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Handbook of Children and Youth Studies pp 543–555Cite as

Young People’s Transitions to Employment: Making Choices, Negotiating Constraints

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Abstract

The factors that shape transitions into the labor market are a key concern for youth studies. This chapter outlines different ways of thinking about the choices that young people make. It discusses work on class reproduction and intergenerational transmission and compares this with theories that emphasize the role of individual choice and agency in how we make our way through the world.

The chapter is divided into three sections. Firstly, it contextualizes young people’s entrance into the labor market within a wider debate in class analysis, specifically work that attempts to understand intergenerational reproduction. This includes the use of rational action theory and a focus on the mobilization of economic resources that shape possible choices, contrasted with the emphasis on the role of cultural capital and the workings of the habitus. This section also highlights the contribution of the concept of “opportunity structures” and the importance of understanding the labor market context.

Secondly, it outlines the concept of “choice biographies” and the idea that the structural constraints of the past, such as class, no longer influence young people’s paths in the same way as previous generations. This section touches upon the work that suggests young people now embrace the idea of choice and debates regarding the use of choice biographies in youth sociology.

The third section explores work that attempts to establish a “middle ground” between choice and constraint. It considers the work on “careership” or career decision making, which tries to avoid social determinism without seeing young people as free agents. Empirical research on young people’s pathways tells a story of class reproduction for many but also the significance of family and locality, as well as leisure, in shaping plans for employment. This section also refers to the work that recognizes that young people may feel individual responsibility for their choices, even if they are faced with structural constraints.

In reviewing these debates, the chapter draws on research into young people’s employment aspirations to highlight that the choices made are socially embedded and dependent upon access to economic, cultural, and social resources.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology, Manchester Metropolitan University, All Saints Campus, Manchester, UK

    Helene Snee

  2. Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, All Saints Campus, Manchester, UK

    Fiona Devine

Authors
  1. Helene Snee
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  2. Fiona Devine
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Correspondence to Helene Snee .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Youth Research Centre, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Johanna Wyn

  2. Youth Research Centre, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Helen Cahill

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Snee, H., Devine, F. (2015). Young People’s Transitions to Employment: Making Choices, Negotiating Constraints. In: Wyn, J., Cahill, H. (eds) Handbook of Children and Youth Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-15-4_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-15-4_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-4451-14-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-4451-15-4

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law

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