SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES FACING YOUTH IN THE CONTEXT OF TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGES

Abstract

This article analyses the state of national youth politics in Ukraine. Youth issues in the context of transformational changes are examined. It is claimed that the main socio-economic issues facing youth are unemployment, underpayment, increase in the level of social disorders, gap between educational level in Ukraine and more developed countries, decline in the prestige of general and vocational education. Analysis of unemployment rate by age groups in Ukraine was conducted. Main directions for reforming youth politics both in regions and in the country are proposed. Socio-economic situation of youth is one of the main indicators of the country’s development. It is important to define the role, position of youth in society and their problems so that the formation of youth would happen with the regard to socioeconomic processes. The high speed of political, economic and social changes influenced the development of Ukrainian youth. Profound changes of social stratification occur under conditions of radical restructuring of Ukrainian society. One of the main features of social stratification is social polarization. An important feature of Ukrainian youth is stratification by socio-economic indicators. Youth face problems which they cannot resolve by themselves. They are unemployment, underpayment, reduction of affordable housing, paid education, drug addiction, alcoholism, criminalization, etc. The primary concern of this article is to examine Ukrainian youth opportunities in the labour market in the context of transformational changes. Youth are a specific socio-demographic group that occupies a special place in the social structure of society and plays a significant role in the socio-political and economic life of the state. This is due to the specific characteristics of this demographic group and possibilities of changing this population category in the process of socialization. Underpayment, which does not provide the normal reproduction of human potential, is one of the reasons for the growing problem of employment, especially for youth, because young people is the most sensitive subject in the labor market. The analysis of the unemployment rate of Ukrainians by age groups indicate that there is high unemployment in the age group of 15 to 24 years is 22.4% in 2015, because many young people are looking for work after the completion of professional education at that age and youth have problems with employment. Primarily this happens because other age groups due to its professionalism and experience have more advantages in employment. A significant role in solving youth problems should play society and the state, which must introduce such a policy in relation to youth, so that to provide the most effective training, decent education, health care, successful socialization. Resolving these problems requires the development and implementation of the state youth policy in social practices, which should be focused on creating a new system of training taking into account the trends of modern social and economic life, labor market needs, overcoming the exclusion of young people from political and social processes.