LOST
GENERATION
HUFFINGTON
10.20.13
the present? Without a memory of
the past and without the desire to
look ahead to the future by building something, a future, a family?
Can you go on like this? This, to
me, is the most urgent problem
that the Church is facing.”
CHARLY DIAZ AZCUE/LATINCONTENT/GETTY IMAGES
‘HOW AM I GOING
TO GET EXPERIENCE?’
In the Spanish city of Cáceres,
24-year-old Ester Martinez has
grown accustomed to looking
for whatever jobs are available,
never mind her chosen career
path. She applies at retail shops
and supermarkets, where she
touts her tech savvy and her language skills. She speaks English,
French and passable Italian.
What she pointedly does not
mention — not on her résumé,
and certainly not in job interviews — is her considerable education. She steers around the fact
that she’s working on her doctorate and already has a master’s
degree in addition to her nursing
degree. She knows these details
may distinguish her as another
over-educated young Spaniard
ill-suited for a bleak job market.
Overall, some 2.5 million Spanish workers are employed in sectors other than those for which
they studied, according to the
General Workers Union. And this
dynamic only appears to reinforce
itself: As recent graduates take
whatever jobs they can find, they
have no way of amassing experience in their chosen fields.
Alberto Peza, a 26-year-old resident of Valencia trained in workplace safety, now sells sporting
goods part-time, earning about
350 euros (or $472) a month. He
feels impotent. He feels stuck.
“How am I going to get experience if no one will give me a
chance to show my skills and pursue my goals?” he asks.
Some are now creating their
own work experience. After five
months of searching for a job on
the strength of his art history degree, 24-year-old Antonio Jimenez
According to
Former President
of Spain Jose
Maria Aznar, youth
unemployment
is, “jeopardizing
the opportunities
for future
prosperity
and growth.”