Documents youth 348 results

"A sobering look at the seductive power of fascist ideas for the young.
Radical nationalism is on the rise in Europe and throughout the world. Living Right provides an in-depth account of the ideas and practices that are driving the varied forms of far-right activism by young people from all walks of life, revealing how these social movements offer the promise of comradery, purpose, and a moral calling to self-sacrifice, and demonstrating how far-right ideas are understood and lived in ways that speak to a variety of experiences.
In this eye-opening book, Agnieszka Pasieka draws on her own sometimes harrowing fieldwork among Italian, Polish, and Hungarian militant youths, painting unforgettable portraits of students, laborers, entrepreneurs, musicians, and activists from well-off middle class backgrounds who have all found a nurturing home in the far right. Providing an in-depth account of radical nationalist communities and networks that are taking root across Europe, she shows how the simultaneous orientation of these groups toward the local and the transnational is a key to their success. With a focus on far-right morality that challenges commonly held ideas about the right, Pasieka describes how far-right movements afford opportunities to the young to be active members of tightly bonded comradeships while sharing in a broader project with global ramifications.
Required reading for anthropologists and anyone concerned about the resurgence of far-right militancy today, Living Right sheds necessary light on the forces that have made the growing appeal of fascist idealism for young people one of the most alarming trends of our time."

"This paper seeks to identify the influencing factors of quality apprenticeships and elaborates possible reasons why young people in low-reputation apprenticeships drop out more often than those in popular professions.

Switzerland has had an average apprenticeship contract termination rate of 20 per cent for decades, especially in apprenticeships that attract young people from families with a low socio-economic background. Apprenticeships in the fields of hairdressing and beauty care, hospitality, electricity and construction have the highest dropout rates.

This paper seeks to identify the reasons why this vulnerable and socially disadvantaged group of young people needs long-term career guidance or coaching in order not to drop out without any re-entrance. They risk being left behind as they often lack self-efficacy, self-esteem and a positive attitude towards life. Society must make an effort to help them by providing quality apprenticeships in order for them to be integrated into the workforce and keep them from being trapped in poverty."

"Since the sovereign debt crisis, the European Union has focused on regulating young people's transitions to work. Today, an EU governance infrastructure for work transitions is centred on the reinforced European Youth Guarantee. Sociologists view youth as a transition marked by milestones of social inclusion such as building independent social lives and transitioning from education to work.
This study analyses how young people's work transitions are regulated in the EU via three research objectives: contextualisation; assessment and critique; and transformation. First, I contextualise how national and EU labour regulation ‘individuated' young people's transitions. By individuation, I refer to placing the primary responsibility for work transitions on young individuals and reducing the role of public institutions and the social partners to provide skill-building opportunities. This regulatory approach reinforces young people's already increased risks of entering adverse life trajectories and intensifies the broader trends of welfare demutualisation and labour flexibilisation. Second, I assess and critique the current EU governance infrastructure for work transitions. This novel governance model improves policy coordination, but individuation remains embedded in it. Third, I argue that work transitions should be regulated to ensure quality in young people's access to work and quality in their work. Access to work should not be pitted against work quality. I therefore propose guiding principles for regulators and practical ideas for integrating these principles into the EU governance infrastructure. These practical ideas include compelling EU labour law regulating work transitions, the development of convincing EU regulation of traineeships or innovative uses of EU funding."

"During the pandemic, many young people had to change their plans for the future. While at the end of 2023 young people's labour market situation was more favourable than it had been in recent years, many obstacles remained on their route to independence, such as the rising cost of living and inability to move out of the parental home. This report explores young people's wishes and plans for the future – and the well-being outcomes related to these plans – in the context of the current labour market and housing situation and progress on the implementation of the EU's reinforced Youth Guarantee."

"Changes in the labor market primarily affect young people, and new forms of work associated with the Gig economy and the “uberization” phenomenon have significant impacts on young workers, particularly young immigrants. This results in major consequences in terms of job precarity and engagement, or new forms of engagement in work and employment. The prevalence of precarious employment affects all young people, but especially young immigrants or those from immigrant families. Our aim was to analyze this employment situation which manifests itself in specific sectors like digital mobility and delivery services, which we have studied. Our theoretical framework is based on labor market segmentation, and refers to issues of precarity and access to the labor market, particularly the debate about whether precarious jobs serve as bridges to better employment or traps that do not allow access to permanent or at least regular employment. The research method is qualitative, based on 22 interviews, with 17 men and 5 women, as there is a predominance of men in these jobs. The results show that this on-demand employment situation leads to limited work engagement, as this type of job is seen not only as temporary but also unlikely to serve as a “bridge” to better employment and professional integration, resulting in some disengagement among young people who take these jobs during their studies and early attempts to enter the labor market."

"Young people are vital agents for a just green transition, but participation varies across social identities and backgrounds. Men and boys tend to be less interested in both sustainability and gender equality. How can organisations strengthen the conscious and committed, while also bringing underrepresented voices to the table? This report analyses experiences of young people in Nordic nonprofit organisations from a gender and climate perspective. It identifies clear patterns and obstacles and considers key approaches to enabling more inclusive youth movements. "

"Many young individuals now prioritize involvement in collective action as a means to instigate societal change. Crucially, they have access to social media platforms, which help them connect with like-minded peers and coordinate efforts. Some of them may be thus more inclined to favour less conventional collective action over formal union membership. In this study, which draws on data from young British workers during the period from December 2022 to March 2023, we endeavoured to ascertain this cohort's preferred approach to collective action. We distinguished between an informal grassroots initiative and one led by a labour union as a means to advance the rights of gig economy workers. To this end, we conducted a controlled online experiment. We focused exclusively on a specific age cohort within a particular timeframe, thus limiting our ability to determine generational differences in preferences for collective action and in attitudes toward unions. Nevertheless, the results do offer insights into the forms of collective action preferred by Generation Z. British youth were found to view the informal grassroots initiative more positively than the union-led one. However, they viewed the latter as potentially having greater influence on government policy. Furthermore, they were not significantly more willing to join one initiative than the other. Nonetheless, they were more inclined to recommend the grassroots initiative. This paper contributes to the body of research on the relationship between labour unions and young people. It also provides insight into how members of Generation Z think about various ways of participating in collective action."

"This report analyses data from Eurofound's 2021 European Working Conditions Telephone Survey and its 2022 Living, working and COVID-19 e-survey, as well as data from official statistics, to examine employment trends, working conditions and the social situation of young people in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia). Employment trends are also presented for Türkiye. This report is part of Eurofound's ongoing effort to support informed policymaking in EU accession countries through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA). It is the first output from a project financed by the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) under the auspices of the IPA. Its aim is to provide knowledge that will support betterinformed social, employment and work-related policies in the Western Balkans and Türkiye. It offers a comparative perspective between the countries and with the EU based on sound statistical analysis and expert consultation."