Education and vocational training policies for Not in Educaction, Employment or Training youth in the Mediterranean region of the European Economic Area

Abstract

This article-based doctoral thesis analyses the current NEET situation and the performance of the NEET policy in the Mediterranean EEA. This dissertation compiles three articles on the Youth Guarantee, the barriers that keep vulnerable people as NEETs and the NEET identity. They guide us to conclude the that (i) the Youth Guarantee is still in its infancy and thus, it needs time before we can assure its failure or success; (ii) the lack of data available is misguiding the evaluation of key NEET policy; (iii) without tailored NEET policies, the most vulnerable NEETs do not achieve success in the programmes developed to help them; (iv) most of the optimal solutions for the most vulnerable NEETs require understanding their needs, but no necessary extra financial resources; (v) the NEET rate is the main explanatory element on the emergence of a NEET identity, despite substantial cultural, social and economic differences between countries; and (vi) the NEET identity is fluent and constantly evolving, depending more on the phase of the main economic cycles than on any other sociocultural variable.