scholarly journals Navigating an Uncertain Labor Market in the UK: The Role of Structure and Agency in the Transition from School to Work

2020 ◽  
Vol 688 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-92
Author(s):  
Ingrid Schoon
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
School To Work ◽  
Occupational Attainment ◽  
Employment Opportunities ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Structure And Agency ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Career Options

This article reviews the evidence on young people in the UK making the transition from school to work in a changing socioeconomic climate. The review draws largely on evidence from national representative panels and follows the lives of different age cohorts. I show that there has been a trend toward increasingly uncertain and precarious employment opportunities for young people since the 1970s, as well as persisting inequalities in educational and occupational attainment. The joint role of social structure and human agency in shaping youth transitions is discussed. I argue that current UK policies have forgotten about half of the population of young people who do not go to university, by not providing viable pathways and leaving more and more young people excluded from good jobs and employment prospects. Recommendations are made for policies aimed at supporting the vulnerable and at provision of career options for those not engaged in higher education.

scholarly journals Young People’s Services in an Age of Neoliberalism

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-206
Author(s):  
Graham Brotherton ◽  
Christina Hyland ◽  
Iain Jones ◽  
Terry Potter
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
Youth Services ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Way

Abstract This article brings together four different perspectives which explore the way in which various policy initiatives in recent years have sought to construct young people resident in the United Kingdom within particular policy discourses shaped by neoliberalism. In order to do this it firstly considers the way in which the assumptions of neoliberalism have increasingly been applied by the new Coalition Government to young people and the services provided for them; it then considers the particular role of New Labour in the UK in applying these ideas in practice. Specific examples from the areas of young people’s participation in youth services and higher education policy are then considered.

Employment of educated youth in rural Punjab: Amidst Stagnancy and (IM)Mobility

2021 ◽  
pp. 026272802110559
Author(s):  
Kamlesh Narwana ◽  
Angrej Singh Gill
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Employment Opportunities ◽  
Rural People ◽  
Young Males ◽  
Economic Marginality ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Career Options

In the context of larger discussions of how education, employment opportunities and social mobility processes intersect, this article presents micro-evidence to interrogate the role of higher education in accessing avenues for mobility regarding employment opportunities for educated youth in India’s rural Punjab. By presenting their career ambitions and trajectories, this fieldwork-based article maps a plethora of dynamics influencing the individual journeys. The article reflects on how social capital, caste and economic marginality affect the career options and mobility potential of these young males and females. The findings reaffirm that caste, compounded by economic inequality, tends to inhibit paths to upward mobility for young people located at the lower end of traditional hierarchies. However, determined efforts by many disadvantaged young rural people to succeed, partly supported by targeted affirmative action programmes, are also showing some remarkable results that offer hope.

Transition From School to Work

2019 ◽  
pp. 100-121
Author(s):  
Çiğdem Apaydın
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Young People ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Public Policies ◽  
School To Work ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Labor Market Programs

Although the pattern and issue of transition from school to work (TSW) is commonly discussed in France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, and the US, it cannot find a place as a topic of discussion in the press and academe in Turkey. In reality, transition from school to work constitutes one of the most critical steps in young people's careers. It is therefore necessary to discuss the power of public policies to improve policies for young people, such as the regulation of the labor market, labor market programs, the effect of education on having a profession, and transition from higher education to work, all of which are underlined in the literature. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the process of transition from higher education to work within the context of Turkey based on the literature.

scholarly journals The Role of Astronomy in Education and ‘Public Understanding'

1998 ◽  
Vol 162 ◽  
pp. 344-349
Author(s):  
Martin J Rees
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Strong Emphasis ◽  
The Uk

A few comments first on education in schools - this is a special worry here in the UK, where our international rankings are disappointing. An appreciation of science is vital not just for tomorrow's scientist and engineers, but for everyone who will live and work in a world even more underpinned by technology - and even more vulnerable to its failures and misapplications - than the present one. Even more important, the option of higher education in science and technology should not be foreclosed to them. There is widespread concern particularly about the 16-18 age group. Many of us put strong emphasis on broadening the curriculum for this group, which currently enforces unduly early specialisation here in England. Young people opting for humanities should not drop all science when they are 16.

