Youth on standby

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First JOBLINGE study:
What stops young people from taking the step into vocational training?

On behalf of JOBLINGE, the rheingold Institute conducted a qualitative study on the situation of young people without vocational training.

The focus here is on the target group of NEETs: young people who are not in training, work, school or university.

This group includes over 630,000 young people across Germany.
Many of them could take up vocational training – but what is stopping them?
The state of research to date is sparse.
This study aims to help understand what prevents young people from entering vocational training and how they can be motivated to do so.

Here you can find out more about the derivation, concept and results of the study.

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You can download the complete study free of charge here.

What is said about us

Quotes

The study confirms our expertise: cross-actor strategies are needed to attract NEETs back into vocational education and training.

Thanks to our partners who made our study possible.

The 5 most important findings

The target group of young people without training is difficult to reach. Traditional approaches, offers and incentives do not work with this target group.

We are not talking about a homogeneous group of young people: The study identifies six types with individual avoidance strategies in relation to vocational training.

The study participants fluctuate between a lack of self-esteem and excessive self-confidence. This makes it clear that personal support, trusting relationships and trained staff are needed to reach the target group for apprenticeships.

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The participants in the study can do little with the idea of a society and social participation. They feel cut off from society, distrust public institutions and assign themselves – if at all – to smaller social bubbles.

The options after leaving school seem endless to the study participants – this leads to excessive demands, pressure and a tendency to withdraw.
They want pre-structuring support services in their private and professional lives.

Why there is a need for sound knowledge about the NEET target group, but hardly any.

Youth on standby: more than 630,000 NEETs

Many young people without training remain in standby mode.
They are in a waiting position and cannot find a way into training, qualifications or work.
But how do they get out of this situation?

Even before the Covid pandemic, an estimated 20 percent of unemployed young people could no longer be activated by the relevant authorities: Many of them mistrust public institutions and offers of help.
The number has risen even further in the past two years: An estimated 630,000 young people under 25 are not in employment, training or school, according to a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation.
The fact that this group of NEETs (not in employment, education or training) is missing from the training and labor market needs no explanation.

How do we reach the “unreachable”?

At JOBLINGE, we support young people with difficult starting conditions on their way into training or work.
For a number of years – intensified by the coronavirus pandemic – we have noticed that many young people are unreachable for us and others involved in the transition from school to work.
They withdraw, mistrust public institutions and do not accept any support.

In 2022, with the JOBLINGE Hybrid project, we asked ourselves how we could get this target group – the supposedly unreachable – interested in support services and vocational training in the future.
We realized that many actors involved in the transition from school to work lack a comprehensive understanding of the target group.
This is also due to the fact that these young people have hardly been researched or listened to.

It is therefore time for us – and other players in the vocational training market – to better understand where we can start and base our work on scientifically sound findings.

Objectives of the study

The study develops an in-depth psychological understanding of young adults without vocational training.
This includes analyzing their everyday lives, aspirations, social integration and use of communication channels.
In addition, dealing with demands, motivation and frustration is examined in order to derive motivational messages.
The study aims to provide clear recommendations on how to best reach and address this target group.

Target group and methodology

What characterizes the target group?

The rheingold Institute intensively interviewed and analyzed 38 young people in July and August 2023.
The following criteria were used to ensure that the right participants were selected:

Out of school for at least a year

Not in vocational training for at least one year

Not in technical college, university or other vocational training for at least one year

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No contact with the employment office or vocational training providers for at least one year

live in their parents’ home, in shared flats or in assisted living facilities

some are in marginal employment or unskilled jobs

some are recipients of citizen’s allowance or in a community of need

20 percent of the study participants have a migration background and speak German very well.
Manifest mental illness (in treatment and therefore unable to work) was defined as an exclusion criterion.

What methods were used?

The Rheingold Institute determined the results using a comprehensive approach.
This included a two-hour qualitative survey of young adults on topics such as attitude towards life, self-experience, belonging and their communication channels.

In addition, a workshop day was held with 10 young people, during which group and individual tasks were carried out.
The focus was on examining motivating and frustrating elements as well as exploring the participants’ inner perspectives.

Finally, a depth psychological analysis was carried out in order to gain insights and develop targeted recommendations for the approach and messages.