Do young people want to work, or don’t they? That is the question Miriam Mintoff set out to explore in her Masters in Sociology thesis on youth non-participation in the ETC’s employability programmes. She explains some of her findings

The main aims of my case study were to explore the processes and barriers leading unemployed youth to not participate (through non-attendance, passivity or resistance) in ETC’s employability programmes. By examining non-participants’ outlook towards work, I also wanted to find out whether programme non-participation is equivalent to an unwillingness to work and to analyse the extent to which unemployment is in/voluntary.

In exploring reasons for non-participation, I focused on three compulsory “preventive measures”1 offered to jobseekers – the Job Search Seminar, Job Motivation Course2 and Job Club – which aim to increase the “job readiness” and “employability” of job seekers in order to ease their movement into work.

Methodology

To obtain an in-depth picture of youth non-participation, I carried out semi-structured interviews with 45 non-participant youths3 (30 struck off the part 1 register for not attending a programme and 15 ex Job Club participants).

I also carried out informal interviews with ETC trainers and employment advisors and was a participant observer of Job Clubs. In addition, I analysed trainers’ reports on participants.

Findings

The results showed that non-participation in ETC’s programmes is due to multiple, often-interlinked reasons. That is, there are various structural/institutional, situational, dispositional and/or socio-cultural factors that constrain youths from participation. Some youths use non-compliance strategies to actively avoid a programme, while others contest participation during programmes through passive or active forms of resistance.

Non-participation through non-attendance

The gap in communication between the bureaucracy (ETC) and unemployed clients, and young people’s problems in relating to paper-based bureaucracies were the main factors constraining youth participation. Non-participation in such cases is the result of:

Lack of, or unclear information from ETC officials during initial registration.

The medium used to advise clients to attend courses/programmes, etc. Hence the chit message issued by the biometric (fingerprint) system may not be user-friendly.

Young people’s lack of confidence in ETC and lack of understanding of its aims/functions, misconceptions about registration and ambivalence towards the State Disengagement from school.

These factors, and at times a combination of them, were the primary reasons leading the majority of youths in my sample (struck off the part 1 register) not to read the chit message carefully or disregard it completely and consequently not attend a programme. Young people’s tendency not to read the chit message carefully may also be attributed to:

A lack of reading culture among youth – they may just be skimming through text.

Disconnection with paper text due to the wide use of mobile short text messaging (SMS).

Those who missed a programme but did not notify ETC4 tended to be disengaged from school and excessively dependent on parents who are expected to help them out or inform ETC on their behalf. These youths lack basic and social skills, are unable to take charge of their lives and rely heavily on their mothers who over-protect or excessively pamper them yet simultaneously complain about them.

Others (mostly males) resisted training and intentionally avoided attendance because they dislike or had negative perceptions of courses/programmes. They referred to ETC’s courses/programmes as being irrelevant, not interesting, a waste of time or too much like school. In turn, past negative experiences of training and belief that courses do not lead to work, and identification with peers holding an anti-training ethos, further influence such youths to use non-compliance strategies to avoid attendance, such as:

Ignoring the chit message

Purposely lapsing registration

Regulating their employment position in the informal economy

ETC staff mentioned other strategies they come across, such as:

Calling in sick supplemented by medical certificates

Using influential people to get excused from attending an ETC measure

Non-participation during programmes through passivity or resistance

Young people’s passivity or resistance during Job Clubs (and job-searching) was attributed to different gender-based reasons – shaped by earlier processes of socialisation. For females’ gender-based ‘circumstantial’ reasons, such as having to care for family members, relationship troubles and marriage plans, constrained them from actively seeking work and/or considering certain jobs. That is, some females wanted jobs that fit around their caring roles or to accommodate their boyfriends’ needs and work schedules. Others, due to be married in the near future, resisted or adopted a passive approach to job-searching as they planned to withdraw from the labour market (and stop registering with ETC) once they were married. However, plans for marriage can also motivate females to find work. Such females tend to have a temporal attitude towards work and regard work as a means to earn money in preparation for marriage after which they are eager to settle into housewifery and become mothers.

Some males’ passivity was related to selectivity (being too “choosy” about jobs) and reliance on ETC to find them a job (preferably with government). These males lead simplistic lifestyles and were actively involved in traditional male-gendered pastimes. As they are occupied for most of the day with their hobbies and enjoy familial support, they tend not to be in a hurry to work. Other males’ passive or active resistance during programmes was due to:

Previous negative experiences of work, anger with employers perceived as “exploitative” along with the perception that job vacancies posted at ETC are of “poor quality”.

Working in the informal economy along with high pay expectations (based on prior or anticipated future earnings) and refusal to work in low-paid jobs in the formal economy.

Alienation from school and the labour market and fractured school-to-work transitions.

While most of these males are not “work-shy”, alienated youths have become discouraged from seeking work due to repeated rejection by employers. Having failed to establish their male identity with work, they invest heavily in peer relationships and leisure activities with similar others in order to establish a masculine identity, alleviate boredom and cope with unemployment. Although some males would work if ETC “found them” a good job paying Lm60-65 per week, a few would also consider engaging in criminal activities to earn “easy” money.

Conclusion

As discussed, there are various, interrelated reasons for non-participation. With respect to youths who do not participate through non-attendance, it is misleading to equate programme attendance with an unwillingness to work, since some youths might have attended a programme, had they been adequately informed during initial registration. The need for more or better information, use of other media and the importance of being given a second chance were some concerns aired by youths.

As for youths who attend programmes but passively engage or resist participation, my data showed that due to different socialisation influences, some males turn to friends, leisure, informal work or crime instead of searching for work. As unemployment becomes a “normalised” part of young people’s biographies, this is how some males cope with unemployment. For females, caring responsibilities and marriage plans limit yet make non-participation a liveable or even a desirable option. Moreover, unlike females who are forced into domesticity or opt for this role upon marriage and are invisible indoors, alienated males are highly visible on the streets, in bars, football pitches and playgrounds. Youth outreach workers or adult mentors living in young people’s communities are gravely needed to help re-engage such youths.

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1 As these “programmes” are offered to jobseekers within specific timeframes of their unemployment spells they conform to the targets of what was previously referred to as Employment Guideline 1(b) of the European Employment Strategy (EES) which stipulates that “Member States will ensure that every unemployed person is offered a new start before reaching six months of unemployment in the case of young people…in the form of training, retraining, work practice, a job, or other employability measure, combined where appropriate with ongoing job search assistance”.

2 The name has since been changed to Job Skills course.

3 Interviews with youths were held between December 2004 and May 2005, hence my findings reflect the procedures used by ETC during the time I collected my data.

4 ETC excuses clients from attending courses if they give a valid reason. The chit message also advises clients to phone beforehand if they cannot attend a course/programme, interview etc.