Beating the Odds: Exploring the Impact of Social Risk on Young People's School-to-Work Transitions during Recession in the UK

2012 ◽  
Vol 222 ◽  
pp. R38-R51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Duckworth ◽  
Ingrid Schoon
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
School Environment ◽  
School Engagement ◽  
Educational Aspirations ◽  
Cumulative Risk ◽  
School To Work ◽  
Social Risk ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Drawing on nationally representative data collected for two age cohorts in the UK, this paper a) assesses the effect of multiple independent socioeconomic risk factors in shaping the transition from school to work; and b) identifies potential protective factors enabling young people to beat the odds. By comparing experiences and findings across two cohorts we assess the generalisability of findings across contexts, i.e. the 2008 and 1980s recessions. The results show that some young people exposed to even severe socioeconomic risks avoid being NEET (not in education, employment or training). Factors that appear to reduce the cumulative risk effect in both cohorts include prior attainment, educational aspirations and school engagement, as well as the social mix of the school environment.

Hidden speech, private thoughts: a case study in peer conversation and educational choice

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-168
Author(s):  
Cherry Canovan ◽  
Rory McDonald ◽  
Naomi Fallon
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Educational Choice ◽  
Older Students ◽  
Friendship Group ◽  
Great Relevance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Peer Conversation

The role of peer and friendship-group conversation in educational and career choices is of great relevance to widening participation (WP) practitioners, but has been little studied in recent years. We interviewed young people and WP practitioners in Carlisle, an isolated city in the UK, to interrogate this subject. We found that young people were clearly discussing their future choices, sometimes overtly and sometimes in 'unacknowledged conversations'. However some topics and ambitions were seen as 'too private' to discuss; all of our young people had a plan for the future, but many believed that some of their friends did not, possibly because of this constraint. We also discuss the role of older students in informing choices, the phenomenon of 'clustering' that can lead to young people funnelli ng into certain options, and the role that geographical isolation might play in exacerbating some effects. Finally we give some recommendations for WP practice based on these findings.

scholarly journals The Ethical Dilemma of Lifestyle Change: Designing for sustainable schools and sustainable citizenship

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-155
Author(s):  
Andrea Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Luce Irigaray ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
Michael Oakeshott ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Sustainable Schools

This paper explores how participation and sustainability are being addressed by architects within the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme in the UK. The intentions promoted by the programme are certainly ambitious, but the ways to fulfil these aims are ill-explored. Simply focusing on providing innovative learning technologies, or indeed teaching young people about physical sustainability features in buildings, will not necessarily teach them the skills they will need to respond to the environmental and social challenges of a rapidly changing world. However, anticipating those skills is one of the most problematic issues of the programme. The involvement of young people in the design of schools is used to suggest empowerment, place-making and to promote social cohesion but this is set against government design literature which advocates for exemplars, standard layouts and best practice, all leading to forms of standardisation. The potentials for tokenistic student involvement and conflict with policy aims are evident. This paper explores two issues: how to foster in young people an ethic towards future generations, and the role of co-design practices in this process. Michael Oakeshott calls teaching the conversation of mankind. In this paper, I look at the philosophy of Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Luce Irigaray to argue that investigating the ethical dilemmas of the programme through critical dialogue with students offers an approach to meeting government objectives, building sustainable schools, and fostering sustainable citizenship.

The Myth of the Digital Native and What It Means for Higher Education

2018 ◽  
pp. 97-114
Author(s):  
Linda Corrin ◽  
Tiffani Apps ◽  
Karley Beckman ◽  
Sue Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Young People ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
University Education ◽  
Childhood And Adolescence ◽  
Digital Native ◽  
College And University ◽  
Radical Transformation

The term “digital native” entered popular and academic discourse in the early 1990s to characterize young people who, having grown up surrounded by digital technology, were said to be highly technologically skilled. The premise was mobilized to criticize education for not meeting the needs of young people, thereby needing radical transformation. Despite being repeatedly discredited by empirical research and scholarly argument, the idea of the digital native has been remarkably persistent. This chapter explores the myth of the digital native and its implications for higher education. It suggests that the myth’s persistence signals a need to better understand the role of technology in young people’s lives. The chapter conceptualizes technology “practices,” considers how young adults experience technology in their college and university education, and how their practices are shaped by childhood and adolescence. The chapter closes with some propositions for educators, institutions, and researchers.

