Schemes for the rehabilitation of youth in certain countries, with special reference to labour service

Abstract

Unemployment among young persons is one of the most acute and disturbing problems of this generation. It is difficult to assess its exact magnitude either in this or in other countries, but the International Labour Office concluded some years ago, from the mass of evidence at its disposal, that the number of unemployed persons under the age of 25 years is generally about a quarter of the total number of unemployed of all ages, and from the information available it appears that the proportion for Eire conforms closely to this figure, so that the number of unemployed youths between 16 and 25 years of age is in the neighbourhood of 20,000, of whom approximately 12,000 are under 21. It is with the outlook and prospects of these "out of works" that we are at present concerned. The problem has been tackled in various ways in other countries and has been the subject of a Report of the International Labour Office. The demoralising effects of unemployment on those who, full of youthful enthusiasm, are just entering upon adult life, is appreciated by every student of social conditions, and some means of alleviating this evil, with its trail of juvenile delinquency, is the subject of the present paper.