Marketing: A must for the young

His name is Odie, a graduate of computer science. He chews computer hardware problem like a gum, knows programming and can do graphic design but still jobless at 26. It's a good thing that he knows printing and makes a living out of it but hardly makes both ends meet for his family. The same goes for Arvin, another talented young man and an architect by profession. What sets him apart from other architects is his knack for really stunning architectural renderings and design. But like Odie, he has no stable income and waits for projects and work to do from his pals in college.

It seems so counter-intuitive to find young people like them who have the right skills, can do a much better job than the other guys but are jobless and hardup financially. And more woeful to mull over is the fact that these hunks-of-steel talents are not only under-utilized but wasted to rust in oblivion. I mean it's such a pity that they have to endure the unpleasantries of tarrying for fate to do something good in their lives when they have everything in their chest to land a job or get them to business. The situation of Odie and Arvin is not unique.

I've seen an oasis of "able and tested" human resource who are in their productive years waiting to be tapped but left to dry in waiting. So what's wrong? And don't you dare say that they're a bunch of happy bananas who have no ambitions in life. I know...lazy people do exist. But I also know that we are hardwired to look after our very own survival and for the survival of our kind; even animals have to go out and look for food without being told. I strongly believe that laziness is not part of human nature -- it's the economic system that makes people "appear" lazy; lack of opportunities, employment politics and lack of connections wear the human spirit to believe in one's self and what lies ahead. And for some people, waiting is much truer as a friend than to trust hope. They think that hope does not work for everyone. That hope is real only for those who are rich; for those who are willing suckers to office politics; and for those who have friends in government and in the corporate world.

This is not to say that all hope is gone for many young talents to be productive or gainfully employed. There is hope. It's just that a great part of them in society really think that life does not always go on for everyone. Thus, it is the duty of the old and the wise to change their outlook in life and to teach them how to be found by people who are in the look for their unique talents and skills whether thru employment or self-employment. Our responsibility is to remove their doubts and cynicism. In doing so, corporations and government should give more credence to ability and delivery than personal relations.

More than anything else, the reason why a lot of young people think it is difficult to land a job or to get into business is that our schools do not teach us to rise out from the competition. We are only told that competition is there and that the only thing that matters is to get a diploma and you'll be alright. That baloney has been there for a long time and yet too little time is spent to get rid of that baloney in the educational system.

We need to educate our young people to survive in the midst of a competitive environment. They need to be entrepreneural, to be marketers than just professionals. Odie and Arvin have great skills just like everyone else but they have problems marketing those skills because they just simply don't know how.

Before we populate this country with so many Odies and Arvins in the jobless pool, maybe...just maybe we consider including Marketing as a must course for every student in our universities. Just a thought.

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