During the past decades, the transformation from industrial to postindustrial economies has changed the context of young people' s transition to the labor market. In most western countries, these transitions have become not only prolonged but also more fragmented, diversified, and less linear. They can be compared with yo-yos as they go back and forth between education, employment, and unemployment. The destandardization of youth transitions has replaced security and predictability by personal choices and risks. Based on a concept that perceives social integration as the dialectic of structure and agency, we analyze youth transitions from a dual perspective by relating education and labor market conditions to the subjective perspective and agency of individuals. Some of our ideas are based on findings obtained in the YOYO project, 1 which studied the motivational careers of young people in their transitions from school to work and the potentials of participation and informal learning in young people's transitions. The project involved ten European countries
Major developments in the labour market structure of post-indusrrialised societies, in which the acquisition of knowledge is becoming of decisive importance, deeply influence youth biographies. Such developments include the disappearance of outdated professions and crafts, the development of new organisational principles in companies, and, especially, the development of information and communication technologies. At the same time, the contemporary labour market demands that employees exhibit a maximum degree of flexibility. Among other things, this means that young people should be willing to accept a (even temporary) job in a foreign country. Furthermore, independent enterprise is beingstimulated through (financial) incentives, many of which are specially designed for young people starting out in selfemployment (CARP, 2000; Vol3, 2000). The structural changes on the labour market -and especially the way in which young people should adjust to these changes -are reflected in the contemporary social debate about lifelong learning. The key issue is the intermingling of work and study. Not only is it noted that education is taking an ever more important place in the youth life course, but also that in post-modern service economies, there is a tendency towards leisure time not only being used for relaxation but also for learning (
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