In Search of a Future

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Kölbel
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Student Activism ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
Elite University ◽  
Youth Agency ◽  
Education And Society ◽  
Job Prospects

In a conversation about youth agency, the most common discourses that come up are of acts of liberation, resistance, and deviance. However, this perspective is fairly narrow and runs the risk of reinforcing pervasive and often polarizing depictions of youth. In order to broaden the understanding of young people’s collective actions and their potential social implications, it is necessary to ask: What types of agency do young people demonstrate? This book aims to scrutinize some of the conceptual ideas that underlie prevalent visions of youth as agents of social change and as a source of hope for a better future. As a part of the Education and Society in South Asia series, it provides insightful accounts of students’ daily routines on and around a public university campus in Kathmandu, Nepal, and calls attention to a group of non-elite university students who have remained less visible in scholarly and public debates about student activism, youth unemployment, and international migration. By placing different strands of literature on youth, aspiration, and mobility into conversation, In Search of a Future unveils new and important perspectives on how young people navigate competing social expectations, educational inequalities, and limited job prospects.

THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF SKHOTHANE ON YOUTH’S (UNDER)DEVELOPMENT AT EKURHULENI’S TO WNSHIP(S) OF SOUTH AFRICA

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Ndwakhulu Tshishonga
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Culture ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Culture Of Poverty ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Cultural Implications ◽  
Material Goods ◽  
Ultimate Purpose

This article examines the socio-economic implications that the controversial sub-culture of skhothane has on the development or underdevelopment of youth at Ekurhuleni and surrounding townships. It interrogates skhothane within the post-modern expressive youth culture. In the township(s) of Ekurhuleni, skhothane is regarded not only as a controversial sub-culture but also as a lifestyle whereby young people compete in acquiring material goods with the ultimate purpose of destroying them. This practice co-exists alongside youth unemployment and underdevelopment which is exacerbated by poverty, rising unemployment and gross inequalities. The author argues that the practice of skhothane sub-culture does not only undermine the policies and programmes aimed at the socio-economic upliftment of young people, but turns the youth into materialistic consumers. In this article, young people are viewed as victims of post-modern lifestyles who are socialised under an intergenerational culture of poverty and underdevelopment. It uses primary data from selected interviews with skhothane members and general members of local communities and secondary sources from books, accredited journals and newspapers.

scholarly journals Fresh contact: Youth, migration, and atmospheres in India

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Dyson
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Social Nature ◽  
Environmental Setting ◽  
The Social ◽  
Youth Agency ◽  
Indian Village ◽  
High Degree

This paper uses long-term research in an Indian village to develop Karl Mannheim’s notion of each generation’s ‘fresh contact’ with their inherited social and environmental setting. I examine how a generation of young people re-apprehend their local environment following a period of migration. I argue that young people aged between 25 and 34 who have lived outside their locality re-appraise their village economically and spiritually when they return home. I point to the social nature of this ‘fresh contact’, its spatial character, and the high degree of reflexivity that young men display in discussing their own agency as a generation – a point that emerged especially clearly in their discussion of the term ‘ mahaul,’ a Hindi word meaning ‘atmosphere’. The paper contributes to geographical and anthropological work on youth agency by highlighting the utility of notions of fresh contact in specific social conjunctures, such as the migration of a particular cohort. At the same time, it suggests the importance of placing alongside Mannheim’s work an explicit focus on the spatial nature of fresh contact, the sociality that constitutes cohorts as generations, and young people’s reflexive capacity to theorise their generational agency.

scholarly journals HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE GROWTH OF MENIAL JOBS

2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-20
Author(s):  
Łukasz Albański
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
Iron Cage ◽  
Graduate Unemployment ◽  
Almost All ◽  
University Degree

Young people are confronting a world in which they may not achieve economic strides their parents did. Almost all will have been awarded university degree, worth far less (in the terms and conditions of their employment) than that of their parents, if they themselves graduated from university. In the article the author discusses the relationship between higher education and stratification. The concepts of meritocracy and credentialism are considered and a particular attention is paid to an equal/unequal access to education dilemma. Discussed is why a liberal arts education is losing ground and why it is being made a scapegoat for graduate unemployment. Does the nightmare of Weber’s “iron cage of rationalization” come true and is the contemporary university in the service of an economic order with all the related technical requirements of machine production? In the second part of the article the role of meritocratic discourse and educational credential inflation is considered as well as the growth of menial jobs for young people as a case in Poland. Key words: education at post-secondary level, liberal arts, youth unemployment, inequality, Poland.

scholarly journals Modelling of Social Policy and Initiatives under COVID-19: Rural NEET Youth Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 393
Author(s):  
Giedrė Kvieskienė ◽  
Ilze Ivanova ◽  
Karmen Trasberg ◽  
Viktorija Stasytytė ◽  
Eglė Celiešienė
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Rural Regions

NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) youth rates in Europe are generally higher in rural regions than in urban areas and the share in rural regions is constantly increasing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people became even more vulnerable as they experienced social exclusion and mental health problems. The objective of this paper is to analyse NEET youth-related statistics in Europe and distinguish positive initiatives for young people in rural areas of the Baltic countries to encourage positive emotions and willingness to learn. Statistical analysis and case study methods were employed. Data on youth unemployment, NEET youth by age and gender, and poverty and social exclusion of young people, is analysed. Social policy initiatives in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, mainly from rural municipalities, are presented and discussed. This research determines the key issues related to NEET youth and proposes initiatives to overcome existing problems among young people. Such social initiatives aim to promote positive social emotions of youth, promote their inclusion in society, and foster regional sustainability.

scholarly journals The impacts of pre-apprenticeship training for young people

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Dorsett ◽  
Lucy Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Apprenticeship Training ◽  
Variable Approach ◽  
Average Impact ◽  
Unobserved Preferences ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Instrumental Variable Approach

