The age gap was highlighted as Generation Z university students preparing for their first jobs in the hi-tech workforce faced off against older businesspeople of the X and Y (also known as ‘Millennials’) generations who have already carved out successful careers in technology.
The young, all on internships in Cayman, stressed they wanted a good work/life balance and a degree of flexibility on the job, including remote options.
But some of their elders in the audience insisted teamwork was crucial to their continued success and that the needs of the job came first.
They were taking part in ‘The Next #TechGen’, a ‘Tech Talk’ discussion organised by Cayman Enterprise City, held at its Signal House complex in George Town on 3 July.
Nalani Swan, a computer science student at Leeds University and a talented footballer, played a strong defence of her generation when it was suggested they did not take their careers seriously enough.
She highlighted that even Generation Z could feel pressured by the blizzard of technological developments that they were expected to keep up with.
Swan, 19, in response to criticism from an older executive that it was difficult to attract internship applications from young people, denied her age group was work-shy.
She added that Gen Z used a variety of channels to keep tabs on opportunities and employers should use them as well.
“You have to address Generation Z – Instagram, LinkedIn. There is only a small amount of us on there, but we are on LinkedIn,” she said, adding, “I know there is a common perception our generation doesn’t want to work.”
She was backed up by an established older businessman, who entered the workforce around the start of the century.
“We felt the same way back then. We felt ‘we’re special’. We needed nap couches, Nintendo – do they even have Nintendo any more?” he said.
Adapting to change
Swan said afterwards that change was natural and that every generation criticised the previous one.
“Adapting to change is harder for some people. I think they can do it as well, but we are younger and have more time, less experience and more freedom.
“Maybe that’s why it’s easier for us to do so,” she said, noting, “I don’t think there should be a divide between us, or fear in terms of technology.”
Frederick Robson, 20, a computer science student at Cardiff Metropolitan University, said, “It’s just different expectations – we’ve grown up seeing the 9-to-5 thing and it’s not the most appealing.
“Change is hard for everyone, but, as our brains are still developing, we’re maybe more open to change.”
Shatava Millwood, a social sciences student at the University College of the Cayman Islands who hopes to carve out a career in human resources, said, “Education has become more flexible, as well as more specific to young people in Cayman.
“There should be more options … they should be able to do something they’re passionate about.”
Chad Owens, a mechanical engineering student at the University of South Florida, added, “Bridging the gap between university and real world demands could be a challenge.
“Having the right guidance and mentorship to develop you as a person and a professional is important.”
But clashes between generations are nothing new.
The Greek philosopher Aristotle said in the 4th century BC that the young were “high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances. They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it”.
‘Stuck in their ways’
Millwood, 18, admitted she felt some of the older generation might hold a less-than-flattering view of the young.
“I do think they think we are incompetent because we have our own way of doing things,” she said.
“They are just stuck in their ways, as Caymanians would say. But I think they are open to learning from our generation as we are open to learning from that generation.”
Owens, 20, added that he had been on internships where “they didn’t really trust me to do real work”.
But he said his time at Frontier Data, based in Signal House, was “more free and I can work with real data” as part of a team.
Millwood agreed the generation gap could be bridged with some goodwill on both sides.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say they need to change, but they could be more open-minded.
“If they were more open-minded about that, we would be in harmony more, rather than clashing and butting heads,” she said.
Alyssa Manderson, Cayman Enterprise City‘s programme manager, who moderated the discussion, did note, “Some of the older generations are a little rigid.”
But she said exchanges such as the Tech Talks event helped both sides to understand each other better and develop compromise solutions that everyone could live with.
Related Videos
