SCHOOL-TO-WORK TRANSITION AND YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT

Year 2018, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 43 - 55, 25.07.2018

Verda Canbey Özgüler

Abstract

Many employment studies refer to the period between
the end of compulsory education and the transition to constant employment as the
‘transition process from school to working life’. Evaluations of this time
period from college graduates’ points of view show that their better jobs and
more money expectation levels regarding the labour market are higher than those
of vocational high school/high school graduates. The transition process from
school to working life—a complex period that lacks a specific beginning and end—is
a time in which a young person generally encounters the labour market for the
first time, evaluates his/her own abilities and qualifications and makes a
realistic evaluation of the education that he/she has received as it pertains
to job opportunities. While completing the transition period substantially
depends on looking for a job with an awareness of one’s qualifications, other
important issues include both the number and qualifications of businesses in
the economy. Increasing unemployment rates and changing working conditions are affecting
youth as well. As a consequence, youth unemployment rates have reached high
levels in general worldwide, although they vary from country to country. The
lack of employment opportunities in Turkey and the resulting loss of positive
motivation and hope for the future are critical challenges for the current
generation of young people. Overall, 1 in every 5 Turkish youths aged 15–34 in
the labour force is unable to find a job during the transition from education
to work life, while only 19% had their first job (longer than 3 months) after completing
3 or more years of education.[1]
Two surveys were conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on
the transition of young people to working life:  The 2009 survey was the Transition to Young
People’s Labour Market and the 2016 survey was The Entry of Young People into
The Labour Market. Because these surveys contained different questions, the current
study was based on only the 2016 survey. In addition, this paper reviews recent
policy innovations for improving youth employment prospects.

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[1] http://www.turkstat.gov.tr/PreHaberBultenleri.do?id=21865

Keywords

School-to-Work Transition, Youth Unemployment, Youth Employment in Turkey

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