OECD gives bleak assessment of state of Finnish teenage boys
Authorities question aspects of figures
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The fresh Factbook put out by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) paints a bleak picture of the state of Finnish teenage boys. According to the organisation, 13 percent of boys between the ages of 15 and 19 neither work, nor attend school.
The data, based on figures collected in 2003, show that proportion of idle teenage boys in Finland is the third-highest in the EU and fourth highest in the whole organisation. Meanwhile, Finnish girls of the same age group are slightly more diligent than the OECD average, with just 6.4 percent out of school and without a job.
The OECD figures were examined on Wednesday by both Statistics Finland and the Ministry of Education. Both institutions questioned some of the findings.
Finnish youth experts were less sceptical, however.
"I believe that the figure is correct", says researcher Petri Paju of the Youth Studies Network. He says that the boys in question include those who did not get into further education after comprehensive school, or who dropped out, or never bothered to apply. Others are waiting to begin their military service and sign up for unemployment in the meantime. There are some with serious personal problems, while others may have talents, but simply do not go to school.
Tommi Hoikkala of the Youth Research Society recalls a previous estimate, in which ten percent of young people - boys and girls - were out of school and out of work.
"It is also known that idleness becomes gender-linked, and that the guys are in the majority. This is intuitive knowledge in this field."
The OECD gets its figures on Finland from Statistics Finland, where Heidi Melasniemi-Uutela wonders how the organisation came upon the numbers it got.
According to the criteria used by Statistics Finland, more girls and fewer boys were unemployed in Finland in 2003 than the OECD paper suggests. If conscripts are added to the boys’ figures, the number is higher than that those of the OECD.
"They probably took the unemployment figures, and subtracted, in one way or another, those who were, in fact, in school", Melasniemi-Uutela says.
"On the other hand, labour research in most EU countries is rather similar, so this statistic can be indicative".
At the Ministry of Education, Kimmo Aaltonen questions the suggestion contained in the figures that there would not have been considerable changes in youth idleness since 1998; since that year youth unemployment is known to have gone down, and the number of young people taking further training after comprehensive school has increased, and the drop-out rate has decreased.
"It is certainly true that the proportion of boys among those without work is higher than that of girls", Kimmo Aaltonen says.
"But when the figure for boys is almost the highest in the EU countries, it would seem that the actual situation is not really that bad."
The data, based on figures collected in 2003, show that proportion of idle teenage boys in Finland is the third-highest in the EU and fourth highest in the whole organisation. Meanwhile, Finnish girls of the same age group are slightly more diligent than the OECD average, with just 6.4 percent out of school and without a job.
The OECD figures were examined on Wednesday by both Statistics Finland and the Ministry of Education. Both institutions questioned some of the findings.
Finnish youth experts were less sceptical, however.
"I believe that the figure is correct", says researcher Petri Paju of the Youth Studies Network. He says that the boys in question include those who did not get into further education after comprehensive school, or who dropped out, or never bothered to apply. Others are waiting to begin their military service and sign up for unemployment in the meantime. There are some with serious personal problems, while others may have talents, but simply do not go to school.
Tommi Hoikkala of the Youth Research Society recalls a previous estimate, in which ten percent of young people - boys and girls - were out of school and out of work.
"It is also known that idleness becomes gender-linked, and that the guys are in the majority. This is intuitive knowledge in this field."
The OECD gets its figures on Finland from Statistics Finland, where Heidi Melasniemi-Uutela wonders how the organisation came upon the numbers it got.
According to the criteria used by Statistics Finland, more girls and fewer boys were unemployed in Finland in 2003 than the OECD paper suggests. If conscripts are added to the boys’ figures, the number is higher than that those of the OECD.
"They probably took the unemployment figures, and subtracted, in one way or another, those who were, in fact, in school", Melasniemi-Uutela says.
"On the other hand, labour research in most EU countries is rather similar, so this statistic can be indicative".
At the Ministry of Education, Kimmo Aaltonen questions the suggestion contained in the figures that there would not have been considerable changes in youth idleness since 1998; since that year youth unemployment is known to have gone down, and the number of young people taking further training after comprehensive school has increased, and the drop-out rate has decreased.
"It is certainly true that the proportion of boys among those without work is higher than that of girls", Kimmo Aaltonen says.
"But when the figure for boys is almost the highest in the EU countries, it would seem that the actual situation is not really that bad."
Helsingin Sanomat