What Can Guernsey Be For Young People?

I am sure that we are all familiar with the common sentiment that underpins Guernsey attitudes on its demographics, one readily accepted and distributed across many age groups. This sentiment asks young people “will you stay or come back to the island?” and, amidst many answers, concludes that ‘Guernsey is not suitable for young people’. From my experience, this attitude is a seed embedded in all facets of island life, germinating in conversations surrounding affordability, housing, entertainment, and career prospects, to name a few. We ruminate on what renders Guernsey unsuitable for a young population, and wonder why people like us take flight at 18 and seldom return. But what truly differentiates Guernsey from areas of high engagement and concentrations of young people? And what is the key to unlocking the potential of Guernsey’s vast offerings to the younger population? I seek to dispel the myths that too often govern perceptions on Guernsey’s demographic mixture by answering these questions.

The Common Conception of Young People - Where Does it Come from?

I would argue there are multiple derivatives from which the prevailing sentiment that Guernsey is unsuitable for young people arises from.

Firstly, our island does have incentives to live here, but ones that exist within a narrow frame of desire and as the product of specific economic and political reasons. For instance, the finance industry is one of the largest employers on the island, and provides a wealth of entry level roles that guarantee stable career progression. From trust, audit, banking, and investment services, Guernsey has played a central role on the international fiduciary, evidently altering the labour composition and opportunities available. After having completed an internship at a finance firm previously, the attractions of working in a finance firm are bountiful, from frequent social events, travel opportunities from both client meetings and a healthy individual salary, as well as the progressions available within the company itself. It is clear the ramifications that this particular convergence of political and economic contexts has on Guernsey, but what does it mean for those that do not want to work in this industry?

Well, the options appear to fall short of providing a diverse array of choices for young people that support all different facets of one’s life. Career prospects that reward and build off of investments in post-secondary education are marginal, and represent a significant area of development if Guernsey is to be more attractive to young islanders whose interests vary greatly. The choice of job should not have to be considered in relation to the benefits of finance, and should also be coupled with an affordable and supported route to housing and daily costs of living.

This is where the second issue lies in that young people’s sought after independence is curtailed through both a perceived and real lack of affordable living spaces. Student life offers a freedom seldom available back in Guernsey, demonstrating one of the concessions associated with returning post-graduation in a withdrawal of independence privileges. Should Guernsey boast a more sustainable housing stock, I would expect to observe an increased engagement between young people and calling the island home. Again, such experiences of young people are situated within wider political and economic contexts for which Guernsey must grapple with to harness its potential for generations to come.

The third aspect of Guernsey living that is deceptively occluded by its small size is how disconnected our various communities still are. Highlighting another positive benefit of working within a large finance firm, the social opportunities within the company and profession are immense, diminishing the desire for external community organizations that would encourage otherwise disconnected communities to enmesh. Interestingly, one of the most exciting parts of Inclusive Islanders has been, for me, meeting similar aged folk that have jobs outside of finance, understanding what career development looks like in their respective fields. However, where these jobs have differed is in their opportunity beyond professional development and earning a salary. So, when people's work/life balance instead no longer revolves around a family-centric lifestyle and depends more upon making connections outside of their career in the community, what then can Guernsey do to curtail the heightened loneliness and desire to leave amongst young people?

What is Unique to Guernsey? And What Potential Does this Uniqueness Hold?

Despite the prevailing attitude, Guernsey does offer an array of attractive aspects for young people considering where to live. There are reasons I am eager to come back each summer; the beautiful scenery, the pace of lifestyle, and the amount of experiences and entertainment on offer. I feel lucky to visit during peak seasons, notwithstanding my own communal contributions through working each summer, mostly due to these reasons. And these are precisely why Guernsey is persistently cited as a fantastic place to travel to, work, and settle. So what accounts for the mismatch between Guernsey’s attractive offerings and the engagement of the student population? I would say community, and one(s) that’re crafted meaningfully.

Tackling the interconnected aforementioned issues is no easy feat, not least because of the contextual elements that have established the current demographic patterns and attitudes of young people towards Guernsey living. However, harnessing the volume of third spaces in Guernsey beyond a culture of alcohol and instead through community connection facilitated by the Bailiwick’s stunning natural environment is certainly the path to go down.

What does Guernsey look like for young people when connection becomes affordable, comfortable, and inclusive of diverse lived experiences?

When socializing isn’t gatekept behind company culture and instead encouraged between people that wouldn’t have otherwise met?

Guernsey has always been a great place to be, and it can continue to be so, a potentiality that Inclusive Islanders has grappled with fantastically. I am excited to see it grow!

-Bill Nicholson, 21, grew up in Guernsey and currently studies at off-island at Brock University, Canada.