In order to improve the quality and efficiency of youth employment, this book examines the cases of the Romanian labour market and of youth employment performance. Recent developments in the labour market participation of young people indicate an accentuation of labour market segmentation and a decrease in job security for young people, with the risk of exclusion and marginalization, fuelled by longer transition processes towards decent employment. This transition may seem clear when one looks at two aspects: education and employment. The challenge the transition towards employment presents is faced by all, regardless of one’s level of education, as employment security is uncertain. The situation young people find themselves in when they finish school and have no job opportunities is a rather delicate one as society offers no “safety nets”. This book, as well as others in the ADAPT Labour Studies Book-Series, explains the challenges young people deal with while playing a vital role within the community they live in. As Kafka has been quoted as saying, “Youth is happy because it has the ability to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old”. Therefore, young people, and those young at heart, perform an integral role in society, and they must be well integrated to enable their successful engagement within their communities.

Abstract: The paper aims to bring together two main current research interests: youth employability on the one hand, and use of econometric techniques in order to evaluate the impact of different policy measures, on the other hand. The topic of youth employability is very actual for Romanian labour market, as early school-leaving and the rate of youth not in employment, education or training are among the highest in EU and show no sign of going to decrease significantly on medium and long term. Work-based leaning, as apprenticeship or internship programs are lately promoted as efficient measures to address both the need for a better school-to-work transition, as well as a better education-job match. The paper provides some insights regarding the youth experience of apprenticeship in Romania and empirical evidence to support the hypothesis that work-based programs could increase youth employability. The empirical findings where obtained through a counterfactual approach, by applying the prope

Romania, one of the poorest nations in Europe, faces critical challenges in its efforts to implement labour market and social programmes similar to those found in more developed countries.

This book explores how the changing nature of work intersects with and influences young people’s views on their future. As an increasingly precarious service sector overtakes traditional industrial work, vocational education and training (VET) is held up as a panacea for poverty alleviation, youth unemployment and economic growth. However, the views of young people in VET themselves concerning their own work and aspirations have largely been ignored. Based on interviews and focus groups conducted with over 250 young people in VET in Romania, this book examines the types of subjectivities that are generated in the processes by which they try to make sense of future and the meanings of work. In doing so, the author identifies three ideological layers that frame their views: arguing that while the young people interviewed hold ‘conventional’ aspirations for stability and predictability; they were visibly influenced by neoliberal beliefs in agency, experimentation and short termism. Ultimately, a layer of low expectations crystallises unvoiced concerns over a troubling future. In highlighting young people’s voices, this pioneering book calls for a recalibration of the emphasis on VET in Romania. It will appeal to students and scholars of youth studies, the sociology of work, vocational education and training and European studies.