Key to the future
There have been in recent times many studies and articles about how Generation Y (those born in 1978 and 1994) will cope in a future of an aging population, lessened job security and rising property prices. The Sydney Morning Herald recently published another such article based on a qualitative survey carried out by senior strategist, Catherine Heath at advertising agency George Patterson Y & R. The surveys were conducted using focus groups of up to 10 participants, although it does not say how many focus groups were used. The article states
“…they truly believe that one day the lifestyles of the rich and famous they eagerly follow in the gossip mags will be theirs.”
“the universal theme among interviewees was money and a desire to make lots of it.”
An interesting point that the article brings up is the “proliferation of gossip mags” that have made the lifestyles of today’s celebrities seem attainable by Gen-Y. In the movie Good Night, and Good Luck based on the work of journalist Edward R. Murrow, there is a speech made by the lead character about how the content on television in the 1950s was heading down a path of simply insulating those who watched it and making them complacent in their own small world. Perhaps the instantaneous nature of how Gen-Y lives is leading to an unexpected and unpleasant shock “with the realisation that the pinnacle of its achievements is a job as a middle-ranking accountant, a Toyota-Camry and a semi the wrong side of Parramatta road”.
It seems that the way to avoid this disappointment is through education, as Adele Horin argues. She states
“More than ever, education and formal skills dictate how people fare in the new economy. To the credentialled go the spoils”.
This does in some part explain the pressure and hype placed on the results of the HSC as it can smooth the pathway for economic prosperity. This sentiment is also echoed in South Africa with a push for the educated to become entrepreneurs as there is a shortage of jobs to the number of those that completed final year exams.
It seems that the race is on for qualifications, skills and bargaining power and while it means a more competitive job market and therefore economy, what has it been at the expense of?
