Why is Europe driving its talented youth away?

Lack of employment opportunities is forcing the young to take internships or migrate to other countries

Some are calling it the 'lost generation'. Millions of youth across Europe are unemployed, with many working as interns, remaining at home with parents or even migrating to other countries in search of a job.
Though there is a slight improvement over the previous year as nearly 19 per cent of those under 25, who are not in school in the euro zone, were unemployed in August. The long, grinding effect of recession or sluggish growth over the past decade has left many young jobseekers feeling disenchanted or even hopeless. Study after study shows that on an average they will have a long unlikely climb to match the lifestyle and success of the previous generations. But they don't need a report card to know this. Many have already accepted the fact they will be hard-pressed to start a family without the help of their own parents.
The trend is particularly marked in southern Europe, where 43.3 per cent of those in Greece, 38.7 per cent in Spain, and 35.1 per cent in Italy were unemployed in June this year. By comparison the youth jobless rate in Germany was 6.4 per cent in August.
Without a fulltime job, many hope to gain some experience and a foot in the door through internships. In Spain, 56 per cent of those aged between 16 and 29 undertook an internship and 11 per cent have had two. What's disheartening is that just 29 per cent of the total number of internships were remunerated. In Portugal, 43 per cent had one internship and 13 have had two. In Ireland the ratios were 44 and 9 per cent, but three-quarters of those were paid. In Greece, 68 per cent of internships were unsalaried.
Across European Union, just 27 per cent of interns are offered full time jobs at the end of their temporary service.
The lack of opportunities in many countries is also causing a brain drain as the well educated leave. A study by the University of Thessaloniki found that more than 120,000 professionals including engineers, doctors and scientists left Greece between 2010 and 2013. The number of emigrating Italians, many highly qualified graduates, rose by 30 per cent between 2011 and 2012, with the highest increase in the 20 to 40-year-old age group. In Spain, the number of people moving abroad rose by 114,000 in 2013 compared to the previous year.
According to Fondazione Migrantes, which tracks emigration from Italy, the most popular destination for the country's emigres overall was Germany, followed by the UK, Switzerland and France. Over two-thirds stayed within Europe, and the rest of the majority moved to North America.
The long economic hardship is also fuelling English-language studies. In a continent awash with 24 official languages, parents and governments now see early English tuition as crucial to success in the global economy. More than 90 per cent of primary school students have English studies in Spain, Italy, France and Poland. Overall the EU average is 77 per cent.
Mario Draghi, the Italian economist who has served as president of the European Central Bank since 2011 and helped guide the EU through the aftermath of the global recession, says the weight of the crisis fell disproportionately on young people.
"It has left a legacy of failed hopes, anger and ultimately mistrust in the values of our society and in the identity of our democracy," says Draghi. But he notes young people are doing much better in Germany and Austria - countries that have better vocational training that targets more vulnerable younger people.
"The vocational education system, together with more flexible wages and stronger public support for helping the unemployed to seek and find jobs, as well as lower labour market segmentation, explains in part why the youth unemployment rate is lower in Germany than in France," the ECB president says.
He thinks governments know how to respond - they should do so for the future of their countries' youth and for their democracies.
Part of that response should be clear reform and streamline elaborate employment laws.
Ironically, labour laws designed to protect workers make it more difficult for companies to hire them. With the EU's economy finally recovering, more than half of all new jobs created in the region since 2010 have been through temporary contracts, according to a recent European Council study. The prolonged financial crisis left employers wary of hiring permanent workers at a time when the economy has only started to gain some traction. Under current European labour laws, it is usually more difficult to lay off permanent workers. It also mandates costlier benefit packages for employees, making temporary contracts more appealing for all industries ranging from low-wage warehouse workers to professional white-collar jobs.
A bewildering number of studies and efforts are attempting to identify and implement programmes to aid youth employment, but the EU likely doesn't need yet another conference or study. Companies already facing high tax rates need more labour market flexibility or the ability to hire and fire without months or years of financial guarantees to workers.
Many nations also need to streamline their legislatures so new measures can be implemented more quickly. Fewer senators with salaries for life, less endless debate and a lot more real grassroots growth would be a good start.
Jon Van Housen and Mariella Radaelli are editors at the Luminosity Italia news agency in Milan