Deconstructing the NEET Condition for a Renewed Policy Approach to Youth Vulnerability

Name: Deconstructing the NEET Condition for a Renewed Policy Approach to Youth Vulnerability
Brand: Vita e Pensiero
Availability: OnlineOnly

digital

Article

Magazine

RIVISTA INTERNAZIONALE DI SCIENZE SOCIALI

Section

Open Access

Title

Deconstructing the NEET Condition for a Renewed Policy Approach to Youth Vulnerability

Authors

Barbara Barabaschi, Rosangela Lodigiani, Mariagrazia Santagati

Publisher

Vita e Pensiero

Format

Article |

Pdf

Pages

Online from

09-2023

Doi

10.26350/000518_000122

Issn

0035-676X (print) | 1827-7918 (digital)

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Description

This article discusses the not in education, employment, or training (NEET) construct used in public policies to identify vulnerable young people and respond to their needs but which is actually incapable of grasping their heterogeneity and diverse life conditions. We critically reflect on the shortcomings of the NEET indicator and its risk of essentializing a category that does not exist as such in reality. The underlying assumption is that these policies contribute to reinforcing these shortcomings and fail to intercept the most disadvantaged youngsters. Furthermore, the article provides some suggestions to go beyond the NEET category and proposes new approaches and research paths to understand and explain youth vulnerability, highlighting the social-cultural construction of youth vulnerability, the importance of the temporal dimension in youth marginalization and the usefulness of an intersectional approach that highlights young peoples’ personal resources, social resilience and capability to exploit social and economic life chances.

keywords

NEET, school-to-work transition, youth employment policies, youth vulnerability, intersectional approach.

Authors biography

Rosangela Lodigiani, Mariagrazia Santagati, Department of Sociology – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Email Lodigiani: rosangela.lodigiani@unicatt.it. Email Santagati: mariagrazia.santagati@unicatt.it.
Barbara Barabaschi, Department of Economic and Social Sciences – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Email Barabaschi: barbara.barabaschi@unicatt.it.