Patterns of School-to-Work-Transition Societies With High Rates of NEETs

In the context of increasing interest across Europe with youth not in employment education or training (NEET), the article explores and depicts the policy measures for stimulating school-to-work transition (SWT) and the work integration of youth in four EU countries.

We use a database of NEET-related policies adopted between 1990 and 2022 in seven EU countries. We assess existing regulations in Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, and Romania, evaluate them with respect to types of policy, and compare the likelihood that 11 types of policy are adopted as contrasted to a group of other three EU countries.

The fragmented Romanian system is consistent with the post-socialist residual regime. Bulgaria's EU-driven model is also interpreted through the lenses of the post-socialist regime. Italian attempts to bring training closer to individual needs, and to instil transversal skills, faces a road defined by the bumpers of the sub-protective and familyist SWT culture, manifest both through the stress on financial transfers (also common to the other countries, but more to Italy and Portugal) and to the lack of reaction from employers. Portugal's example reveals lack of preoccupation with tailored measures and with specially targeting narrower defined vulnerable groups.

All four countries implemented policy regulations as part of their commitment to the common European framework, but also consistent to the country specificities. Convergence is limited and filtered through the specificities of the School-to-Work-Transition regimes, keeping the countries in their corresponding type of regime.