請爲年輕人重新打開就業大門

Most of the leaders with whom I work as a management consultant are a level-headed lot. They rarely let their personal feelings interfere with business decisions.

作爲一位管理諮詢顧問，我接觸過的大多數領導者都非常清醒。他們很少讓自己的切身感受干預商業決定。

But recently, I've noticed some executives becoming irritated, even angry, when I tell them how important it is for companies to hire and train high-potential young people just out of school. Their emotions, I soon discover, often relate to disappointments they have experienced with their own children or grandchildren.

但最近，當我告訴一些高管，聘請和培養剛剛走出校園、大有潛力的年輕人，這對他們的公司非常重要的時候，我發現他們變得非常煩躁，甚至異常憤怒。我很快就發現，這種情緒往往跟一個事實有關——這些高管自己的子女或孫輩曾經讓他們非常失望。

These executives will tell me things like, "When I was my grandson's age, I started at the bottom and worked my way up; he's not willing to do that.” Or, "My daughter majored in philosophy, of all things — how will that get her anywhere?" If they don't have a personal anecdote about their own families to relate, they may remark that too many young people are entitled and self-absorbed.

這些高管告訴我一些類似這樣的事情，“當我像我孫子這般年紀的時候，我已經從最底層做起，開始依靠自身努力，踏上平步青雲之路了；他不願意這樣做。”或者，“有那麼多好選的，我女兒偏偏選擇主修哲學專業，學這玩意有什麼前途？”如果他們在自己的家庭中沒有經歷過這些事情，他們或許會說，現在有太多的年輕人擁有這樣那樣的權利，他們只關心自己的利益。

The general message from these leaders is this: More young people would be hired if they had the right qualifications, but too few have the skills and discipline needed to succeed in today's demanding workplace.

這些領導者大體上傳達了這樣的訊息：如果擁有合適的資格，更多的年輕人就不愁找不到工作，但現如今，幾乎沒有多少年輕人具備在要求苛刻的職場獲得成功所需的技能和紀律性。

Over the last few years, I've interviewed more than 200 young people from diverse backgrounds of income, education, race and geography. About half told me that they had liberal arts degrees, and I was struck by how many of them regretted majoring in a discipline now seen as impractical.

在過去幾年裏，我跟200多位不同收入、教育程度、種族和地域背景的年輕人進行過面談。其中大約一半人告訴我，他們擁有文科學位。讓我感到震驚的是，許多人非常後悔當初主修了一門現在被視爲不實用的學科。

Many liberal-arts graduates say they are eager to find an employer willing to train them in skills that don't require a degree in engineering or computer science. They cite six-sigma analysis, supply-chain procedures, customer service, inventory control, quality assurance and Internet marketing. They want a chance to master one of those skills.

很多文科畢業生說，他們渴望找到一位僱主對他們進行一些不需要有工程或計算機科學學位的技能培訓，比如六西格瑪分析、供應鏈流程、客戶服務、庫存控制、質量保證和網絡營銷。他們希望獲得一個掌握其中一項技能的機會。

But their pleas appear unlikely to be answered. Most corporate training today is directed at employees who arrive with technical skills already developed — if not through their college degrees, then though specialized internships.

但他們的請求似乎不太可能得到響應。現在的企業培訓對象基本上都是就職時已經掌握技術技能的員工——這些技能如果不是在大學學的，那就是通過專業實習獲得的。

This puts a large swath of young people at a disadvantage. Burdened with tuition debt, many college graduates from low- and middle-income families can't afford to serve a low-paying or unpaid internship.

這使得一大批年輕人處於劣勢。由於揹負着沉重的學費債務，許多來自中低收入家庭的大學畢業生負擔不起從事低薪或無薪實習工作。

I've been consulting for more than four decades. Twenty or 30 years ago, a hiring manager at a Fortune 500 company was much more willing to give, say, a dance major a chance. That manager would realize that such graduates were good at teamwork, acquiring new skills and practicing for long hours. Give them some corporate training and they become productive employees, was the thinking.

我已經做了40多年的諮詢工作。二三十年前，一家《財富》500強(Fortune 500)公司的招聘經理更願意給文科畢業生（比如舞蹈專業）一個機會。這位經理會意識到，這類畢業生善於團隊合作，獲得新技能，以及長時間實踐。當時的高管普遍認爲，讓這些畢業生接受一些培訓，他們就可以成爲工作高效的員工。

Now, because of a relentless focus on specialized skills, too many young people are missing out on a rite of passage: getting to a job on time, learning a craft, assuming responsibility, bringing home a paycheck. The unemployment rate for people age 20 to 24 is 11 percent, compared with an overall rate that is under 7 percent.

現在，由於企業界毫不留情地看重專業化技能，有太多年輕人正在錯失成年禮：及時獲得一份工作，學會一門手藝，承擔起責任，帶薪水回家。20歲至24歲年輕人目前的失業率爲11%，而美國的總失業率在7%以下。

It's not that they aren't trying to find work. One problem is that young people are competing both with their peers and with experienced applicants willing to accept entry-level salaries.

這並不是說他們沒有努力找工作。一個問題是，年輕人的競爭對手不僅僅是同齡人，還包括那些願意接受入門級薪酬的有工作經驗的求職者。

Financially struggling boomers fill many of the jobs that young people once assumed would be theirs. And according to a recent poll, nearly half of workers 50 and older expect to retire later than they had previously thought.

經濟困難的嬰兒潮一代填充了年輕人曾經認爲屬於他們的許多工作崗位。最近的一項民意調查顯示，近一半50歲以上工人預期將推遲原本計劃的退休年齡。

Rather than waiting for educational institutions or the government to bridge this generation gap, employers should consider accepting some responsibility for introducing young people into the work force. This could be the perfect time for companies to start pilot projects that enroll unskilled but promising people in corporate training programs.

僱主不應該坐等教育機構或政府來彌補這種代溝，而應該考慮主動承擔起一些責任，幫助更多年輕人成爲勞動大軍的一員。對於公司來說，現在是啓動試點項目，招收缺乏熟練技術，但極具潛質的年輕人蔘加企業培訓計劃的絕佳時機。

And let's not forget about people without college degrees, who make up more than two-thirds of the adult population. Employers can help young people who have either dropped out of college or have attended only high school, by offering apprentice programs in high-demand skills.

此外，我們也不要忘記那些沒有大學學位的人——這一羣體佔成年人總人口的三分之二以上。僱主可以提供高需求技能的學徒計劃，以幫助那些從大學輟學或者只上過高中的年輕人。

Hiring managers who look beyond narrowly focused credentials might uncover something even more important: energetic workers who are determined to make a mark and help their companies succeed. And businesses that gain reputations for preparing young people to become productive employees are likely to have a competitive advantage as the economy recovers and older workers can afford to retire.

視野不侷限於資歷證書的招聘經理或許會有更重大的發現：一羣精力充沛，決心幹出一番事業，幫助公司獲得成功的員工。隨着經濟逐漸復甦，老年員工能夠沒有顧慮地退休，那些因幫助年輕人成爲高效率員工而獲得聲譽的企業很可能將獲得競爭優勢。

More hiring managers must be willing to take a risk on people whose careers have stalled because they majored in an "impractical" discipline. Bottom lines will not suffer — and might even improve — if companies provide opportunity to a population hungry to prove its value.

現在必須有更多招聘經理願意冒險僱傭那些因專業“不實用”而導致職業生涯陷入停滯的年輕人。如果公司爲這樣一個渴望證明其價值的羣體提供機會，其營業收入不僅不會縮水，興許還能有所改善。