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Youth as Architects of Social Change pp 23–42Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Global Perspectives on Youth and School-to-Work Transitions in the Twenty-First Century: New Challenges and Opportunities in Skills Training Programs

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Abstract

In this chapter, we analyze new global challenges to youth employment, as well as the emerging opportunities for addressing the school-to-work transition for youth and empowering youth with the skills for social entrepreneurship. Globalization, migration, and mobility present new challenges and opportunities for youth to generate sustainable livelihoods. To address the challenges of youth unemployment globally, we argue there is a need to look beyond mere policy reforms and instead to actual programmatic interventions that directly try to assist youth to create and access livelihood opportunities. Specifically, we assess whether life skills training programs can provide an innovative approach in the education-to-work transition, and as such develop a unique condition for effecting productive and sustainable change in education globally. Life skills programs can enable youth to be architects of social change and to actively create opportunities to generate livelihoods.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The African continent has a very young population with 41% of the population being below 15 years of age, while in Europe, for instance, the statistic is 16% (Population Reference Bureau, 2016).

  2. 2.

    See, for instance, a recent article in the New York Times about the pervasiveness of temporary employment for young people in Europe: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/business/europe-jobs-economy-youth-unemployment-millenials.html?ref=world&_r=0.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oslo and Akershus University College, Oslo, Norway

    Halla B. Holmarsdottir

  2. Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Oslo, Norway

    Kendra Dupuy

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  1. Halla B. Holmarsdottir
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway

    Sheri Bastien

  2. Oslo and Akershus University College, Oslo, Norway

    Halla B. Holmarsdottir

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Holmarsdottir, H.B., Dupuy, K. (2017). Global Perspectives on Youth and School-to-Work Transitions in the Twenty-First Century: New Challenges and Opportunities in Skills Training Programs. In: Bastien, S., Holmarsdottir, H. (eds) Youth as Architects of Social Change. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66275-6_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66275-6_2

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