6. Do the interactions with employment
services and other institutions
facilitate school-to-work transitions?
Experiences of young people in
Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland
Tomas Sirovatka, Ondfej Hora, Veneta
Krasteva and Maciej Lawrynowicz
1. INTRODUCTION
Inclusion of disadvantaged youth in the labour market is becoming an important
policy challenge in most countries in Europe (Cinalli & Giugni, 2013;
Hvinden et al., 2019; Sirovatka & Spies, 2017), not only due to the disproportional
disadvantage of youth in the labour market during the economic
downturns but also because specific subgroups of young people face multiple
disadvantages.
The research on transitions from youth to adulthood refers to the on-going
de-standardization, reversibility, individualization and fragmentation of
school-to-work transitions, which are associated with an extended time spent
in education, pluralization of their lifestyles, growth of female employment,
demographic changes, labour market flexibilization and welfare state changes
(Chevalier, 2015; Walther, 2006).
These issues all call for an individually tailored approach from school-to-work
transition policies, as well as measures that meet the needs of the specific vulnerable
subgroups of youth with multiple disadvantages. In addition to low
qualifications and lack of work experience, labour market barriers include
health, psychical and social problems, addictions, debts and living in socially
excluded communities, which appear in individual and group specific combinations
(van Berkel et al., 2018; Caswell et al., 2017). Addressing such
complex barriers requires individualization of the service and provision of
wrap-around-services suited to the individual and group specific needs of
clients.
121
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122 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
Overcoming such complex barriers presupposes personal involvement and
motivation of the youth and building a relationship of trust between service
providers and the youth (van Berkel et al., 2018; van Berkel & Valkenburg,
2007; Lodemel & Moreira, 2014). This is only possible if Public Employment
Services (PES) apply a genuinely individual approach, seriously taking into
consideration the subjectivity of young people, including their abilities and
aspirations, and enabling them to take part in choosing interventions (for
example, Andersen et al., 2017; Sirovátka and Spies, 2017).
In contrast, the on-going activation policy reforms incline towards the
work-first approach, which largely prevails across countries in Europe and also
outside (van Berkel at al., 2018; Bonoli, 2011; Caswell et al., 2017; Hansen,
2019; Lodemel & Moreira, 2014). Thus a controversy emerges between the
need for a genuinely individualized, enabling approach on the one hand,
and, on the other, the work-first coercive approach applied in practice that is
focused on disciplining the unemployed with the help of coercive and punitive
measures and standardized treatment of clients. Findings show that in most
countries standardized treatment (people-processing approach) prevails over
the genuinely individualized approach (van Berkel et al., 2018; Caswell et al.,
2017).
In this chapter, we examine the interactions between young people and the
labour market and social policy institutions with the aim of answering the
question 'how do employment services and other institutions in three countries
that represent post-socialist transition regimes (Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland)
support young people in effective school-to-work transitions'? When exploring
this question, we included the subjective perspective of the youth.1
We are interested about the policy effort in terms of the sufficient scope
of active labour market policy measures, their targeting at the disadvantaged
young people and their (mis)match with the abilities and ambitions of youth.2
Because labour market integration of disadvantaged youth is one of the main
policy goals and an individual approach respecting their abilities and aspirations
is most needed in their case, we focussed on young people who have
suffered multiple disadvantages and marginalization in the labour market.
Identification of the policy failures in the above respects constitute a crucial
contribution of the study.
We focus on three countries that are examples of post-socialist transition
regimes. Studies show that active labour market policies in these countries are
less developed when compared to Western Europe and the US (for example,
Hora et al., 2019). However, existing research does not capture the similarities
and differences in the policies among the countries in this regime so far. Some
other chapters in this volume do provide such an insight and in this chapter we
contribute to this by examining how the subjective experiences of disadvanTomáš
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 123
taged young people within the labour market and social institutions are similar
or different.
We analysed a unique dataset from the NEGOTIATE project.3
We conducted
44 in-depth, qualitative interviews with young people in Bulgaria,
Czechia and Poland (15 interviews in Czechia and Poland, 14 in Bulgaria). It
includes youth and young adults who are marginalized in the labour market,
typically due to a combination of various individual handicaps and contextual
obstacles. A focus on these young people who face multiple barriers in the
labour market helps us to identify more reliably various policy gaps/failures
in addressing these barriers. We conducted a content analysis of data based on
the typologies pre-defined in the theoretical section. In particular, we focussed
on two typologies. The first typology classifies the situations in which young
people find themselves in the labour market in terms of their abilities and
ambitions, whilst the second recognizes the various types of pitfalls and failures
of the institutional set-up and the policies expected to help young people
have successful labour market participation.
