USA: Interesting new idea for dealing with youth underemployment and inclusivity

It was inspiring to come across this idea. Concepts like underemployment, inclusiveness, and mobilizing rather than networking.

COOP Careers

Our mission: Overcoming underemployment through digital skills and peer connections.

Challenge
Every college grad deserves a fair shot at a meaningful, upwardly mobile career. That’s the promise of higher education in America, and every year, millions of young people enroll, persist, and graduate on this premise, often with great sacrifice.

Yet nationwide, half of college grads (ages 21-27) are unemployed or underemployed, including more than two thirds of black college grads. (CEPR)

Even in the digital economy, a bachelor’s degree is not enough. We need social capital—connections, casual favors, timely referrals—as much as we need skills. These favors travel quickly and organically across strong and weak social ties, but rarely across racial or economic lines.

Ultimately, a labor market powered by relationships will only reinforce the status quo, amplifying residential and school segregation in the professional sphere.

Are you learning through lockdown?

The global pandemic seems to have exaggerated what was already present in our communities. Some of us had access to technology, some of us did not. Some of us were in exciting careers with room for growth, some of us were not. Some of us were finding the daily grind manageable, some of us were not.

The survey found that there had been high levels of participation in learning during lockdown. Over two in five (43%) – 22 million people across the UK – had taken part in some form of ‘lockdown learning’.

However, participation varied enormously across different groups, with those who could most benefit being least likely to take part;

Just one in five (20%) adults who left school at the first opportunity took part in lockdown learning, compared to three in five (57%) adults who stayed in education until 21;
Adults in lower socio economic groups (29%) were half as likely to take part in lockdown learning compared to adults in higher socio economic groups (57%);
Just one in three (34%) adults who were out of work took part in lockdown learning, compared to over half (52%) of those who were in employment.

Findings from the 2020 Adult Participation in Learning Survey, Learning and Work Institute

https://learningandwork.org.uk/resources/research-and-reports/learning-through-lockdown/

As we eat, let us think about how our food came to be and, more importantly, how it could come to be

Another industry deserving attention during our quarantine is the agricultural industry. All over the world humans picking the food we eat are exploited with inhumane working and living conditions including unsafe work practices, inadequate lodgings, meager or nonexistent wages…in a sense, modern day slavery.

When we get back to work, what are the new and improved labour practices in a sustainable agricultural industry?

Across the globe, governments are imposing travel limits in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus. The unintended consequence is a squeeze on migrant labor that’s a cornerstone of food production.

Global Harvests at Risk With Travel Limits Squeezing Labor

He called for borders between the UK and other countries to remain open for imports and exports, and for farm workers to be supplied with protective equipment to enable them to carry on with their jobs safely amid the coronavirus lockdown. “The food sector comes under the critical infrastructure sector, along with healthcare and emergency services,” he said.

Coronavirus measures could cause global food shortage, UN warns

Every year in southern Europe, five million tonnes of fruit and vegetables are harvested for supermarket shelves. But those supermarkets are seeking ever lower prices, and are using the influx of migrants and illegal seasonal workers to cut costs. Our reporters went to meet the few workers brave enough to speak out against this illegal system – and the people who try to help those who have become modern-day slaves.

Modern-day slaves: Europe’s fruit pickers

University aims to educate 50,000 refugees worldwide by 2022 By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

To make it work, LeBlanc is hoping to emulate many of the things that have worked in the Rwandan programs. Students there are served lunch every day, have access to laptops and can receive mentoring, career coaching and help with English. Together with its partner on the ground, Kepler, a nonprofit university that provides education in Africa, the university offers online degree programs in business, communications and health care management.

http://www.startribune.com/university-aims-to-educate-50-000-refugees-worldwide-by-2022/439894073/

Why income inequality is bad for growth By John Schmitt

“Focusing exclusively on growth and assuming that its benefits will automatically trickle down,” the report says, “may undermine growth in the long run.” But, policies that help in “limiting or—ideally—reversing the long-run rise in inequality would not only make societies less unfair, but also richer.” Specific policies discussed include “raising marginal tax rates on the rich … improving tax compliance, eliminating or scaling back tax deductions that tend to benefit higher earners disproportionately, and … reassessing the role of taxes on all forms of property and wealth.”

https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/06/why-income-inequality-is-bad-for-growth/#disqus_thread