The Emerging workforce of Young Professionals: Unresolved Questions

By Petrider Paul ~ Member of the AU Youth Advisory Council on 25 Apr 2020Youth

Half of the world populations consist of young people which is in fact the emerging workforce within the job market but the questions which still remains is are the young people skilled enough? will they be committed? are they just affordable to employ?

As a young professional at 23 years old I was the 1st runner up for Tanzania Annual Young Professional Awards category of Trail Blazer coming in 2nd to the 1st runner up who is now a District Commissioner of a certain region in Tanzania appointed at 25 years only how did we do it ? the question that puzzles mostly it takes passionate volunteerism to build up professionalism to a young person as the defying moment comes to the fact that the millennials are projected to me not serious avoiding disappointments to fall in the bucket hole of many when offered a volunteer role or an internship focus on the skills sets learning how to write the project proposals , budgets , fundraising techniques and even simply how to write an e-mail the most forgotten items of a career growth while compensation and opportunities to grow can be in mind but how can a young person grow while yet you look young ? and not 100% trusted enough.

Can the workforce adapt to young professionals? Locally maybe not and few are the chosen ones I found strength in equality and promoting gender equality whereby I spent my early 24 yrs consulting for a UN Agency and working with the Government on gender some will say this was a connection but we all know you need to show what you have , your skills set which surpassed the interviewers expectation and also knowledge on the matter this came from the extensive work I did as a volunteer from high school another key aspect that i took along to survive disappointment from intellects and just 6 months aways from my 25th Birthday I embarked a life changing career working for the largest International Foreign Donor agencies in Tanzania all these roles came with a challenge , the fact that you are young ? probably make a better salary than those older than you in the office? All hands on deck surviving the disappointments that young professionals are not serious enough when everyone loads task on you knowingly you have the abilities to do it faster, smarter and more careful.

What do employers seek? efficiency? commitment? passion? Maybe yes and maybe not being able to actually do a job that resonates with you is the most important thing and age is just a number as many would say but the current young professionals face a lot of disappointments from employers and also employers disappointment to young professionals , a worker that doesn’t need constant follow up to manage their tasks alleviates work burden for colleagues and helps to improve efficiency do young professionals know this ? or is it the joy of being employed that robs the ability to appreciate the actual job offered ? maybe and maybe not unresolved questions.

By Petrider Paul ~ Member of the AU Youth Advisory Council