Social Exclusion and the Transition from School to Work: The Case of Young People Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET)

In the modern labor market what Côté (1996) describes as “identity capital”—comprising educational, social, and psychological resources—is at a premium in entering and maintaining employment. One consequence is the extension of education and training while young people acquire the qualifications and skills that will enhance their employability. In accordance with the perspective of life span developmental psychology, this places particular pressure on those young people growing up in disadvantaged circumstances and lacking support, especially when attempting to negotiate the transition from school to work. A particular policy concern in Britain has been directed at those young people who leave full-time education at the minimum age of 16 and then spend a substantial period not in education, employment, or training (NEET). This article reports the result of analyzing longitudinal data, collected for a subsample of the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study surveyed at age 21, to model the relationship of NEET status to earlier educational achievement and circumstances and to assess the added difficulties NEET poses in relation to the building of adult identity capital. It is concluded that although poor educational achievement is the major factor in entering NEET, inner city living for boys and lack of parental interest in their education for girls are also important. For young men the consequences of NEET lie mainly in subsequent poor labor market experience. For young women, the majority of whom are teenage mothers, the damaging effects of NEET extend to the psychological domain as well. It is concluded that effective counseling targeted at high risk groups, along the lines of the new UK “ConneXions” service, are needed to help young people avoid the damaging effects of NEET and make a successful transition to adult life.