More than half of young Colombians who struggle to find work say a lack of experience stands in their way, highlighting a major barrier to getting a first job in Colombia. A report titled “¿Qué sabemos, qué falta y qué sigue?” (“What do we know, what is missing, and what comes next?”) found that 53.5% of young people identify insufficient work experience as the main reason they cannot find employment.
Hub Conexion Juvenil prepared the report with Fundacion Corona, EAFIT University’s public value center, and Fundacion Botnar, drawing on lessons from 16 studies conducted in Colombia between 2022 and 2026. The findings show that the challenge extends beyond getting a first paycheck, as many young people struggle to access stable employment and opportunities for career growth.
Colombia’s official statistics add context: youth unemployment among people ages 15 to 28 reached 14.1% from May to July, down from 15.0% a year earlier but still above the national unemployment rate of 9.4% reported for August. The report examines who faces the greatest barriers, what happens when young people find work, and how Colombia could build a stronger path from education to employment.
Who faces the biggest barriers to employment
The report shows that finding a job solves only half the problem, since 56.8% of young people who find employment work in the informal economy (jobs without contracts, health coverage or pension contributions), leaving them with little security and few opportunities for growth.
In addition, about five million young Colombians neither study nor work, and the inequalities behind that number follow clear lines of gender, origin and location. Women make up 71% of young people outside both school and work, largely because unpaid care for children and relatives falls on them. Meanwhile, 76.8% of young Venezuelan migrants and nearly 70% of young people with a certified disability cannot access educational and employment opportunities.
Geography matters just as much. In the departments of Guainia and Vaupes, fewer than 11% of young people reach high school, narrowing their employment prospects before they even look for a first job. Meanwhile, more than 30% of 15-year-olds have no clear idea of the career they want. Taken together, these findings show that the experience trap is only the most visible part of a larger problem, explaining why the report calls on Colombia to rethink its approach rather than simply create more vacancies.
— Portafolio (@Portafolioco) October 10, 2026
Conseguir el primer empleo sigue siendo uno de los grandes desafíos para los jóvenes en Colombia.
El 53,5 % de los jóvenes no consigue trabajo por falta de experiencia, una barrera que dificulta su entrada al mercado laboral y plantea nuevos retos para las empresas y… pic.twitter.com/flbNVcQ9bK
How Colombia can help young people find stable work
Because the problem has so many layers, the report proposes five priorities that treat a young person’s journey as a whole rather than as a series of disconnected programs. First, Colombia should connect guidance, training, practical experience, job placement and ongoing support into one continuous path. It should measure not only how many young people find work but also how long they stay and how much they progress.
Second, it should design solutions for each territory, because rural youth, migrants and young people with disabilities need different forms of support. Third, it should treat mental health as part of employment programs. Fourth, it should bring governments, companies, schools and youth groups together in lasting partnerships.
The report also acknowledges what Colombia still does not know, including which programs work over time, what companies can do beyond hiring, and how artificial intelligence and automation will change the skills young workers need. These gaps matter because the labor market keeps changing, while national unemployment stood at 9.4% in August. If Colombia wants young workers to break the experience trap, it will have to turn this evidence into decisions that open the door to a first job before the next generation faces the same barrier.