NEETs in a rural region of Southern Europe: perceived self-efficacy, perceived barriers, educational expectations, and vocational expectations

Rui Luís,Ana Meneses,Rui Drumonde,Francisco Simões

doi:10.1080/13676261.2017.1311403

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe aim of this research is to understand the influence of demographic and professional experience factors on the self-efficacy and perceived barriers of rural Portuguese youths not in employment, education or training (NEET), as well as on their educational and vocational expectations at age 35. These indicators are involved in the compromise mechanism of choice of the circumscription and compromise theory, a construct that describes the reason why certain vocational alternatives are progressively restricted among young adults. Most of the participants (n = 137) were female (62%) and their age ranged from 18 to 30 (M = 24.88; SD = 2.30).Findings show that the participants' self-efficacy was positively affected by having a previous job contract, and negatively influenced by longer unemployment periods (>24 months). Longer unemployment periods also increase the perception of barriers. Educational expectations at age 35 were significantly higher among participants who had completed middle school and marginally lower for those living with their parents, while vocational expectations at age 35 were more conservative among those who had concluded high school. Recommendations are made regarding employment policies as well as training and vocational guidance interventions for NEETs in rural regions.

Highlights

The young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) aged between 15 and 291 (Carcillo, Fernandéz, Königs, & Minea, 2015) have been in the spotlight of employment policies
Educational expectations at age 35 were significantly higher among participants who had completed middle school and marginally lower for those living with their parents, while vocational expectations at age 35 were more conservative among those who had concluded high school
Several findings related to the transition to adulthood or the educational and vocational expectations among NEETs have led to criticism of the supposed homogeneity of the group (Görlich & Katznelson 2015; Sadler et al, 2014; Reiter & Schlimbach, 2015)

Summary

Introduction

The young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs) aged between 15 and 291 (Carcillo, Fernandéz, Königs, & Minea, 2015) have been in the spotlight of employment policies This interest arises from the increasing of NEETs’ heterogeneity in developed countries, since the acronym was coined in the United Kingdom, in the late 1990s (Maguire, 2015; Sadler, Akister, & Burch, 2014). Aside from the work carried out by Sadler et al (2014), the characterization of rural NEETs’ situation has often been driven from an extensive literature focused on the life conditions of vulnerable, marginalized young people living in the countryside Due to this shortcoming, research recommendations have been issued in order to better understand the particularities of this group across different social backgrounds and geographical areas (Maguire, 2015). Even more striking is the fact that no empirical research about this group has been conducted in rural areas of Southern European countries, where higher rates of NEETs can be found (Carcillo et al, 2015)

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