Apprenticeships are the key means by which the UK government aims to build skills and tackle the problem of youth unemployment. However, not all young people are able to secure an apprenticeship. Traineeships, a voluntary six-month programme of work placements and work preparation training, were introduced in England in 2013 to help equip young people with the skills and experience required to secure an apprenticeship or employment. The analysis in this paper uses linked administrative data on the population of trainees and a comparison sample of non-trainees to evaluate the impact of the programme on employment and apprenticeships. It uses a local instrumental variable approach, which allows selection into a traineeship to be influenced by unobserved preferences and for impacts to vary according to these preferences. The heterogeneous impacts can be aggregated to form an estimate of the average impact of treatment for all participants. The results show no overall impact on employment for younger trainees (16-18 year-olds) but an across-the-board positive impact on the probability of becoming an apprentice. For older trainees (19-23 year-olds), no significant impact on either employment or apprenticeships is evident among participants as a whole but the results suggest that, for those more resistant to participating, traineeships may actually reduce the probability of becoming an apprentice. These results confirm the effectiveness of traineeships as a means of facilitating apprenticeships among younger people. As such, they support the policy target of achieving 3 million apprenticeships by 2020.

#6751 WHY WE NEED TO ACHIEVE AN INTERNATIONALLY AGREED AGE DEFINITION OF THE ‘NEET’ GROUP

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter ◽  
Mpho Ngoepe
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Significant Variation ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
International Variation ◽  
Specific Target ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Age Cohort ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Made In

Internationally, significant variation exists between the use and application of the term ‘NEET’ (not in education, employment or training) to define levels of economic and social exclusion among groups of young people. It depends on the situation, and/or the context in which the term is applied. The term draw attention to unacceptably high levels of youth unemployment and economic inactivity, as well as the scarring consequences this may have on young people’s lives. The use of the term ‘NEET’ has faced a number of international challenges, including the age cohort to which the term is applied. This varies from one organisation to another, and the specific target group assigned and the variability of meaning of the term ‘NEET ‘itself. This paper aims to provide a review of the shifting and changing age cohort included within the NEET category since its inception in the 1990s. The study utilises an Entity-Related Diagram to demonstrate the international variation that now exists. Recommendations are made in order to maximise the deployment of a standardised definition of NEET, in order to achieve some commonality of understanding about how we measure and define ‘NEEThood’, and crucially, in developing and applying policy responses to address their needs.

Which countries perform best and why?

2018 ◽  
pp. 59-90
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Labour Market Situation ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Youth Labour Market ◽  
Market Situation ◽  
Education And Employment ◽  
The Uk

This chapter examines countries' performance regarding youth unemployment. Although the labour market situation of young people has started to improve in a number of countries since the Great Recession of 2007–8, youth unemployment still remains very high across Europe. High youth unemployment rates reflect young people's difficulties in securing employment, or the inefficiency of the labour market. Germany and the Netherlands have established the most effective institutions to achieve a high integration of 15–19 year-olds in education and employment. Indeed, both Germany and the Netherlands are amongst the highest performing countries in the EU for making sure their young people are in employment. Austria and Denmark also achieve good youth labour market and employment outcomes. Meanwhile, countries like France and the UK try to facilitate school-to-work (STW) transitions by lowering labour costs through subsidies or low employment protection.

NEETs: a case study in addressing the issues relating to disengaged youth in East Cleveland

2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 467-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
David William Stoten
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North East ◽  
Executive Agencies ◽  
Support Programmes ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the challenges and approaches taken to address the issue of NEETs in North East England. The area around Redcar in East Cleveland has high levels of unemployment, particularly youth unemployment. This paper compared actions taken in England in the support offered to disaffected youth and reports on the strategy pursued in East Cleveland. Design/methodology/approach – The research was primarily desk-based, interrogating Government publications as well as that generated by executive agencies and local educational institutions. A number of key figures were surveyed in addition to obtain a grounded insight into the challenges that confront those who work in this area. Findings – This study identified areas of good practice that could be considered elsewhere. Its conclusions emphasise that solutions to the NEETs problem are to be found in bespoke and individually focused programmes that value the contribution of young people to society and aim to build their self-esteem and confidence. It also highlights the importance of inter-agency cooperation and joined up strategic planning. Research limitations/implications – This study would have benefited from the opportunity to survey the views of young people involved in support programmes. Given issues of confidentiality, this was not possible. Originality/value – This study adds to the literature generated by Government bodies and educational institutions on the issue of disaffected youth. Its value lies in its reference to a specific geographic area and its insight into the work of local professionals in tackling this complex social issue.

Youth unemployment: Implications for social work practice

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 560-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianqiang Liang ◽  
Guat Tin Ng ◽  
Ming-sum Tsui ◽  
Miu Chung Yan ◽  
Ching Man Lam
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Young People ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Youth Unemployment ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Youth Employment ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Employment Conditions ◽  
Social Work Programs

Summary This article discusses a missing but emergent role of social work with unemployed young people. The authors highlight the transitional and structural factors of youth unemployment. Using a social work lens, the “Youth Employment Network” (YEN) is discussed and the International Labour Organization’s “4Es” (employability, equal opportunity, employment creation, entrepreneurship) framework is elaborated. This article adds a fifth “E” (Ecological connection) and proposes a “5Es” model for social workers to support unemployed young people to overcome transitional and structure barriers for employment. Findings Limited social work programs, studies, or evaluations are targeted for unemployed young people despite historical concern with employment conditions of workers and suggest the instrumental role in research, policy and practice concerning the unemployed young people. Applications Recommendations are provided in terms of how to implement the 5Es in policy, education, training, and direct practice of social work in youth employment.

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