As part of its new initiative to tackle youth unemployment, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, one of Greece’s leading philanthropic organisations, will be hosting an international two-day conference in Athens on June 26 and 27.

Fully aware that the unemployment rate for young people in Greece exceeds 60 per cent, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation announced in October 2013 the launching of a new program called ‘Recharging the Youth’. In order to create new employment opportunities for Greece’s younger generations, the foundation is planning to invest €100 million in the financing of the project.

Just a few months after the announcement, the foundation, in collaboration with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, convened an international conference in New York, focusing on youth unemployment and the pressing need for collective action on this issue. The productive dialogue that was initiated there is expected to continue in the upcoming ‘Recharging the Youth’ conference in Athens. Members of the international academic community, representatives of Greek and international research foundations, government officials and business people will participate in this forum with the purpose being to generate practical solutions and suggest employment opportunities.

Nicholas Wyman, CEO of Skilling Australia Foundation, a not-for-profit Australian charity organisation aiming to help disadvantaged young people make the transition into the work force, has been invited to the Athens conference and was also one of the speakers in the New York conference in April. Being on the frontline of the workplace and having extensive experience in youth apprenticeships and traineeships, he is expected to discuss options of combatting youth employment in Greece and suggest alternative professional pathways that have correlation to the real workplace.

According to Mr Wyman, there is a common misconception in countries all around the world, including Greece and Australia, about the nature and prospects of skills and traineeship programs. For many people, tertiary education is regarded as the only option, whereas vocational education, training and skills programs are often considered as inferior.

“Many young people feel a kind of pressure from their families and society that they have to go into university. What most people want is a good solid income, but they also want their job to be rewarding not only in terms of income, but also in terms of job satisfaction,” Mr Wyman tells Neos Kosmos.
A relevant example is what happens when he mentions agriculture as an option to young people; they think that it is a profession for unskilled people. However, as Mr Wyman explains, he refers to the new age of the industry, the changing face of agriculture, a concept far removed from the ways of old school farming. Innovative programs can also be launched to promote the development potential of Greece in the areas of technology, tourism and hospitality, among others.

“The area that interests me most is youth entrepreneurship and how to give young adults wonderful initiatives, encourage them by providing support through mentoring, coaching and ideas for developing innovation. We want to spearhead the idea of innovation,” says Mr Wyman.

As a speaker in the New York conference he preferred not to take a safe approach and presented his views on youth employment prospects with particular emphasis in technology and the effectiveness of skills development programs. He talked about innovative business programs and potential opportunities in seasonal employment. Running a type of employment coaster could give people the opportunity to work for 6 months in a business and then move to a different business, according to the needs of the workplace.

Mr Wyman also expects the Greek audience to be positive towards his ideas.

“In New York I met some entrepreneurs, young Greek people with great ideas that need our support.

“There were a lot of Greek business people, representatives of the government, academics, a lot of different people. When talking to some of them they told me that ‘people (in Greece) are ready to take on board new ideas’,” says Mr Wyman.

When asked what advice he would give to young people in Greece looking for a job, Mr Wyman replied: “They really need to open their minds to everything and not be locked in any particular pathway. It is not always about finding new ideas. Sometimes we can focus on the best utilisation of existing resources.”
He also stressed the fact that he feels proud to be asked by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation to participate in the conference. According to Mr Wyman, this international forum held in Athens comes as a wonderful opportunity for organisations, government representatives and specialist experts from all over the world to share information, and for new partnerships to be established even among Greek and Australian businesses.

“Of course all this would not be possible without the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. I’ve worked with many organisations and institutions in the past, but what they managed to do is bring together a very diverse group of people and this diversity is going to bring outcomes,” Mr Wyman explains.

To learn more about the ‘Recharging the Youth’ initiative, please visit the website www.snf.org/el/protoboulies/epanekkinisi-enishysi-ton-neon/