PBS NewsHour did a series on it recently. This last one caught my attention. Wow! The young lady from Niger - now that's someone with the drive and motivation! What a constrast vs those citizens who sit around get/take unemployment benefit and just expect jobs to come their way.
That's a good stepping stone, but only if someone plans to continue and also, they need to choose areas of study that are needed. Some degrees and certificates clearly not needed in the job market.
I think that for people who have the aptitude, some kind of apprenticeship is one of the best paths to a decent career. Some have a calling, whether it's law enforcement, medicine, research, highly technical fields, law, etc- people need to know themselves better before going to or finishing college and they absolutely need to pay attention to the job market before they choose a field and during college. Fours year degrees aren't best for all, but college does/is supposed to/used to teach people HOW to think and analyze problems. It seems that the last part isn't really happening if so many aren't able to find SOME kind of job. They also need to be more flexible- if the one job they trained for isn't available, they should have been less specific in their thinking about their career.
