Media portrayals highlight worries they are ‘unfit’ for work; that they lack aspiration and ‘the right skills’; that they are not ‘work ready’ and are instead a ‘risk’ to employers. Being NEET is also associated with being lower attaining, with being ‘practical’ rather than ‘academic’. They tend to be treated as a group who would benefit from basic skills, and the focus is on improving employability. As well as low educational attainment, homelessness, teenage pregnancy and care needs, the NEET label has been associated with gang membership, early criminalisation, drug culture and dependency, and prostitution. This stigmatisation leaves the young people affected feeling they are on the margins of their communities. WHO ARE THEY? It is essential to understand those categorised as NEETs from their own individual perspectives. I went beyond the stereotypes to explore how these young people define themselves and their situation, to explore the misconceptions and underlying assumptions, focusing on who they are rather than rendering them invisible within the homogeneous ‘uneducable and unemployable’ mass. I spoke to 27 young people aged between 16 and 24 who were attending a centre where they undertake qualifications in Mathematics, English, Information Communication Technology, and Digital Arts and Media; complete a week of work experience; and get help with job searching and interview skills. They are well aware of the stereotypes that surround them for being young and unemployed – though none of them knew what NEETmeant. But being unemployed was not central to them; they defined themselves instead through their personal characteristics, their relationships with others, their interests and hobbies. Those who saw themselves as ‘different’ did so not because of their unemployment, nor because they saw themselves as disadvantaged, but because they saw their interests as being at odds with the mainstream. This was not negative, more linked to the idea of being unique. They did not reject the stereotypes related with NEET, but rather sought to distance themselves from them, identifying individual deficiencies as the reasons for their unemployment, alongside an acknowledgement of the barriers they faced. They were viewed as disengaged learners, but wider issues impacted their education. One participant had been in a serious car accident during his final year of school, one had been kicked out due to anger issues, and another was not allowed to finish college when she became pregnant. Some were ‘on the dole’ and ‘feeling lost’; unemployment felt like a personal failure– being ‘on benefits’ was associated with feelings of shame and embarrassment – and they focused on individual shortcomings, such as a lack of experience or qualifications. Low confidence and self-esteemwere common. One of the aims of the centre is to build confidence, and the participants felt this had happened, but only temporarily – the feeling disappears outside the confines of the programme. There was frustration among them that they were just being moved from one course to the next, unable to find a job in spite of their training, leading them to question the point of it all. Some felt discriminated against; one told me their age made them ‘unemployable’, and there was an overall feeling that employers do not give young people an opportunity. They also highlighted the economic barriers they faced – they needed money to get a job, but needed a job to get money – as well as issues related to physical and mental health. There were students with depression and anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, cerebral palsy and epilepsy – everyone had their own issues and obstacles to overcome. TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH These are ‘ordinary’ young people, labelled as different and set apart due to their experience of being outside employment, education or training. They are a varied and diverse group, who have been stereotyped and blamed for their situation, ignoring wider social issues and other aspects of their lives. Interventions aimed at NEET young people aim to increase confidence, yet can lead to a focus on weaknesses and deficiencies. They do little to move them towards meaningful employment, and young people can become trapped in a cycle of training with no end result. Instead, they need diverse, quality programmes and individualised longterm support. They do not just need access to education and training, they need for that provision to have a level of quality. The focus should not be on the NEET status of these young people, but rather on understanding them and targeting support that takes their situations and difficulties into account. Unemployment might not be the most immediate risk they face – there may be other problems they need to overcome first before moving into education, training or work. The focus should not be purely on reducing jobless figures, but on meeting the needs of young people in a purposeful way. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 49 Dr Beth Suttill is a Teaching Fellow in Management and Organisation Studies in the Department of Organisation, Work and Technology. Her current research interests are based around youth transitions, unemployment and identity. The paper Non-academic, lazy and not employable: Exploring stereotypes of NEETs in England is published in EAWOP in Practice. b.suttill@lancaster.ac.uk
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