Young people’s uncertainty about the future: Education system, training, and transition to employment in Spain

Abstract

The general context of precariousness of employment affects youth in Spain. Delving deeper into the axes that traverse this uncertainty, we present part of a cross-sectional study on the perception of young people in the city of Toledo, in which an ad hoc questionnaire was used for data collection to compare the results at the Spanish and European level. The sample includes 505 people aged between 16 and 24 years. The main findings indicate a general dissatisfaction with the training received and a lack of adaptation of the transition system to the labor market, elements that repeat themselves in the perception of different agents regarding this context. Significant differences were found regarding the perception of problems considering the education level of the parents and aspects related to the autonomy of the young people, such as living independently or living off of their own income. This represents clear similarities with young Europeans and especially in the Spanish case but presents specific difficulties for young people in regions such as Castilla-La Mancha.Received: 09 October 2019Accepted: 23 March 2020Published online: 19 May 2020