2. THEORETICAL ASSUMPTIONS: Y O U N G
PEOPLE'S PERSPECTIVES A N D L A B O U R
M A R K E T POLICIES
Young people who are in transition from school to the labour market find
themselves in a sensitive life-time period. They are portrayed in literature as an
outsider group within the increasingly segmented labour markets (Doeringer
& Piore, 1971; Emmenegger et a l , 2012; Hvmden et al., 2019; Piore, 1972)
or a 'new social risk group' which is disproportionally exposed to 'new social
risks'4
(Bonoli, 2005; Chevalier, 2015). At the same time, they are portrayed
as a group that receives relatively little policy support and has fewer social
rights. This is mostly apparent in their poor access to income support during
unemployment and less employment protection. The social protection responsibilities
are often shifted to families. However, it depends on the country's
welfare regime (Chevalier, 2015; Gallie & Paugam, 2000; Hora et al., 2019).
In addition, along with the long-term unemployed, young people represent
a core group addressed with coercive measures. One reason is that policymakers
think it is easier to make young people accept coercive measures in
comparison to other groups. The other reason is the empirically, non-contested
assumption by policymakers of the lower expectations of young people
towards job conditions and the high danger of their work ethic causing inactivity
(Crespo & Serrano Pascual, 2004).
Such coercive measures have more flexibilization effects on the labour
market, as they increase the number of unstable jobs. In that way, specific
forms of exclusion like stigmatizing, being pushed into poor quality jobs or
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124 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
parking5
are often associated with activation programmes and compulsory
workfare-like measures in particular (Caswell et al., 2017; Lodemel &
Moreira, 2014; Nicaise et al., 2016). The agencies involved, primarily Public
Employment Services (PES), are treating the clients based on their subjective
assessments of the client's compliance and cooperation. They are providing
those assessed as non-compliant with the rules and requirements, including
disciplining or repressive sanctions and measures (Moreira, 2008). Such
measures establish unequal social relationships between institutions and their
clients, thus harming the client's autonomy. At the same time the abilities and
ambitions of young people are neglected (Bothfeld & Betzelt, 2011; Sirovatka
& Spies, 2017).
In a broader perspective of labour market policies for young people, based
on Sirovatka & Spies, 2017, we distinguish three types of policy failures of
Active labour market policy (ALMP) measures provided to the young people.
The lack of support for disadvantaged young people in terms of scope and coverage
or the poor quality of the support provided is the first type. A second type
of policy failure is mistargeting of the policies - although there are suitable
policies they are not accessible to certain groups of young people, who need
them mostly because of legal barriers (for example they are not registered with
the Public Employment Services for various reasons, in particular because
of sanctions imposed on them6
) or administrative/procedural barriers (job
mediators, caseworkers do not consider it appropriate or effective to provide
them with certain job offers or training). In addition, conditionality principles
sometimes lead to a 'clientelist' approach when policymakers prioritize those
who appear compliant with the institutional rules (Sirovatka & Spies, 2017).
The third policy failure is the most important one because it is most strongly
associated with the coercive approach to young people. It is a mismatch
between policy assumptions and principles on the one hand, and the abilities,
ambitions and emerging strategies of disadvantaged young people on the
other hand. This typically emerges due to negligence or misunderstanding of
the needs of young people by policymakers, which results in providing them
with inappropriate measures such as coercive activation policies (Sirovatka &
Spies, 2017).
A mismatch thus emerges between the activation measures which are coercive
and standardized in substance, and the (lack of) abilities and ambitions
of some groups of young people. It implies stigmatization and de-motivation
of the youth and young adults due to several reasons. Firstly, the participants
dislike coercive activation measures and lose their ambition. Secondly, they
are often much less attractive to employers due to the negative signalling
effect of such programmes. Finally, they lose trust in their own potential, and
in institutions. These all reinforce the process of their labour market marginaliTomáš
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 125
zation, and the destruction of their autonomy and potential to act (for example,
Sirovatka& Spies, 2017).
Such policies not only shape people's identities, but a reverse causality is
also present. That is, the cooperation or resistance of young people shapes policies
and their outcomes. As Spies (2017) explains, the extent to which there is
a match between the assumptions made by policymakers about young people,
and the self-assumptions of young people about themselves ('theory about
themselves') largely determines the effectiveness of policies and interventions.
Personal experience gained in the process of interactions with the institutions
involved is the central issue in this respect.
