MAPPING NEETS IN EUROPE AND ITALY: POVERTY, INEQUALITY AND CRITICAL POLICY ROLES

Education and social justice represent two critical issues for young adultsespecially when related to contemporary times that have to face politicaluncertainties; rebalancing of geopolitical forces worldwide; epidemicsthat have just passed, the consequences of which have yet to be deeplyinvestigated; energy, territorial, as well as food wars that are still ongoing;artificial intelligence; and finally other phenomena such as nationalisticprotectionism and the claims of the female gender especially in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean area. Young adult education representsa crucial moment in Italian welfare, as it provides an opportunity to matchlabor market (Strecker, López, Cabasés, 2021) supply and demand, is tosome measure linked to the biographies of individuals and the development of society in a vision of social equity. Unfortunately, the various welfare initiatives over the years have not been free from evident social distortions and inequalities. It is in this scenario that our reflection on NEETsis inserted. This paper aims to represent the phenomenon in its currentstate, comparing it with the most recent studies (Ferrari, 2018). It wants togive evidence of the European and Italian situation in order to stimulatedebate, and to consider the different policies developed in the last decadeby the Italian State specifically dedicated to young NEETs. It wants to offera tool for reflection on the same target audience, reconsidering the limitations and paradoxes that this targeting brings. It also wants to point outthe inadequacy of Italian policies (De Luca Picione, et al.2023) designedto minimize and counteract the phenomenon, which includes individualsas diverse as e.g.: mentally ill; dissatisfied with the work and school environment; and economically disadvantaged youth. While on the one handwe see the anthropocentric view, which attributes educational and employment failure to individuals, essentially offloading the responsibilitiesof the state and local governments onto individual social actors. On theother hand, the neoliberal view tells of young people not studying and notworking because of distrust in the future (Bonanomi, Rosina, 2022). TheToniolo Report 2023 highlights how education impacts life trajectories andis a determining factor in the transition to adulthood and satisfactory selfexpression, and so in the well-being of individuals and social participation (Caroleo, Rocca, Mazzocchi, 2020; Newman et al, 2014). Fragility and perceptions of the future (Bauman, 2000) are felt to be more critical and negative, so NEETs express a higher risk of marginalization and, therefore, social inequality (Vieira, Pappàmikail, Ferreira, 2021). In this view,individual abilities are diriment, unfortunately too often conditioned by education, training and job search systems. So the challenge for employment services is to work on the frustration caused by employment uncertainty; on the content of interventions, which are often outdated; on therole of emotions at play (Ylistö, Husu, 2021); as well as on the fragmentedand scarce social policies aimed at young people, which make Italy(Mussida & Sciulli, 2023) the tail end in Europe (Assmann & Broschinski,2021) in terms of employment services and support during periods of inactivity.