Balancing the subsystems for youth employability - attempts and successes in the Baltic region

A book about youth employment after an economic crisis could hardly be more timely and useful than presently at the beginning of another global economic challenge caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Transitions between education and employment are challenging research topics as youth unemployment is a much more complex issue than that of unemployment for adults. Both OECD and Eurostat data show that, in general, Nordic countries more successfully address these problems than other European countries (OECD, 2020 and Eurostat, 2020). This book aims to provide an analytical framework for understanding and dealing with the challenges of the labour market inclusion of youth by focusing on the balance between the different subsystems (income maintenance, social services, social regulation).

The idea of the book was an outgrowth of two projects on youth employability and diversity, and partly built on the results of these studies. It consists of nine separate chapters that are related in their subject matter. Twenty-four accomplished experts and researchers contributed to the studies from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

The first one is an introductory chapter written by the two editors of the book. The topic’s importance is confirmed by clarifying the definition of NEETs (not in employment, education or training) and Eurostat data about their proportion among young people in Europe. Data show that on average, there are significantly fewer NEETs in the Nordic countries than in the whole of Europe (9.4% in the Nordic countries while the EU28 average is 17.4%). The studies focus on four challenges: early school leaving (dropout), level of educational attainment, employment difficulties and risk of early exit from the labour market (especially during an economic recession). Nordic countries also face these problems, but achieve some success through their welfare social and employment policy.

The second chapter goes deeper into the topic of school dropout and labour market exclusion. Transition from childhood to adulthood is a relatively uniform process, but since the 1990s, this process has extended and labour market entry has been essentially postponed. Quality education is an important part of Nordic welfare societies as well as a key element of reducing youth unemployment. There are not only fewer unemployed young people are in the Nordic countries (particularly in Iceland and Norway), but they are unemployed for a shorter period, thereby reducing the risk of exclusion. These favourable results are due to programmes like Youth Guarantees, which has also been successfully implemented by the EU as based on the Nordic countries’ best practices, and the Dropout Prevention in the education system.

The third chapter compares the phenomenon of labour market ‘outsiderness’ in the Nordic countries and two Western European countries: Britain and Germany. In this context, ‘outsiderness’ means inactiveness, unemployment, part-time employment, non-permanent employment and working or being in education, but living in a poor household. The examined states have different educational and social policies in terms of youth employment, and data show that inclusive education models are more effective in reaching high educational attainment level and avoiding labour market ‘outsiderness’. There are major differences between the examined countries, especially between Britain and the Nordic region regarding upper secondary education.

In the centre of the fourth chapter is a discussion of a ‘signalling effect’ in terms of workplace-based learning and labour market protection in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). These four countries have generally similar education systems and significantly different vocational tracks. Denmark is known for its so-called ‘flexicurity’ labour market policy (an integrated strategy for simultaneously enhancing flexibility and security in the labour market). From data based on this country’s statistics, job retention of youth was investigated, and no connection with apprenticeships, labour market security and labour market inclusion was found. However, labour market exclusion is quite low in every examined country.

The fifth chapter discusses the labour market issues for the minority ethnic youth in four Nordic countries, including those who were born in a Nordic country but whose parents were not. Nordic social protection systems are able to deal with the challenge of migration. In general, there are no specific programmes for young immigrants – general labour market inclusion policies contain their needs as well – but some measures show that, unsurprisingly, language learning is the most important element of their inclusion. As it was expected, foreign born youth with foreign born parents have the highest NEET rates, and native-born youth with native born parents have the lowest. NEETs, including those of immigrants, are decreasing in every country, but the economic crisis affected their value. Data from Sweden show differences in terms of rate and origin of NEETs.

In chapter six, a new approach to inclusion of disabled youth was presented. The young disability benefit recipients’ rate is high in the Nordic countries from the perspective of a European level, with mental health issues being common (Hammer, 2000). Education is a key for young persons with disabilities; as with non-disabled youth, the higher the level of education of the young person, the greater the chances of employment. Nordic countries exceeded the approach to tolerance and respecting difference. Accommodation of diversity means that individual needs are not only accepted, but also have to be taken into consideration in the organisation of work. Furthermore, this term was codified in law alongside other active labour market policies. However, latent resistance of the employers towards disabled young workers still exists. It has to be acknowledged, however, that paid employment is not necessarily a realistic option for everyone.

Chapter seven deals with disabilities from a human rights perspective. Therefore, not only were employment protection and wage subvention taken into consideration, but also anti-discrimination provisions. In investigating the five Nordic countries’ legislative environment, it can be stated that there is no unified Nordic disability employment law and policy. Every country has different legislation in all three aspects. Sweden stands out with a strong employment protection, anti-discrimination and wage subvention policies, while the Danish ‘flexicurity’ model seems to be rather unsuccessful in terms of the employment of disabled people.

Chapter eight focuses on the key elements of vulnerable youths’ employability. The research is based on qualitative interviews that were recorded in Iceland with a diverse target group, including employers and labour market activation professionals, minority ethnic youth and youth with disabilities. In contrast to other studies available in the topic, it has a positive approach that focuses on good examples of success stories. Data show that personal networks are clearly the most important element of labour market inclusion, while public programs appear to have less direct benefit for marginalized youth. Nevertheless, the meaning of ‘success’ may be different. Almost all of the employed youngsters are over-qualified for their current position and they have only a minimal opportunities for advancement.

The last chapter summarizes the results of the studies presented in the book and applies a critical approach towards them. In addition to admitting the fact that, in terms of social policy, Nordic welfare societies have several benefits when compared to other countries in Europe, some weaknesses were also identified. Active labour market policies have basically succeeded in reducing gender inequalities in youth employment, but have more or less failed in the inclusion of ethnic minorities and disabled youth. Universalistic and comprehensive education systems are successfully reducing NEET rates among teenagers, but young people in their twenties are more affected in labour market exclusion. However, identifying the difference between Nordic labour market and social policies and policy subsystems may result in policy learning between the countries.

Although several existing books and studies examine the phenomenon of youth unemployment and its management strategies, this book presents a unique viewpoint by examining the experiments and successes of the states of the developed Baltic region from several perspectives. The book provides a comparative framework to investigate such aspects like higher education opportunities, employability of disadvantaged young people, social regulation provisions to support the transition from education to the labour market, in particular vulnerable youth groups with a special regard to ethnic minorities and disabled young people and also covers the gender perspective. In conclusion, the book successfully undertakes comparisons on many aspects of the Nordic and European levels. The book’s main strength is its consideration of the fact that Nordic social policies are generous. Furthermore, it not only introduces new approaches to the labour market inclusion of disadvantaged youth, but also links them with long-term and comprehensive experiences. The extent of social inequalities was, however, infrequently mentioned (this is probably due to the small inequalities in the Nordic region). Making mention of these differences in social inequalities could strengthen social policy developments not only in the Nordic countries, but in the whole of Europe.