Based on Spies (2017), we are able to distinguish four typical situations
when policies towards young people neglect their needs and fail to be effective
(see Scheme 1). The policies either neglect the (lack of) abilities of young
people (first dimension of the typology), or they neglect the (lack of) ambitions
of young people (second dimension of the typology). The combination of the
above mentioned dimensions produces specific groups of policy beneficiaries
who are vulnerable to particular policy failures. First, there are young people
who have ambitions towards labour market participation in a way that the
social system defines as normal (to accept poor jobs) and who are also able
to work (conformists) but they lack opportunity to access the jobs, while the
policies fail to provide such opportunity. Second, there are young people who
have ambitions to work even in poor jobs but they lack abilities (dependent)
while the policies in place fail to help them. Third, there are young people who
lack both abilities and ambitions (survivors), while the policies fail to build
their self-confidence and encourage their ambitions, as well as fail to improve
their abilities. Fourth, there are young people who possess abilities but whose
ambition does not correspond to mainstream society's view of a 'normal job'.
These can be higher-level criminals or they can also be innovative entrepreneurs
in the normal economic sense (entrepreneurs). They prefer only to
participate in particular activities (for example, entrepreneurship) and develop
their ideas instead of accepting poor/low quality jobs. However participative,
co-creation policies and support for such alternative solutions are lacking and
only coercive measures are imposed in a standardized manner.
As a consequence of the above-mentioned policy failures, non-compliance
and non-take up of the measures offered to young people emerges due to the
deliberate decisions of young people themselves. This is not only the result of
the rational decision by the youth when taking the costs and benefits of cooperation
with PES into consideration, but also because young people feel disrespected
by PES and prefer to sidestep official channels and enter peripheral
labour markets. This is a so called 'self-assertion strategy' (Parys & Struyven,
2013) and may be considered as an 'unintended policy success' because some
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School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
Classification of labour market situations faced by
disadvantaged young people
Abilities
Low High
High
Dependent (need support for Conformists (ready for work, need
High
abilities) opportunity/access to work)
Ambitions
Low
Survivors (need support for
abilities and ambitions)
Entrepreneurs (ready for work, prefer
alternative solutions, need recognition
and participation)
Source: Authors, based on Spies (2017).
youth sidestepping coercive measures may engage in more meaningful activities,
including local community work (Fryer & Fagan, 1993).
The studies in the area of front-line work7
arose as a reflection of the recent
developments in activation policies which emphasize some specific aspects
of activation, in particular, the interaction between individualized activation
work and governance contexts. With the focus on disciplining the unemployed
seen in many countries (with use of coercive and punitive elements), the policies
contain both 'people-processing and people-changing technologies' that
are generally standardized and incompatible with a genuinely individualized
approach responsive to the needs of clients (Caswell et al., 2017), in particular
in institutions like PES which apply the New Public Management (NPM)
approach. The role of the indicators for performance is increasing, typically
with pure focus on simple targets like quick job placement. It neglects the
quality and tenure of labour market placements. Then, cream-skimming practices
represent a strategy that enables front-line workers to meet strict assessment
criteria within a given timeframe (van Berkel et al., 2018). The above
policy failures are context dependent emerging with the specific constellation
of the policies and labour market situation. Neglect of young people's subjective
perspectives leads to the failures of labour market integration policies
because the change in the motives and desired actions of young people cannot
be achieved solely by coercion.
In our study, we deal with the interactions of young persons with PES
(as well as other actors like NGOs, job agencies, employers) in the three
post-socialist countries: Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland. Several studies show
the weaknesses of the school-to-work transition in countries representing
a post-socialist regime (sometimes labelled a 'transitional regime'). The
education system provides some vocational specificity, as well as broadly
accessible general education at least at the secondary level. However, the
quality of vocational education is usually low and the institutional linkages
with the labour markets are weak. Employment protection and unemployment
126
Table 6.1
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 127
protection are provided at a modest level bearing features of dualism. A L M P
measures are provided in a modest scope and coverage, and lesser generosity
and quality (Eichhorst & Rinne, 2018; Hora et al., 2019). The country chapters
on policies in this volume (see chapters 8-11) confirm these findings while
also highlighting that policy constellations are to some extent different in the
countries in focus. In Bulgaria, young people seem to be most vulnerable in
the labour market due to their significant presence in the informal economy,
unfair practices by employers, the poor supervisory role of the state and the
emphasis of PES on fast activation with the use of sanctions (Krasteva, in this
volume). In Poland, young people suffer from labour market dualism and an
abundance of temporary and poor-quality jobs. Similarly, in Bulgaria a significant
problem is over qualification. Young people often avoid registration
and cooperation with Public Employment Services due to stigmatization and
ineffective support (see chapter 11). In Czechia, young people generally have
a better position in the labour market than in Bulgaria and Poland, except for
several disadvantaged categories of youth, who suffer from a lack of support
by PES (see chapter 8). The scope of A L M P s in terms of coverage/participation
is much higher in Czechia and Poland than in Bulgaria: it is at a similar
level to the U K and Spain but lower than in Germany, Norway and Switzerland
(Hora et al., 2019). Thus, comparison of the three countries in focus may bring
lessons on young people's interactions with Public Employment Services in
different labour market and policy contexts.
