Young-adults NEET in Italy: orientations and strategies toward the future

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relation with the future of young-adults Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) in Italy. The study of temporal experiences allows to understand how subjects represent their own condition and construct their biographies in an age of uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach: The study follows a qualitative approach to allow participants to express their own experiences and representations through narratives. The 12 cases considered are illustrative of the different orientations detected in the group of 36 young people involved in the research. Findings: Young-adults NEET have problems in acquiring a recognized social status and in designing future orientations. The difficulties to project themselves in time hinder the attainment of a sense of biographical continuity as well as the process of identity construction, which tends to be increasingly detached from the planning sphere. Originality/value: The study adds to the literature on the issue of young people NEET, contributing to differentiate the social conditions of this group by referring to their experiences, social belongings and resources. The analysis sheds new light on the agency of young people, that conceive biographical strategies in relation to the scenarios they envisage.