Fearing the future? Young people envisioning their working lives in the Czech Republic, Norway and Tunisia

Abstract

On the backdrop of recent restructurings of the global economic order, the article examines youths' narratives on their prospective lives in the three countries Norway, Tunisia and the Czech Republic, with a particular focus on the youths' reflections on educational and job preferences. To what extent are uncertainties related to education and work challenges voiced in youth expressions? Analysing the subtle nuances in and differences between the narratives of the three youth groups uncovers the complex relationships between youth preferences and motivations on the one hand, and the opportunities afforded to them in their respective contexts, on the other. In each of the three cases institutional and economic factors, cultural ideas and accumulated experience from previous generations interact in distinct ways. To some degree our analysis of this interplay reveals traces of uncertainty. Unexpectedly, and more pronounced than the expressions of fear and anxiety, is the manifestation of the youth's ‘security situations’; i.e. what and who they see as their main source of trust and guarantor of their future well-being.

Keywords:

• uncertainty
• youth
• education
• work
• narratives
• future

Notes

1. In a similar vein, critiques of the risk theory argue for the persisting importance of social positioning in shaping people's future. While risk theory considers ‘modern risks’ such as global warming and industrial pollution to be equalising in that they have a similar impact on all people (Beck 1992), its critiques assert that class and material wealth are still very important in mediating the effects of risk (Mythens 2005, p. 4) and that culture and social organisation are crucial in determining people's perceptions of risks (Caplan 2000, p. 10).

2. Marit Tjomsland worked in Tunisia, Gry Heggli in Norway and Haldis Haukanes in the Czech Republic. In Tunisia, some data were collected by a research assistant.

3. Urban–rural differences will not be paid systematic attention to since they do not emerge as significant.

4. Parents were informed about the project through a letter distributed via the pupils, except in Tunisia, where this was considered unnecessary according to local practice.

5. The techniques used were questionnaires, individual and group interviews and written essays.

6. We collected 55 written essays from the Tunisian participants, 78 from the Norwegians, and 82 from the Czechs.

7. The majority of the informants were 14–15 years. Some Tunisian informants were older due to having repeated years in school.

8. Unemployment figures are from 2007, as they provide the most relevant picture of the socio-economic context of the data material, which was collected in 2007–2009.

9. Enrolment rates for tertiary education give significantly higher results than for higher education, but are nevertheless used here because they provide figures that are comparable across the countries.

10. According to 2007 data from Eurostat, 70.4% of the girls and 80.1% of the boys are in vocational training (Eurostat 2011c).