking for.
18:18Although I'm in academia, I actually have a feeling that we as teachers,
18:23we have some responsibility.
18:25Because students don't get to choose what we teach.
18:29The graduate job crisis has given rise to a new type of industry,
18:35pretending to work.
18:37Graduates pay a small fee to spend the day in an office environment
18:40that looks just like the real thing.
18:44One of those firms told us Chinese authorities had instructed them
18:47not to speak to journalists.
18:49And they asked us not to talk about unemployment rates in this report.
18:54But while all the firms we contacted refused to appear on camera,
18:58on Chinese social media, fake offices are an open secret and a running joke.
19:04Ying warns that no matter how desperate graduates are for a job,
19:08they should never use these types of firms to lie on their CV.
19:14And if there's anything that on their CV that is hanky-panky, dodgy,
19:22that's probably the first thing out the door.
19:26In a bid to turn the tide, Beijing is offering subsidies to companies that hire unemployed young people
19:32and is developing a traffic light system for university courses,
19:36red for oversubscribed, and green for a course deemed in the interests of the nation.
19:48What exactly is waste?
19:50Broken household appliances, packaging, worn-out clothing,
19:55leftover materials from production.
19:57All things that someone wants to get rid of because they're no longer of any use to them.
20:04Stop! Some people say there's no such thing as waste.
20:08You can make something new from any material.
20:11Sonali Padke from India has made a job of it.
20:23Till now, humanity has thought about creating just single-use material.
20:28We have to think about what is the second, third, fourth use of the same material
20:33and whether we can look at it differently
20:36and create something which was not looked upon as a possibility before.
20:42I'm Sonali Padke from Studio Alternatives
20:44and we work in the field of upcycling
20:46as well as various projects that we do with scrap.
20:55We want this to become a hub for designers,
20:58for young students to come and explore material.
21:05Let's say you buy something online or, you know, even from a shop.
21:09It comes with a set of instruction manuals
21:11and it comes with safety and, you know, how to use it and everything else.
21:15But there are no instructions on how to throw it, on how to take it apart.
21:28We should go a step ahead when we make our products,
21:31whether we can also tell people how to disassemble it when you're done with it.
21:37So you take charge of what should happen to it
21:40and not just dump it somewhere.
21:48With upcycling, it's a lot of experimentation.
21:50We have conducted workshops.
21:52We do projects mostly for individuals or also corporates
21:56where the scrap from corporates we receive here
21:59and we've done something with tyres,
22:01we've done something with old furniture,
22:03we've refurbished things and put it back in spaces.
22:07Can scrap of one entity become an input to another entity
22:12and can we work on such different models?
22:16For example, we needed like one meter pipes,
22:20metal pipes for a project
22:21and the thing was that I had to buy bigger section of pipes
22:25in the market, we get 20 feet or 18 feet pipes.
22:29And I was talking to somebody we know, nearby fabricator
22:32and for him that one meter pipe was waste
22:34because in his project he could not have any joints.
22:37So suddenly, see, there is a lot of value that is there even economically.
22:43It makes sense for both parties.
22:46So with scrap also, can we have a platform where people are connected
22:50and before it is even called as waste,
22:53it becomes a material that can be reutilised at that scale itself.
23:06Sahara and I both believe that since we are located in this village,
23:10in this community,
23:11let us say, can we make a difference to the five kilometer radius
23:14that we are already in?
23:26So we are coming up with a scrap library for schools especially.
23:30So from an very early age,
23:31we give a material library of say 25 material to start with.
23:41We will give tool sets that go with the scrap
23:44and we have instructions on how to use the scrap to create something.
23:48It could be art and craft,
23:49it could be a part of your regular, you know, models that you do in schools,
23:53maybe a part of geography or other subjects that you are learning.
24:04So we feel as early as possible,
24:07we have to cut this notion that this is garbage.
24:09You have to start looking at it as a resource.
24:15Let's say for a book cover,
24:17why do you need to buy brown paper from the shop?
24:19Can you just maybe stitch the wrappers that you have from your chocolates or chips packets?
24:24Can you stitch it?
24:25Can you make a waterproof cover out of it?
24:28So we are saying we are salvaging material
24:30and we are trying to work on it to increase the life of material.
24:47We have a concept that because it is waste or scrap, it has to be free.
24:53Upcycling, essentially, it has to come up as a business.
24:56It has to have products which hold their space in the market.
25:03You can't ask people to buy something because it makes more sense
25:07as being a sustainable product or a green product,
25:10but somebody should buy it because they like it.
25:12So it has to be aesthetic, it has to be good-looking, well-made
25:15and functionally perfect at par with other products.
25:23The perception that upcycling has to be cheap,
25:25that has to be challenged and that has to be explained
25:27because you are saving on material,
25:30but you are going to end up paying more on labour and transport and design costs.
25:37Again, the life of what you've created should be long enough
25:39that the energy and the processes that are going behind it are justified.
25:50That's it for today's episode of MADE,
25:53about young people who are becoming increasingly dissatisfied,
25:56the search for jobs and a solution that also helps the environment.
26:00See you next time.
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