State failure in dealing with the NEET problem in South Africa: which way forward?

Abstract

The concept 'not in education, employment or training' (NEET) has only recently been deployed in academic analyses and policy documents in South Africa. This article uses the concept to highlight the acute levels of youth unemployment experienced in that country. It discusses the causal factors, and adopts the concept of 'social capital' as a powerful explanatory device, particularly in explaining why the young unemployed fail to access the first job. The discussion then proceeds to critique South African state efforts in resolving the NEET problem. The strategies of the state have failed in most cases, or where successful, have not expanded sufficiently to the requisite scale. In the conclusion, the discussion notes the relative success of many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) -operating at the micro level -in facilitating access to the first job. This suggests the need for more micro-level, qualitative research into the conditions that define local labour markets, and the role played by key organisational intermediaries such as NGOs which succeed where the state has failed -in successfully placing the young unemployed in work.

Hesitant hopes: How a comprehensive approach to learning impacts on the transition hopes of marginalised young people in an alternative learning programme in regional Australia

“…Further, it also positions them as 'being incapable of challenging intellectual work, reducing them to very marginal roles in powerful capitalist systems ' (McGregor et al, 2017, p. 29). A key driver in this positioning of these young people is the state's concern that they are at risk of not staying in education or transitioning to employment or further training (NEET) (Furlong, 2006;Chen, 2011;Kraak, 2013;Leino et al, 2013;Singh & Harreveld, 2014;Stanwick et al, 2017;Powell, 2018). They have the potential to become what Bauman (2011) refers to as 'the "underclass" (not part of the upper, middle or lower class workers) .…”

Jóvenes que ni estudian ni trabajan (‘NINIS’): una aproximación a sus características en el marco socioeconómico y político actual en la provincia de Sevilla (España)

“…Sin duda, este concepto, ha adquirido cada vez mayor importancia, a nivel mundial, como pauta para reconocer los problemas a los que se enfrenta la juventud cuando ha dejado la educación formal y se sumerge en el mundo del desempleo y/o del trabajo intermitente, precario e inestable (Kraak, 2013). Tanto la categoría "nini" como las que le precedieron poseen ventajas e inconvenientes, aunque cabe destacar que desde su origen todas arrastran connotaciones peyorativas al considerarse socialmente reprochable que jóvenes en plenas condiciones para estudiar y/o trabajar no lo hagan, suponiéndose que persiguen subsistir eternamente de las prestaciones estatales.…”

Raising of the participation age in the UK: the dichotomy between full participation and institutional accountability

“…Fergusson (2013) suggests that the levels of youth unemployment in countries such as Ireland, Spain and Greece match the endemic extremes that have long characterised areas of North Africa and the Middle East. On the other hand, Kraak (2013) argues that, in South Africa, government policies designed to ensure young people can access training which will lead to employment, along with incentives for employers are having little effect. The policy in the UK is not a change to the school-leaving age, which is what happened in countries such as Italy and Belgium, but instead aims to encourage participation which will have a positive impact on individuals through their increased earning potential, and on the economy through sustained economic participation and, reducing the number of young people becoming NEET.…”