To be or not to be NEET? The complexity of school-to-work transitions in Brussels

In the wake of the European Union's recommendations, the public authorities in Brussels have put strategies in place to combat early school leaving and youth unemployment. Nevertheless, these programmes aimed at the “NEET” category (not in education, employment or training) have a standardised...

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Main Authors: Géraldine André, Andrew Crosby
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université libre de Bruxelles - ULB 2023-01-01
Series:Brussels Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/6404
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author Géraldine André
Andrew Crosby
author_facet Géraldine André
Andrew Crosby
author_sort Géraldine André
collection DOAJ
description In the wake of the European Union's recommendations, the public authorities in Brussels have put strategies in place to combat early school leaving and youth unemployment. Nevertheless, these programmes aimed at the “NEET” category (not in education, employment or training) have a standardised approach and end up reducing the problem to a question of individual employability. This paper presents a critical analysis of the NEET category, which we propose to break down into several subcategories, whose use in Brussels public policies would allow a better targeting of the young people who need it most. Based on ethnographic material collected from young people in the working-class neighbourhoods of Brussels, we propose a sociological approach which allows us to identify a more refined typology of NEET/non-NEET situations. Our analysis contributes to deconstructing the statistical category of NEET into diversified social situations, and shows how much NEET situations are the result of paths shaped by structural dynamics as well as by processes of inequality, whether they are related to class and/or migratory origin.
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spelling doaj-art-7f93c2cf8021473e8516f2caafe6cdad2025-08-20T02:52:19ZengUniversité libre de Bruxelles - ULBBrussels Studies2031-02932023-01-0110.4000/brussels.6404To be or not to be NEET? The complexity of school-to-work transitions in BrusselsGéraldine AndréAndrew CrosbyIn the wake of the European Union's recommendations, the public authorities in Brussels have put strategies in place to combat early school leaving and youth unemployment. Nevertheless, these programmes aimed at the “NEET” category (not in education, employment or training) have a standardised approach and end up reducing the problem to a question of individual employability. This paper presents a critical analysis of the NEET category, which we propose to break down into several subcategories, whose use in Brussels public policies would allow a better targeting of the young people who need it most. Based on ethnographic material collected from young people in the working-class neighbourhoods of Brussels, we propose a sociological approach which allows us to identify a more refined typology of NEET/non-NEET situations. Our analysis contributes to deconstructing the statistical category of NEET into diversified social situations, and shows how much NEET situations are the result of paths shaped by structural dynamics as well as by processes of inequality, whether they are related to class and/or migratory origin.http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/6404social inequalitiesimmigrationsocial and professional integrationracismemployment policies
spellingShingle Géraldine André
Andrew Crosby
To be or not to be NEET? The complexity of school-to-work transitions in Brussels
Brussels Studies
social inequalities
immigration
social and professional integration
racism
employment policies
title To be or not to be NEET? The complexity of school-to-work transitions in Brussels
title_full To be or not to be NEET? The complexity of school-to-work transitions in Brussels
title_fullStr To be or not to be NEET? The complexity of school-to-work transitions in Brussels
title_full_unstemmed To be or not to be NEET? The complexity of school-to-work transitions in Brussels
title_short To be or not to be NEET? The complexity of school-to-work transitions in Brussels
title_sort to be or not to be neet the complexity of school to work transitions in brussels
topic social inequalities
immigration
social and professional integration
racism
employment policies
url http://journals.openedition.org/brussels/6404
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AT andrewcrosby tobeornottobeneetthecomplexityofschooltoworktransitionsinbrussels