Many graduates find themselves facing a marathon of job interviews upon graduating, ending up below the poverty line in the worst scenario. Youth unemployment is a major issue in a number of European states. What does the EU do in times of crisis to prove that a degree is for life?

“Thank you for your interest. We’ll call you back”, you hear in job offices. And they never do. This is the job interviewers’ standard way of saying ‘no’ to failed candidates. The anonymous ‘quantity of highly qualified applicants’ is the main reason for many job rejections. This fact proves the idea that a good university diploma will serve a graduate like an insurance policy against unemployment and loss of social status wrong.

The EU job market is flooded with applicants. Qualified specialists are forced to accept virtually any kind of low-wage jobs in line with their profession, engage in tutoring or change the profession completely.

The inability to be part of a socio-economic system and lacking resources to live a socially acceptable lifestyle result in increasing social exclusion. Low income and part-time employment is a towering wall separating young graduates from active participation in social and cultural life. Anyone without family assistance can find themselves living on the dole the day after they receive certificates.

According to the February report by Eurostat (the European Union’s statistics agency), the percentage of unemployed youth in Europe soared to alarming 20.6%. This means that the number of Europeans looking for work has doubled compared to their parents’ generation.

The current financial crisis has scarred the European economy and employment markets; even ‘privileged’ groups, such as academic graduates, seem to be strongly affected. Europe as a whole is displaying one of the highest jumps in youth unemployment since the early 1990s crisis, during which the first to lose their jobs were academics and research scholars.

But the EU does not lose heart. Developed by the European Commission, Europe 2020 strategy for ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’, which will be adopted in June, is meant to be a reaction to the crisis. The guidelines claim that a higher level of training would increase employment capability and lower the risk of poverty. On top of this the transition from graduation to gaining employment should become smoother. However, European youth and student organizations are worried that the project won’t get past mere debate on training and employment, repeating the flop of its precursor, the Lisbon Strategy. ‘If the follow-up strategy has nothing more than good wishes for better education and more social cohesion, Europe will not be much further in 2020 than we were when starting the Lisbon Strategy over 10 years ago,’ says Tine Radinja, chairperson of the European youth forum.

The situation doesn’t only create social exclusion; European levels of scholarship are also being threatened. The mental aspect is yet another thing. Young academics in particular do not at all expect to have to queue in job offices after graduating or to send applications off for months on end. It feels deceiving to see your achievements turn null and void as soon as you leave university. However you should under no circumstances let yourself feel resigned. You must continue to apply for jobs, while using the time for further training – thanks to many education projects like Erasmus Mundus, Socrates, Tempus etc. it is has become a prospective option. Never stop expanding your knowledge and improving skills – when the times of crisis are over, you will likely earn an appropriate position. And always keep your eyes and ears open:  you never know when chance sends a good opportunity your way.