Suchergebnisse

The potential scarring effects of long-term youth unemployment and social disengagement have for many years challenged policymakers to develop successful and sustainable interventions.

In recent years, mass participation in post-16 education and training in England has led to a diminishing understanding about young people who leave education at the end of compulsory schooling to enter 'jobs without training' (JWT). Drawing on data from three recent studies, this article argues that the JWT group is not homogeneous in its composition. Similar findings led to the development of a common typology across all three studies to define young people's position in the labour market, their motivations and aspirations, and their access to training and development. It concludes with a series of recommendations for addressing the deficit in knowledge about the composition of the JWT group, and the learning and training needs of young workers. This discussion is set in the context of the implementation of the Raising of the Participation Age (RPA) in England for all 17-year olds from 2013 and for all 18-year olds from 2015, although within the Coalition Government's current proposals, its delivery will lack any form of immediate enforcement. Therefore, unless young workers and their employers are committed to the acquisition of accredited qualifications, RPA delivery will be seriously undermined and intervention to support school to work transitions among the JWT group will remain negligible.

This chapter discusses the types of policy initiatives which have been introduced to address concerns over the ongoing 'problem' of not in education, employment, or training (NEETs) young people. Early intervention policies have been introduced in many countries in an attempt to provide early identification of young people who may be at risk of becoming NEET or dropping out of education. Approaches for identifying those at risk of becoming NEET are therefore focused on whether young people will remain in education, employment, or training following the completion of compulsory education. Reintegration strategy at the level of the individual should involve having systems which identify young people who become NEET and support them to achieve positive outcomes in terms of re-engagement.

Youth unemployment has been on the rise since the beginning of the crisis in 2008. Even more troublesome is the dramatic rise in the number of youth not in employment, education or training, which has led to widespread concerns about the impact on social cohesion and fears of a 'lost generation'. Given the extreme differences in youth unemployment levels among member states, it is clear that no single labour market policy will be appropriate throughout the EU. There may, however, be opportunities for mutual learning on how to combat youth unemployment. This Forum explores youth unemployment in the EU via case studies of England, Belgium, Spain, Poland and Ireland. It also examines Germany's dual vocational training system as one potential solution.