EPAA/AAPE is a peer-reviewed, open-access, international, multilingual, and multidisciplinary journal designed for researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and development analysts concerned with education policies. EPAA/AAPE accepts unpublished original manuscripts in English, Spanish and Portuguese without restriction as to conceptual and methodological perspectives, time or place. EPAA/AAPE publishes issues comprised of empirical articles, commentaries, and special issues at roughly weekly intervals, all of which pertain to educational policy, with direct implications for educational policy.
García-Fuentes has a degree in Pedagogy and is a researcher in training at the University of Granada. He is attached to the Department of Pedagogy of the same university and linked to the Research Group, Educational Policies and Reforms (HUM 308). His lines of research are related to youth and transitions, with a focus on the most disadvantaged groups
José Saturnino Martínez García Universidad de La Laguna Spain
“NEET” youth: A stigma that blurs the social problems of young people
Juan García-Fuentes, José Saturnino Martínez García
Abstract
This article is aimed at thinking about NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) youth and at proving experientially that the NEET concept is a way to hide social problems impacting youth because it does not take into account the structural restrictions that lead to this situation. This situation has become a pattern of social imbalance, where the lack of work experience promotes a vulnerable situation for those who just start to enter the labour world, which may leave “scars” in their lives.We present an analysis on youth transitions, where not every youth achieves to get out of job insecurity as an adult. An uncertain market of low wages is unsafe and flexible, and does not address the necessities of youth, who are paralysed in a socioeconomic crisis with few opportunities. This article approaches a selection of bibliographical sources and describes the information collected by the Working Population Survey (WPS) about the evolution of NEET, its relation with the job market, and the reasons why these youth do not look for employment. We conclude by arguing that weak work prospects end up deteriorating the citizen rights of the youth population.
Keywords
Young people; transitions; NEET; labour market; itinerary; unemployment