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Youth transitions policies in Latin America: new perspectives and their links with research

evidence

Claudia Jacinto

Summary

The presentation will discuss some research evidence on youth transition in Latin America

comparing them with some key features of youth transition policies and analyzing in what

extend the policies are based on research evidence. The paper is based in two pieces of

regional research on the subject developed by RedEtis, a regional network supported by IIEP-

UNESCO. The countries included are Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay but

also a database of 202 policies and programs from the year 2000 was created and analyzed.

Evidence shows that youth transition is strongly conditioned by weaknesses and

segmentation both in educational system and in labour markets. Trajectories are de-

standarized, showing high rotation and mobility in the beginning of youth careers. All groups

show precarious trajectories but:

Some lead to formal, decent jobs and stability, or chosen self-employment with

good incomes: around 25 years old labour indicators begin to improve

Other trajectories do not show improvement, but persistence in precarious, not

chosen employment, with low incomes

Others show exclusion, long periods of unemployment, or extremely precarious

and/or informal jobs (even illegal jobs). Many types of disadvanges: structural,

household and personal conditions. Broken subjectivities.

Among the factors related to misleading transitions it can be mentioned: low educational

levels, lack of training, social and ethnic discrimination, spatial segregation, constellation of

disadvantages, in terms of Walther and Pohl.

One mayor finding in qualitative research is that, apart from structural factors and generalformulation of policies, the institutional, pedagogical and tutoring approaches are key to

reinforcing disadvantaged youth subjectivities and to understand why some misleading

trajectories can be changed into leading trajectories.

Youth employment policies in recent years, especially those related to undereducated youth,continue to give strong importance to vocational training, based on training centres and

NGOs and first job programmes has increased. Some new focuses that in part take into

account previous research

Promoting alternative pathways to finish primary and secondary schools

Orientation toward activation of young people

Promoting integrated training systems

But, there are still no permanent and articulated policies addressed to youth transition. Manyprogrammes have been based on a simplistic view of youth inclusion in the labour market, by

supplying too specific and/or low quality training in a one shot approach, disregarding the

importance of diplomas, and of an enlarged skills development approach. Internships and

work experiences are frequently oriented to integrated youth while the poorer are oriented toself-employment. Mostly the links of the vocational courses with regular vocational training

in a lifelong learning perspective are lacking. Counselling is frequently just to learn job

seeking skills, not in a holistic tutoring approach. And concerning the most disadvantaged,

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generally programmes do not take their constraints into account, such as lack of information,

social capital, resources, broken subjectivities, etc.

In conclusion, recent changes in youth transition policies do not show a new paradigm in

conceiving the youth transition process as a long and complex period and many segmented

pathways shown by research.