What is this Epidemic am
I referring to?
This is non-other than the
UNEMPLOYMENT epidemic…
Honestly over half a
decade ago one would rarely hear about this term as much as one does in all
sorts of media platforms lately. Politicians have come realize that the only
way for them to stay in power and maintaining social cohesion, they must rise
to the urgent challenge of creating 600 million productive jobs for their citizens,
sadly this is proving to be an imposable task for the politicians as according
to the International Labour Office (ILO) 2012 report, the future is gloomy as
factor conditions in global labour markets and the prospects of economic
activities are further deteriorating Globally.
The Global Unemployment report by ILO
The global economy is
substantially reducing its capacity to add new jobs, Investments remains
depressed also weighing on job creation. High unemployment and low wage growth
are reducing demand for goods and services, which further damages business
confidence and leaves firms hesitant to invest and hire. I can go on…on….and on
as to further explain the devastations currently occurring globally but that’s
not the reason I took some time to compile this Blog… I choose to compile this
as to share my Observations on the matter and also to share my opinions as what
needs to be done in order to fight this epidemic….
Let me take you back to earlier
centuries as to search what created employment back then, as I believe there
was an essential variable which was the baseline for all job creation back then
that we the current generation lack.
“The man
who invented the monetary system which we use today” - John Law
“The transportation Systems/Inventions
Era”
Transportation was
changed dramatically by the invention of the steam engine. While steam power
was first known of in the late 1600's, the powerful engine was first made truly
usable by James Watt in 1778. These steam engines helped run factories and were
used to power steam boats and locomotives, allowing people to travel faster,
safer and longer distances than they had in the past on horse and buggy. The
steam engine was not powerful enough for large factories, but the steam engine
was used to help build stronger and faster engines.
The year is 1861 the French
successfully strike a breakthrough in creating the first gasoline engine, yet this
breakthrough was accompanied by a series of collaborations that took place amongst
many inventors before an official Automobile was realized, these collaborations
also took to heart the essence of the wheel , which is one of the biggest mechanical
inventions of all time. 30 years later the heroic Henry Ford invented the brand
Ford fully composed with borrowed brilliants, it was in during this era( the
industrial revolution era) that the wheel dropped its wooden self and switched
on to become pneumatic rubber tires and since then it has been one big ride for
us all
“The
Communication Inventions Era”
In the mid-1870s,
Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray both independently designed devices that
could transmit sound. Graham Bell was the first to have his design for the
telephone patented, although Gray was only a few hours behind. During a sound
experiment in 1875, Graham Bell discovered he could hear over the wire. The
first phone call placed was on March 10, 1876, between Graham Bell and his
assistant, Thomas Watson, who was seated in the next room. This Invention ushered
what soon would be known as the “world on wire” as networks of telephone lines
were built quickly across the world, Advances in communications helped decision
makers to maintain control.
“The
Energy Inventions Era”
The age of electricity
began in 1882 when Thomas A. Edison introduced a system of electric lighting in
New York City. Electricity was later applied to driving all kinds of machinery
as well as powering locomotives and streetcars. Electric lighting quickly
spread across the United States and was soon adopted in Europe. The electrical
industry was dominated by large companies that developed new products and then
manufactured and marketed them. These companies were based in Germany and the
United States but sold their goods all over the world. They were the first
multinational companies. Companies like Westinghouse and General Electric
helped to electrify cities in Europe, Africa, and South America.
I can go on and on as to
further mention all sorts of Inventions that took place in the early centuries,
but what I would like to put emphasis on is that all these above inventions
turned out to be massive Job creators, as new scientific knowledge was applied
to industry as scientists and engineers unlocked the secrets of physics and
chemistry. Great new industries were founded on this scientific advance: steel,
chemicals, and petroleum benefited from new understandings of chemistry;
breakthroughs in the study of electricity and magnetism provided the basis for
a large electrical industry. These new industries were larger and more
productive than any industries existing before…all this trend lasted till the
early 1970’s,
It is saddening to have
to come to realize that the current generation after the 1970’s has not experience
a new scientific knowledge or any phenomena in the physics and chemistry fields
altogether, no wonder the “Youth are particularly hard hit by the employment
crisis” that’s according to the ILO, it says that “Globally,
young people are nearly three times as likely as adults to be unemployed” How come as one my ask?
Well the answer is
simple LACK OF INNOVATION, this generation continues seeking for employment with
the same qualifications/skills that our parents have acquired years back and we
are on a disadvantageous position simply because we lack the experience (experience
= efficiency) our parents on the other hand have long been employed in our
desired posts and have as a result acquired outstanding experience which makes
it very convenient for their employers to retain the experienced employee due
to their efficiency.
Our academic manuals of
all sorts of fields in the last 45-60 years have only been decorated differently
on the outside while the content is still the same. In essence we have a
society that learns the same things. Therefore because the new generation are
acquiring old skills that the employed generation have become experts and are
well experienced, therefore rightfully so the employer would gladly retain an
experience employee who has become efficient
What do I mean by LACK
OF INNOVATION?
INNOVATION is the essential
variable that is lacking in today’s generation…I mean the real INNOVATION, that
which is centered on the real economic systems, as real economy is material
activity relating to human’s production, service, consumption and circulation.
This type of innovation I would liken’ to the current Shale Gas Fracking
proposal in the Karoo basin (South Africa), since it’s a new trend altogether,
therefore, new manuals , physics and chemistry formulas will have to be adopted
for the project to be a success… Job opportunities it is said will be in a
scale that the country has never seen before, all this due to what I call real
INNOVATION.
Our current generation
has been consumed by fictitious economy and as a result squeezed the
development space of real economy.
Conclusion
Though the notion INNOVATION is largely criticized by the
worker concerns representatives namely: Unions, on basis that their members are
losing jobs due to the new machinery and modern technologies that have flooded
factory floors… I choose to conclude by saying the Lack of Real INNOVATION has
and will always be the cause in the widespread of the GLOBAL UNEMPLOYMENT
EPIDEMIC….
I THANK YOU
EL THELEJANE
Coming Soon…..” AFRICA’s Exit STRATEGY”
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