Carlota Carballo, aged 25, and Daniel Miranda, aged 30, are two student beneficiaries of the Ponos Project by the Tenerife Island Council. The project aims to facilitate the job market integration of young individuals who often find themselves in a scenario where their studies do not match the demands of the market, pushing them to seek opportunities abroad. In Carlota’s case, she pursued Production, while Daniel is completing his doctoral thesis in Biology. According to the latest Active Population Survey (EPA), youth unemployment decreased in Canary Islands to 28.28%, the lowest figure since 2008. Moreover, in a span of ten years, school dropout rates decreased by 13%. It is estimated that by the age of 24, 50% of young individuals in the country manage to enter the job market, but this does not seem to be the case in the Canary Islands and Tenerife, at least based on the experiences of these two individuals.
Carlota Carballo and Daniel Miranda hope that institutions will continue to support projects like Ponos in the future, in addition to increasing research funding and fostering the local audiovisual production scene in the Canary Islands. This would allow for the creation of indigenous proposals rather than relying on foreign ones. Currently, the archipelago is a preferred location for international film productions, but this hinders the work of local producers striving to establish a robust industry on a domestic level.
For Daniel Miranda, the prevailing economic drive has limited other avenues to enrich the islands, with one of the most impacted sectors being research. He believes that “good science is conducted in the Canary Islands, but without sufficient investment, there won’t be viable opportunities to pursue it.”
Carlota and Daniel admit to feeling “lost” in the workforce environment, and as the years pass, the need to secure a stable job intensifies, leading to feelings of “desperation” in face of the scarce real opportunities available.
“A Thesis Already Represents a Form of Employment”
“When you are a pre-doctoral student and invest four years in research, you should not have to juggle other jobs along with your thesis as research in itself constitutes work. I have always had to balance my doctorate with other jobs to sustain my financial needs,” shares the biologist from Tenerife. Regarding the prospect of leaving the archipelago, Carlota views it as “somewhat disheartening due to the lack of opportunities.” Daniel sees working abroad as “enriching” and gaining experience in other fields; “all of this while not being forced to leave your homeland,” he points out.
Career Counsellors
Paula Arocha and Raúl Carlos are vocational counsellors in the Ponos Project and believe that Canarian society has experienced a historic shift in the employment paradigm. They emphasize that “previously, individuals could secure jobs without formal education, typically in construction or the tourism sector, and many people ended up in unfortunate situations as they couldn’t transition to other roles without proper training.”
This led to a rise in the value of education, as the current generation’s parents “motivated them to strive for a better future.”
According to Raúl Carlos, recent graduates typically take about a year to enter the workforce. During this transitional phase, some take “a gap year” and search for jobs more passively. Paula Arocha identifies two profiles emerging after graduation: those who “remain open to change” and “maintain a positive attitude” versus those who “succumb to anxiety and experience stress due to unmet expectations.”
Within the project, instances have been noted where individuals with advanced qualifications end up in roles below their academic level. They observe that this trend particularly affects graduates in Business Administration, as the job market offers them positions with job descriptions akin to administrative roles, performing tasks below their capabilities.
Both feel “lost,” and the inability to secure stable employment leads to “desperation.”
While Spain continues to grapple with a 28% youth unemployment rate, Germany boasts a meagre 1.9% rate. For these professionals from Tenerife, the German model for tackling youth unemployment works due to its longstanding integration of dual vocational training. “We are just starting to implement this approach; this year, dual training courses have been introduced, and it is expected that everything will be dualised next year,” assures Raúl Carlos.
The German development in various sectors, especially industrial and technological, stands out compared to Spain’s emphasis on bolstering the service sector, and in the case of the Canary Islands, the emphasis lies on tourism-related businesses.
Given these disparities, many young individuals opt for emigration, resulting in a brain drain. According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), close to half a million Spaniards have already taken this route. “If the conditions are unfavourable, companies will struggle to find workers, leading to economic losses and impacting the country’s stability,” explains the therapist from Tenerife.
The Gender Pay Gap
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Women are the most affected by the wage gap. According to the INE, those under 25 have a hiring preference over women of the same age. Raúl Carlos states that the factors affecting this gap are the socioeconomic situation of families, gender roles, and the type of jobs they can access. “If there is a dependent family member, employed women leave their jobs to take care of that burden. Meanwhile, men continue working to advance their careers,” the counselor concludes. However, he believes that the gender pay gap is decreasing due to the equality plans of companies. “There is progress, but women still have lower wages.”
The Issue of Mental Health
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Among the range of young people assisted by these career advisors, a common concern arises: mental health. According to the profiles analyzed by Ponos, in the southern area of the island, there is a higher unemployment rate due to the socio-economic context. In the north, young people are more likely to have poor mental health, despite their higher employability due to their level of education. The youth in the Metropolitan Area have greater job access due to the proximity to companies mainly located in the capital, as well as the closeness to the ULL.
“Having an education, getting a job, and building a support network are fundamental pillars for young people to succeed in their lives,” they emphasize. According to career advisors, students should study what interests them and try to work in that field; otherwise, they will end up “gaining an unhappy life.”
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To conclude, they clarify that “academic institutions do not have to prepare students for work,” as the fundamental goal of a university “should be to promote social change in its community, not create job positions.”