3. D A T A A N D METHOD
We focus on the interactions of young people with labour market institutions
and assess the support provided to them in terms of the sufficient scope of
active labour market policy measures, their targeting of disadvantaged young
people and their (mis)match with the abilities and ambitions of youth. When
doing so, we adopt an analysis of the young people's perspective and seek to
identify the policy failures at the frontline of policy making in respect to those
three aspects: scope, targeting and (mis)matching of the policies, and how
these policy failures appeared in various situations faced by young people in
terms of their abilities and ambitions for labour market integration. We used
two typologies for coding and interpreting young people's perspective in these
respects: a typology of their individual situations, and a typology of perceived
policy failures (see theoretical assumptions). At the same time we were open
to any new coding categories that might emerge.
The data for our analysis in this chapter contains 44 qualitative interviews
conducted in 2016 with young people in three countries, Bulgaria, Czechia
and Poland, as a part of the NEGOTIATE project. In the survey, purposeful
sampling was applied, with a focus on the insecure position in the labour
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128 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
market. A l l individuals in the sample were marginalized young people with
multiple problems, and in need of help from employment offices and other
institutions. The selection criteria included age (at the time of interviewing
they were between 20-25 years old) and the experience of early job insecurity
(experience of long-term or recurrent unemployment, or of an insecure job)
during the transition from school to labour market. We used various sampling
techniques: in Bulgaria, the researcher's personal contacts and a professional
recruiter were used. This allowed respondents from various places of residence
(big cities, small towns, villages) and different ethnicities (Bulgarian, Roma,
Turks) to be reached. It should be noted that it was difficult to reach disabled
people in Bulgaria. In Czechia we organized interviews via non-governmental
organizations working with specifically disadvantaged target groups like
Roma, and via PES to their clients. As a consequence, those recruited via PES
included typically unemployed youth with multiple employment barriers from
majority populations from big cities, while those recruited via NGOs included
young Roma people from small cities. In Poland we used the researcher's
personal network, NGOs (long term unemployed) and social economy entities
(people with disadvantages) to recruit from various groups. We attracted a relatively
diverse group of respondents with a predominance of urban residents
and university graduates, reflecting the high ratio of students in Poland.
We provided the respondents with a small reward for the interview, as well
as with a guarantee of confidentiality and anonymity. Signed informed consent
was sought from all participants. We conducted semi-structured interviews
with the use of a uniform interview guide/scenario in all three countries.
We asked the interviewed young individuals about the problems they faced
in school-to-work transition, and their strategies to overcome the problems,
as well as about the support they received from various actors and policies
that helped them in their transitions to the labour market. We analysed the
information provided with the use of axial and open coding, where we worked
with pre-determined typologies of the situations in which young people find
themselves, and the policy failures that they may reflect/perceive (see theoretical
assumptions).
In the following section, we present the findings from these interviews in
Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland, and in the conclusion we summarize the similarities
and differences among the countries.
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 129
4. FINDINGS: INTERACTIONS OF Y O U N G PEOPLE
WITH E M P L O Y M E N T SERVICES IN THREE
COUNTRIES
4.1 Bulgaria
4.1.1 Young people in a labour market context
The first step in exploring how interactions with employment services affect
school-to-work transitions of young people is to find out what abilities and
ambitions they have. This can be done through presenting their educational
background and labour market position.
Most of the young people in the Bulgarian sample (9) had a secondary
education at the time of entry into the labour market. The majority of them (7)
had completed vocational secondary schools in various fields, including economics,
agriculture, tourism, art. Only two of them had been using the skills
acquired in school (those from the art schools). One had tertiary education;
four of the interviewed young people had basic or lower than basic education,
i.e. they were dropouts from school (Nadja, Emil, Silvia, Bogdan). The main
reason for this was poverty. For some young women, the lack of education was
a result of early childbirth (Nadja).
