Breathe
By Nurit Martínez
It is common that one of the new year's resolutions is to have a stable job, with better performance opportunities, especially to improve personal income, but what happens if this goal only remains a resolution and there is no training or adequate training to perform in that job?
The response from the employers' table, when economic conditions are inadequate, can be summed up in one simple sentence: there is no wage increase and there will be no wage increase.
No one who receives an answer like that is satisfied in their workplace. But if we look at the national panorama regarding the supply of education and training for Mexicans, we can find some of the reasons why we need to design State policies to face this condition of low salaries and higher productivity for companies.
The story is the one experienced by 75% of workers in Mexico according to the OCC Employment Survey, which reveals the demand to change jobs and that only two out of ten workers are satisfied with their current position.
Let's see what happens with workers. The most recent indicators collected by the Ministry of Public Education show that the percentage of the young population between 15 and 29 years of age with stable employment in 2023 was 27.9% for those with basic education.
While for those who had completed high school, the possibilities of stable employment are 40.7% and grew to 58.3% for those who studied at a higher level.
When one looks at the numbers, the number of people who are in unstable employment conditions or looking for another job, even if they have one, stands out.
It is not uncommon to hear people say that I have two, three or even five incomes,
They divide their abilities, skills and professional training only to obtain the income they consider sufficient to meet their personal and family needs. But in return there are a good number of people who do not have the technical, professional and developmental skills to adapt to new work contexts.
Another aspect is the personal investment to join training programs to improve these same skills in the face of technological innovation; what is certain is that in these contexts a greater balance of what education provides is required.
Today the constitution establishes that a Mexican citizen is guaranteed the right to have free and compulsory education up to university; today the State does not comply with this guarantee and it is the responsibility of each citizen to demand compliance, otherwise we are left with the ballot box to sanction those who do not comply. It made a commitment and did not fulfill it. The appropriate times will come for that.
As long as the education system does not respond to citizens to provide training opportunities for all, the possibilities of better jobs and salaries will not make it possible to build a country without inequalities.
The same SEP indicators show that having a higher education allowed half of the workers to have an hourly wage of 50.2 pesos or less, but if they only have a bachelor's degree, their income drops below 30 pesos; the difference is significant.
The same educational system is creating an unequal country, so that New Year's resolutions may remain a mere aspiration and goal if we are not able to begin to politicize the citizenship that more than a superstitious action, having a job and a better salary imply better education, updating and constant training for employment.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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