Youth Unemployment and Staff Shortages: Two Sides of the Same Problem

In recent years, I have heard two statements almost equally often. Young people say, “We cannot find jobs,” while employers say, “We cannot find staff.” At first glance, one seems as though it must be wrong. I believe both are true, and that this points to a situation requiring more serious thought.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute’s July 2026 data, overall unemployment is 8.1 percent. Among young people aged fifteen to twenty-four, it rises to 14.5 percent, and among young women to 20.3 percent. A labor underutilization rate of 30.6 percent also shows that the blockage in working life extends far beyond conventional unemployment figures.

Across the table, İŞKUR’s labor market surveys show businesses struggling to recruit in many occupations. Too few applications, missing vocational skills, and lack of experience are the most commonly cited reasons. The problem spans fields from cooks and welders to drivers and sales advisers, as well as newer areas such as software and cybersecurity.

For years we gave young people the same roadmap: study, enter university, earn a diploma, find a job. A diploma still matters, but in many fields it is no longer sufficient on its own. OECD assessments of Türkiye also highlight the mismatch between skills gained in education and labor market needs. This does not mean university has lost its value. The problem is the weak bridge between education and working life.

A graduate who has studied for four years encounters “Do you have experience?” at the first interview and quite reasonably asks, “Where am I supposed to gain it without being given a first opportunity?”

The employer has a story too

Recruiting someone means more than paying a salary. It requires training, time, bearing the cost of mistakes, and sometimes entrusting customer relationships built over years to a newcomer. A poor recruitment decision is especially burdensome for small businesses. Expecting a degree of preparation is therefore understandable.

But businesses saying they cannot find staff also need to ask themselves questions: what is the pay? What are the hours and overtime arrangements? How many people’s work is placed on one person? Can employees develop and feel respected? Employment is not a one-sided sacrifice. If young people must adapt to working life, working life must also understand the new generation.

Blaming every problem on the system does young people no favors either. Foreign languages, digital tools, clear written and spoken communication, problem-solving, and learning quickly are increasingly decisive. Artificial intelligence accelerates this change.

Even so, simply telling young people to “improve yourselves” is insufficient. In which field, with which skills, for which sector? Filling a CV with dozens of certificates does not automatically make someone qualified. Employers’ question is becoming simpler: “What can you do?” Can a foreign trade graduate prepare a proposal for an overseas customer? Does a vocational student know the machinery used in the sector? Real skills must accompany the diploma.

How do we build the bridge?

I believe the solution is not creating new institutions. Universities, vocational schools, İŞKUR, and businesses already exist. The problem is that they do not communicate enough.

An internship should become genuine work experience instead of a document placed in a file. Students should encounter real business problems before graduation. Job advertisements should explicitly describe required skills rather than repeat “university graduate, three years’ experience.” First employment should also be a policy area in its own right; support for employers’ training costs can be combined with models that genuinely teach young people an occupation.

Educational institutions’ success cannot be measured only by graduate numbers. How many graduates are working six months later, and how many in their field? Are employers satisfied with their education? Answers should feed back into programs.

It is unfair to say all young people are unwilling to work, or all employers offer poor conditions. These are not two separate crises. If a young person searches door to door while a business a few kilometers away has sought staff for months, bringing them together is a shared responsibility of education, business, and public policy.