The difference between youth that are, and are not, in education, employment, or training: The role of the combination(s) of personal skills, peer influences and risk behavior on YEET and NEET youth in Doornkop, Soweto

Abstract

This study focuses on finding out the difference between youth in, and out, of education employment and training. This has been done by using a sequential exploratory design. Firstly, interviews have been conducted with young men and women aged from 18 until 25 years old in Doornkop, Soweto, Johannesburg. Secondly, the answers to the open-ended questions have been translated into quantitative data, using the fuzzy set analysis. This study aimed to find out which same combination(s) of factors lead(s) to youth that are, or are not, in education, employment and training (NEET youth). The factors that were included in this study are personal skills, such as problem solving skills and self-esteem. Peer influences, such as role modelling and support. And risk behavior, such as criminal behavior, substance use and risky sexual behavior. The overall findings of the FSA are that, with the collected data, it is not possible to determine which combination(s) of personal skills, peer influences, and risk behavior, explain the difference between YEET and NEET youth. Interviews, however, provided insight into the presence or absence of variables in this study. The overall findings, derived from the interviews, are that there are no differences between YEET and NEET youth on the variables ‘problem solving skills’, ‘self-esteem’, ‘role modelling’ and ‘risk behavior’. On the other side, interviews do point out that the variable ‘support’ might play a role in youth being in, or out, of education, employment or training. Findings from the interviews also show that family might play an important role in youth being YEET or NEET. In addition, results show that NEET youth do not engage more often in risk behavior than YEET youth. Therefore, further research is necessary to provide insight into the role of family, and the concrete relationship between engagement in risk behavior, and enrollment in education, employment or training.