Education and Employment in the UK

It does not come as a surprise that one of the thriving industries in times of economic crisis is tertiary education. Enrollments double if not triple as young adults decide to go back to schools and prime themselves in anticipation of recovery. The issue seldom mentioned is the fact that not all young adults have the means or rather the luxury to obtain those additional degrees. This puts them in a rather disadvantage position when it comes to job search as they are of less value than their school-returning peers. In other words, they can never break away from the vicious cycle of no education-no employment. This is indeed the plight of approximately 22 percent of the young adults in the UK whose future hangs in the balance, not to mention the implications that it may have on the nation’s future as a whole.

While critics may argue that tackling this issue will bring no significant improvements in their employment prospects since there just isn’t enough aggregate demand in the economy fundamentally, it is also sensible to argue that the different starting points of these two groups of young adults has already put those with less education in a weaker position regardless of whether times are good or bad.

It is thus justifiable for the relevant authorities to correct this failure either by providing training opportunities to boost their competitiveness or providing support for them to return to school and gain that extra knowledge. Austerity is necessary but should we jeopardize the future of the next generation in its pursuit?

The Two Camps of ASEAN Cooperation Efforts

In my opinion, an inter-governmental organization needs to accomplish two things to be well respected: 1) the ability to convince the various stakeholders, each with their own interests and goals, to come to a consensus and put it in writing as agreements, frameworks, etc and 2) the strength to enforce them even if they may result in displeasure among some of the stakeholders.

ASEAN as an organization has certainly come a long way. While its founding was barely reported in the media and many were rather skeptical in its ability to achieve something noteworthy, ASEAN now has its own charter and can claim credits for numerous initiatives & mechanisms such as the Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism (ESDM) and ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). These are definitely no mean feat, taking into consideration the diversity of the Member States that constitute ASEAN. Hence, the natural step would have been to ask the question on whether they are enforceable or whether they are binding at all.

A closer look at these initiatives & mechanisms would give the impression that they are “toothless”. At this point, optimists like to argue that although they are symbolic in nature, they nonetheless inform us of the inspirations or the goals of the signatories. In other words, we should applaud them for having the courage to put their signatures on something that clearly contradict their domestic environments. Pessimists, on the other hand, argue that precisely because signatories know very well that there will be no consequences for deviation that they have no qualms in putting down their signatures. Both arguments are plausible and you choose a side depending on your inclination.