Unemployment levels of young people between the ages of 15 and 29 remain high and seem to be stuck at 14% over the past 10 years. At the same time, the average salary is RD$10,000 per month. As a result, of the 2.7 million young people between 15 and 29 in the country, more than 750,000 are without jobs and somewhere close to a million are neither studying nor working—the famous “NINI.” This information is part of the results from a study entitled: “Young Dominicans; those unknown” carried out by the group known as Business Action for Education (EDUCA) under the auspices of five institutions, including the Ministry of Economy, Planning
The study surveyed the population between 2000 and 2016. One of the conclusions is that the young people face challenges that work against their quality of life. Some of these are low levels of education, high rates of unemployment and exposure to risky and vulnerable situations.
In 2016, 422 young people were homicide victims, representing 44.3% of all homicide victims. Many of the youth that were interviewed said that their future was selling drugs: “because those that do have more than one woman, money and live well.”
Analyzing the study, the executive director of EDUCA, Darwin Caraballo said that if this situation is not corrected, in 10 or 15 years there would be an enormous risk to public safety. He said: “When the illicit becomes the model to follow, there is an enormous risk because the young people are joining in criminal activities and the system is not providing any answers.”
Another of the barriers facing the young is the high dropout rate from schools and universities now at 37.7%, together with the conditions of vulnerability and inequality with respect to education and employment, which particularly affect women.
Of the unemployed, 56% do not have a high school degree. Those that do finish high school have 10% more income, averaging RD$12,500. Of the young people that do have jobs, about half are involved in low-paying areas such as services, commerce and basic manufacturing, where the minimum wage is RD$10,000.
The study recommends the creation of a support system that would prevent dropouts and focus on preventing adolescent pregnancies. They also suggest creating programs to promote job training and bring young people from the poorest strata up to levels of training that would lead to employment.
In an editorial commenting on the Educa study, Diario Libre executive editor Adriano Miguel Tejada says the findings reveal what happens when aspirations of youths meet reality. “As long as the education system does not offer short-term outlets, the economic system does not create jobs with adequate salaries, and there is no real social policy aimed at youth, this situation will not change,” wrote Tejada
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Diario Libre
El Dia
Diario Libre
25 March 2019