Beyond ‘NEET’ and ‘tidy’ pathways: considering the ‘missing middle’ of youth transition studies

Abstract

Jones' (2002) discussion of polarised transitions and the ‘fast and slow lanes to adulthood’ espoused by Bynner et al. (2002) are good examples of how dualistic language often permeates youth transitions discourses. This often results in transitions research concentrating on a dichotomy of experience during the youth phase. The primary purpose of this article is to develop the argument for the inclusion of detailed documentation and analysis of the transitions of intermediate groups who fall between the lines of this dualism. These young people constitute a ‘missing middle’ in relation to youth studies and UK educational policy. To support this argument, the paper turns to the results of a qualitative study of 18–24-year-old, male, front-line, retail employees in the South-East of England to illustrate how some young people do not find themselves neatly situated on one side of such categorical cleavages. These young men are following neither a NEET (not in education, employment or training) pathway nor a ‘tidy’, government preferred, route through post-compulsory education. Thus, studying such seemingly ordinary young people can contribute towards developing a more holistic understanding of youth in the contemporary period.

Keywords:

• polarisation
• fast-track transitions
• missing middle
• ordinary youth
• social change

Notes

1. See, however, Goodwin and O'Connor (2005) who demonstrate that previous transitional experiences were not always uniform or as single-step as readily suggested.

2. See e.g. the discussion between Wyn and Woodman (2006) and Roberts (2007).

3. Exemplified by Eurostat's requirement for EU member states to incorporate the ad-hoc module ‘on entry of young people into the labour market’ in their respective Labour Force Surveys in 2009.

4. There are numerous difficulties with the NEET category. See Furlong (2006) and Yates and Payne (2006) for discussion.

5. NVQs are competence-based qualifications that are based on national standards for various occupations in the UK. In the UK National Qualification Framework, NVQ level 2 corresponds to the same qualification level as A–C grades in GCSEs, the qualification usually taken at the end of compulsory education.

6. These figures derive from the Annual Business Inquiry, 2007.

7. For full details see Kent County Council Bulletin ‘Deprivation in Kent’, located at http://www.business.canterbury.gov.uk/assets/docs/deprivationinkent.pdf

8. Working-class status was designated based on the employment outside social classes I and II on the Registrar General's classification of occupations.

9. Pseudonyms used throughout.

10. The qualification taken at the end of compulsory education.

11. This information was gathered during interviews with senior HR managers from different retailers in preparation for the study.

12. Although some explained they had not necessarily ruled it out, their knowledge of the process was incredibly limited.

13. Information obtained from the Strategic Housing Market Assessment for the East Kent Sub-region Final Report, 2009.

14. The ESRC recently commissioned a seminar series exploring how to ‘make bad jobs better’. See http://www.makingbadjobsbetter.org.uk