Attracting NEET youth into the education system and labor market: government regulation tools

Abstract

A particularly vulnerable group in the context of the transition from the education system to the labor market are NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) young people, who are not studying, working or undergoing vocational training. This determines the necessity of the formation, within government regulation of youth unemployment, of tools to support this particular group of youth. The paper contains a statistical analysis of NEET youth in different countries in terms of dynamics and age and gender structure. Separate mechanisms and tools of government regulation of NEET youth are considered, which have proven their effectiveness on the example of Kazakhstan, which achieved a reduction in the NEET youth indicator from 9.5 % in 2017 to 6.9 % in 2021. The author proposed recommendations for the development and implementation in the practice of individual tools of government regulation of youth unemployment in the context of NEET youth. In particular, such a tool could be social programs of federal importance aimed at overcoming barriers in the “study – work” transition and reducing the number of young people falling into the NEET category. An important support measure could be the formation and improvement of a continuous education ecosystem including involving young people in additional education, which will help NEET young people enter the labor market. The author proposes to lay particular emphasis on the development of noncognitive skills, which are currently not fully covered by the education system, however, their influence on the trajectory of further education and transition to the labor market is confirmed by a number of scientific studies.