scholarly journals Risk, Choice and Social Disadvantage: Young People's Decision-Making in a Marketised Higher Education System

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 110-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheryl Clark ◽  
Anna Mountford-Zimdars ◽  
Becky Francis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Disadvantage ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
Tuition Fees ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
High Achieving Students ◽  
Risk Choice ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship

Rising tuition fees in England have been accompanied by a policy mandate for universities to widen participation by attracting students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This article focuses on one such group of high achieving students and their responses to rising tuition fees within the context of their participation in an outreach scheme at a research-intensive university in the UK. Our findings suggest that rather than being deterred from attending university as a result of fee increases, these young people demonstrated a detailed and fairly sophisticated understanding of higher education provision as a stratified and marketised system and justified fees within a discourse of ‘private good.’ Our analysis situates their ‘risk’ responses within the discursive tensions of the fees/widening participation mandate. We suggest that this tension highlights an intensified commodification of the relationship between higher education institutions and potential students from disadvantaged backgrounds in which widening participation agendas have shifted towards recruitment exercises. We argue that an ongoing effect of this shift has resulted in increased instrumentalism and a narrowing of choices for young people faced with the task of seeking out ‘value for money’ in their degrees whilst concurrently engaging in a number of personalised strategies aimed at compensating for social disadvantage in a system beset by structural inequalities.

scholarly journals The labor potential reproduction in depopulation period of 2019–2035 and the compensating role of migration

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 70-84
Author(s):  
A. V. Topilin ◽  
O. D. Vorob’eva ◽  
A. S. Maksimova
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Forecast Period ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Time Migration ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Working Age Population ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Labor Potential

Purpose of the research. To examine the dynamics of reproduction of labor potential and labor supply in Russia for the period up to 2035, depending on the impact factors of its reproduction: generation change (changes in the proportion of cohort, entering and leaving at the age composition of the labor potential), fertility and mortality rates, migration balance in the individual age cohorts.  Materials and methods. The concept of “replacement of generations” is introduced. The coefficient of replacement of generations is developed and its value for labor potential of Russia for the period up to 2035 is calculated. The influence of factors of natural population movement on the dynamics of labor potential is analyzed. The compensating role of the migration factor in the conditions of labor potential reduction is calculated. Russian regions were grouped according to the following criteria: the direction and intensity of changes in the working-age population in 2020–2035 and the proportion of young people aged 0–15 years.  Results.  – There will be the reduction and aging of labor potential during the second stage of depopulation due to demographic factors.  – The decline in the working-age population in the second wave of depopulation is expected to be smaller than in the first wave.  – In Russia there will be a decrease in the replacement of generations in the contingent of people of the working age.  – The growth of Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in the forecast period should not be expected, because until 2030 a gradual decrease in the number of women of reproductive age is expected.  – The deepest failure in the population of the working age will be in 2020–2025 accounting for 1.7 million people according to the average variant of the forecast.  – In the forecast period, the labor force in the most productive age of 25–39 years will decrease by 10.5 million people, and the employment rate will decrease from 65.5% to 63.5%.  – Regional features of the formation of demand and supply of labor force in Russia cause the allocation of six homogeneous groups of regions.  – In order to compensate for the losses, it is necessary to increase the migration gain in the average version of ROSSTAT forecast by 2–2.5 times.  Conclusion. To meet the needs of the economy in the labor force in the forecast period, it is necessary to solve two interrelated tasks: compensation for the reduction of labor potential and ensuring the quality of labor potential necessary for the introduction of new technologies and digitalization of the economy. The unfavorable situation with the formation of labor resources is exacerbated by regional imbalances in the distribution of labor potential and differences in its quality across the country. In the future, migration is once again the only source of replenishment of labor potential and replacement of generations, despite the risks of quality losses due to the emigration of highly qualified persons and young people. It is necessary to take measures to increase the compensatory role of migration in the next five – six years. At the same time, migration policy measures should be considered in close conjunction with other measures to stimulate fertility and reduce mortality, ensuring a positive impact on the components of the population growth.  

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