Developing career capabilities in “NEET” young people: experiences of participants in the Prince’s Trust team programme

Abstract

This qualitative study focuses on the impact of a supportive 12-week programme intended to empower young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) to pursue life-career goals of their own choosing. The programme is viewed through the conceptual lens of the Capability Approach of Amartya Sen, an approach to social justice that stresses the power to make and implement lifestyle choices. Fourteen young people who attended the Prince's Trust team programme were interviewed. Their accounts of their experience of the programme were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Participants found the programme to be a positive confidence-building experience, and it enabled them to deploy their existing resources in pursuit of a personally meaningful goal.

Salutogenesis and the Sense of Coherence in Young Adults Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET)

“…No studies on long-term effects of supported education or supported employment on the specific group of young adults in NEET situations could be located. These findings correspond to statements by several authors (e.g., Robertson, 2018) describing a lack of strong evidence for the effectiveness of back-to-work programs. Accordingly, in a previous literature review, Lakey et al (2001) revealed a near absence of evidence for the health effects of labour market programs for NEET young people.…”

“…A third perspective relates to NEET situations due to mental problems in young adults to general societal developments. Robertson (2018) assumes that underlying societal circumstances may further hamper the transition to adult-hood. He states that the pathways from adolescence to adulthood are prolonged, more complicated, and more individual in general: Those who manage well find a broader range of opportunities and those who do not face NEET situations very often have health problems.…”

“…In the years following the banking crisis of 2008, unemployment levels rose, and youth unemployment rates were substantially higher than those for adults (Robertson, 2018). The numbers of young people not in education, employment, or training remained stable even in those countries where employment rates increased remarkably (Carcillo et al, 2015;Wilson & Bivand, 2014).…”

Caught in the “NEET Trap”: The Intersection Between Vocational Inactivity and Disengagement From an Early Intervention Service for Psychosis

“…past two decades (13)(14)(15). Being NEET, or vocationally inactive, is associated with numerous social and economic costs, along with feeling excluded, discouraged, and disempowered (16). The relationships between mental illness and vocational inactivity may be circular, with each increasing the risk of the other (17)(18)(19)(20).…”

Towards a more all‐inclusive evaluation of interventions for unemployed youth: A longitudinal investigation of participant, programme, relational and contextual factors

“…Besides, Mawn et al (2017), in their systematic review, concluded that studies that assess the effect of ALMPs for unemployed youth are scarce and those that are available suffer from methodological issues, such as a small number of participants and a lack of a follow-up (e.g., Robertson, 2018;Seddon, Hazenberg, & Denny, 2013). Other studies did not study the effects of one specific intervention, but instead clustered all the different activation programmes (including apprenticeships, vocational training, community service and public employment programmes) together into one treatment group (e.g., Cammeraat, Jongen, & Koning, 2017;Cappellini, Duranti, Patacchini, & Sciclone, 2019).…”