NEET Young People and Training for Work: learning on the margins

The number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) is rising to alarming levels. Being NEET seriously affects the life chances of many of these young people as they face the possibility of long-term unemployment, isolation and social exclusion. Re-engaging them in training is therefore a priority for policy-makers and practitioners.

This book examines the experiences of a group of young people in the post-industrial north of England attending Entry to Employment, a work-based learning programme for those who have been NEET or risk becoming so in the future. It critically appraises the discourse on NEET young people and its social, economic and political context, and it challenges conventional stereotypes of 'the NEETs' as dysfunctional and lacking aspiration. Drawing on a detailed ethnographic study of young people and the practitioners working with them, it explores the complexities and realities of learning on the margins.