It has been suggested that youth transitions have become increasingly protracted and complex and that routes between school and work, which were once viewed as linear and predictable, have been replaced by a set of movements that are more fragmented. Our aim in this paper is to contextualise these changes in an attempt to capture the degree of complexity characteristic of modern transitions and to explore the implications for patterns of labour market integration. We argue that there has been a tendency to exaggerate processes of de-linearisation and that the modern tendency to regard transitional complexity as symptomatic of «choice biographies» can help mask structures of disadvantage. Key words: youth transitions, choice biographies, youth employment, youth unemployment.
Resum. Biografies d'elecció i linealitat de la transició: la reconceptualització de les transicions juvenils modernesS'apunta que les transicions juvenils cada vegada són més llargues i complexes i que els camins entre l'escola i el treball, que abans es consideraven lineals i previsibles, actualment han estat substituïts per un conjunt de moviments que estan més fragmentats. L'objectiu d'aquest article és contextualitzar aquests canvis per tal de captar el grau de complexitat característic de les transicions modernes i explorar les implicacions que tenen en els models d'integració en el mercat laboral. Defensem que s'ha tendit a exagerar els processos de deslinealització i que la tendència moderna de veure la complexitat de les transicions com un fet simptomàtic de les «biografies d'elecció» pot contribuir a ocultar estructures de desavantatges.
In this paper we use evidence from the Scottish Young People's Surveys to explore some of the ways in which local contexts help to shape young people's subjective orientations towards the labour market. We attempt to move beyond the concept of `opportunity structures' introduced by Roberts by considering the salience of a number of possible components of these structures of opportunity. We argue that young people's occupational aspirations are shaped as part of an interplay between individual inequalities and opportunity contexts and we provide evidence to challenge earlier research which cast doubt on the importance of local contexts. Our research suggests that neighbourhoods have an important impact on male occupational aspirations but that contextual effects have a weaker effect on females.
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