Abstract:

The concept of NEET has been coined to designate individuals that, at some point of their lives are ‘not in education, employment, or training’. The concept has been widely applied in the study of the transition of young people to the job market, shedding light into some frequent barriers and challenges faced by many in moving from education to a meaningful career.

NEET status is addressed as a transitory condition, that can apply to a very diverse range of young population, but that undoubtedly affects a substantial volume of people and, therefore, calls for the development of specific policies for the improvement of education, job markets and the development of the fluidity and inclusiveness of local economic systems. Youth unemployment raises several concerns as it has been acknowledged as carrying long-term effects, both in the levels of future employability and career development of individuals and in their health condition.

Many countries have developed specific programmes targeting NEET Young people, aiming at fostering opportunities for this population to move on to education and job contexts. The prevalent policies aim to offer opportunities for requalification and retraining, and some forms of subsidizing to mitigate cases of disadvantaged conditions that can perpetuate the NEET condition. According to some perspectives the development of entrepreneurial capabilities can be an effective approach to mitigate the NEET condition. In this study we address this perspective analysing the entrepreneurial context of several European countries, and the importance of NEET phenomenon. The study offers a characterization of the NEET population in Europe, discussing its determinants and associated risk factors, and discusses the entrepreneurial conditions offered in several countries building on public data sources. The study is conducted in the scope of the European project MCOG – My Career our Game, that involves partners form Portugal, Cyprus and Macedonia in the development of tools to support career guidance for NEET population. The study offers a timely and relevant contribution to support the development of education and entrepreneurship policies to improve the mitigation of the drivers of the NEET condition in European contexts.

Keywords:

NEET, enterpreneurship, job market, policy.