“One-third of the 1.8 billion young people on the planet do not attend school, are unemployed, or work in informal employment. Three out of four people are women, and 90% of people live in developing economies.”
Dr Lakshmi Unnithan*
Climate change is well underway and poses a critical threat to the future. We face an existential threat to the global ecosystem and humanity’s existence and hence should transition to net zero emissions and draw down the excess greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. The Climate Crisis has also affected the youth in marginalised communities and they remain confused and stressed over climate-related disasters adding to the fear of unemployment and lack of skilling.
70 youth from the average middle class and marginalised communities of distant villages in Kerala gathered at M S Swaminathan Research Foundation at Wayanad to up-skill novel technologies in Agriculture and to discuss the challenges they face and the road ahead. Many voices were from youth who suffer the worst impact of climate change. This programme was supported by the Kerala Council for Science, Technology and Environment and this programme follows the modules of the Agricultural Skill Council of India.
One-third of the 1.8 billion young people on the planet do not attend school, are unemployed, or work in informal employment. Three out of four people are women, and 90% of people live in developing economies. The youth are having a hard time, moving abroad and working in fields that make life difficult!
The Global Employment Trends for Young 2024 (GET for Youth) report issues a warning, stating that the young unemployment rate in 2023, at 13.8%, or 64.9 million people, is lower than the prepandemic rate of 13.8% in 2019 and marks a 15year low. It is anticipated to decline even further, to 12.8% for this and the following year. We don’t have the “luxury” of excluding any industries in rural areas, these areas only account up 46% of the nation’s GDP, with 80% of workers engaged in related industries like agriculture.
“Today’s youth lack meaningful employment and are feeling insecure and unable to provide a better life for themselves and their families, thereby none of us can look forward to a solid future. Today’s kids are becoming increasingly anxious due to the inadequate growth of good occupations, according to Basil Varghese, an arts graduate whose parents are farmers, who are interested in agriculture and was in the skilling programme trying to get himself technically trained in Tissue Culture.
Basil Varghese, Wayanad, Kerala, (29Y) creates incredible terrariums that are stunning pieces of art. These verdant terrariums embrace the natural world and help us become closer to nature. Basil is currently working to hone his tissue culture skills and establish a Tissue Culture Lab where he can conserve, safeguard, and protect the endangered species in nature and incorporate them into his terrariums.
“Youth are coping with the changing nature of work, automation, digitization, AI along with population shifts, health crises, climate change, conflict, and urbanization in the face of rising unemployment,” says Rashid. In the recent Wayanad, Kerala, landslide, he lost his extended family. Mohammed Riyadh, a 12th-grade dropout, was never able to complete his degree program. He is presently enrolled in the DBT skilling program in the hopes of entering the farming and agriculture industry, but he lacks the necessary knowledge and skills. At the moment, he works at a showroom as a sales professional. The responsible route to preserving the environment is to save the planet. I’m afraid right now,” admits Mohammed Riyadh, Wayanad, Kerala (19Y).
Neenu Babu, Wayanad, Kerala (28) a PhD Scholar at Calicut University, highlights the significant inequality in opportunities for young people, particularly for young women, individuals with limited financial resources, and those from minority backgrounds.
“Due to unequal access to education, no access to good resources, and lack of skilling, millions of young people are unable to pursue a better future. Neenu, who is pursuing her PhD, came to improve her knowledge of Tissue culture as there were no skilling opportunities available in her postgraduate programme at the university. She required hands-on training to enhance her PhD program. If the postgraduate degree program does not offer adequate skilling opportunities, what alternative options are available”, asks Neenu.
Adil Siyad, Calicut, Kerala (24Y) expressed that he feels compelled to pursue an educational and career path that will equip him with the knowledge necessary to combat the challenges of climate change.
“The impact of climate change has led me to reconsider my career plans. He has decided to take a gap year to meet and network with numerous experts and scientists to determine the specific area in which he needs to acquire knowledge and expertise. Learning in this era of climate disasters is challenging, and finding a suitable job is even more difficult”, says Adil who has been assisting MSSRF in running the DBT Program.
“I am exploring subjects like environmental law, environmental engineering, renewable energy management, sustainability, and marine biology after my Majors. I am also researching gap year programs focused on environmental volunteerism to help me understand where my skill set will be most effective. Since I am going to dedicate my future to the planet, I want to choose the most impactful pathways and that was the reason to have come here to gain more knowledge about Tissue culture, says Chetan Krishna, Calicut, Kerala (23Y).
Chandana, Calicut, Kerala (22Y) highlighted career confusion among college students and fresh graduates. Peer influence has driven many students like Chandana for a course in BVOC Agriculture.
“We are from a marginalised community and my parents aren’t educated says Vinutha and have no great idea about any professional courses, job-oriented courses, and their merits. Hence, peer pressure drove me and many of my friends to streams like BVOC in Agriculture without understanding much about the course and have ended up in career confusion and struggle in the profession and life. BVOC in Agriculture doesn’t have any privileges of a normal degree program and cannot be considered on par with a Degree in Agriculture. Further studies and Job opportunities are an issue after this course. We got swept away by the promises given this course.”
Vinatha is pressurised at the moment and is thinking of being an entrepreneur, being open to new ideas, being action-oriented, resilient, and optimistic in creating value, and exploring opportunities.
“Skilling plays a very important part and I am here to learn some specific skills on Mushroom growing. It is a low-cost, small business that can generate income quickly. The idea is to find out the niche market that will buy my product and also encourage everybody in my community to use it for health benefits”, says Vinutha.
Choosing a good degree program is also of concern these days with many private colleges that showcase many different courses and confuse the students with promising jobs, but lose the value of it in the long run. Discussing the challenges alone will not solve the problems the marginalised youth face in learning in the age of climate change. The lack of career guidance results in career confusion, employment, and the road ahead.
“There should be greater attention on strengthening the education institutions that support young people’s skill development on pace with evolving demands for green and digital skills will be critical to reducing education mismatches. Regular awareness programs in Govt schools should be organised for a paradigm shift from unscientific to scientific approach regarding job selection and higher education preferences” says, the Director, Shakeela, MSSRF, Wayanad.
This event was the first of its kind and we hope to involve more kids in the coming future in climate and career dialogues to help, discuss, and skill them to help them with a way forward.
*The author is an independent researcher and a freelance journalist.
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The post Learning in the Age of Climate Disasters first appeared on Kashmir Times (Since 1954): Multi-media web news platform..
The post Learning in the Age of Climate Disasters appeared first on Kashmir Times (Since 1954): Multi-media web news platform..