From the youth's narratives, it becomes evident that having a secondary
education (even vocational) is not enough for finding a job, because in most
cases employers required work experience or a higher education. In addition
to this, some young people interviewed assessed the training they received in
vocational school as insufficient for exercising the profession.
By the time of the survey, only two participants had managed to find jobs
with work contracts (Darko, Nikola), three of them had developed businesses
of their own (Maxim, Ivo, Hristo), two had worked as part of active labour
market programmes (Galina, Silvia), and the other seven were still unemployed
or had brief, intermittent periods of employment. The jobs usually
offered to the young people in the sample were low-paid, temporary or seasonal.
They worked, for instance, as bartenders or waiters in seasonal employment,
unskilled workers, fruit pickers, shop assistants, etc. They changed jobs
many times.8
In addition, each interviewee had some experience in the grey
economy sector where they worked without a formal employment contract.
It is notable that most of the respondents made a realistic assessment of
their own shortcomings (lack of education, lack of experience) and how these
affected their careers. For women, a negative factor with regard to finding a job
was having young children:
... Everywhere they kept telling me that I have a child, and there is no way to get
ajob because I will have to be away if the baby gets sick, etc.. .1 was looking all the
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130 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
time, but nowhere ... everywhere the door closed when they heard that I had a child
(Desislava).
Almost all respondents were motivated to work and it was a very important
aim in their life. Work for them is a source of freedom, independence and
self-confidence.
'I felt really free when I worked; not even thinking about how much money
I would make, I just knew that I had a job' (Dragan) and 'When I had a job,
I felt more confident, I felt useful'. (Desislava)
Work had an essential place in young people's understandings of a 'happy
life'. The notion of an ideal job and a happy life figures prominently in the
survey results, as summarized in Darko's words:
... to do work that you want to do in order to be happy; if possible, a good enough
income as well, and in these circumstances, to be calm and happy, that is the most
important thing. (Darko)
Individuals who had dropped out of school stated that a lack of education
was the main obstacle to finding a job. That is why two of them had enrolled
in night school in order to obtain a secondary school diploma. Believing that
a higher education gives a better start for finding employment, other individuals
(Darko, Milica, Hristo) had enrolled at university. A l l these young people
felt that it was hard to combine learning and work, but despite this they were
willing to try.
Some of the young people had completed vocational secondary school
so they had a desire to work in their speciality but were uncertain that they
could apply in practice what they had studied in theory at school (Desislava,
Dragan). Therefore, they felt they needed additional training or an internship
after finishing school.
Some individuals (Nadja, Silvia, Emil) had to support their own family or
their parents and siblings and they were ready to accept any kind of job. There
were also young people who, after periods of unemployment or changing from
job to job, had the intention to develop their own business. In other words, they
needed support in developing their entrepreneurial ambitions.
Although young people were all ambitious to find a job, almost all of them
were concerned about the quality of work and the employer's attitude and
mentioned low pay or bad working conditions as reasons for quitting or not
accepting jobs.
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 131
4.1.2 Interactions of young people with institutions
a. Scope of the measures
Nine out of 14 respondents had been registered at PES in some period of
their life but only four had received unemployment benefits. Two of those
registered at the PES participated in courses (English and conflict resolution)
and two had taken part in municipal programmes for community service work
which lasted for six months; a further respondent had been an intern under
a programme for people with education but without work experience. Five of
the respondents had never been registered at a PES and the reasons they indicated
for this were self-confidence (Milica, Maxim, Nikola) or the conviction
that state institutions could not help them (Dragan, Emil).
The experience of interviewees with the employment offices had convinced
them that institutional support was insufficient or, in some cases, that they
could not rely on it for help. The interviewed youths had received no job proposals
at all or had found the offers they got unacceptable. During the period in
which Desislava was registered at the employment office, she received a single
proposal for part-time work (for two hours per day). Atanas also claimed that
he had not received assistance in finding a job from PES.
The youths who were included in activation programmes expressed their
dissatisfaction that their work was only temporary and they would again be left
unemployed after the end of the programme:
In general, it [the programme] does not help young people because they [the
employers] hire them for six months or less. (Galina)
There was limited scope too with regard to the opportunities for training.
During the time when Hristo was registered at the employment office, he was
interested in taking a foreign language course but was unable to join the course
due to the programme's age limit.
In addition, due to their insecure labour market position most of the respondents
did not meet the conditions to receive unemployment benefit. A l l four
respondents who had received such benefits (Desislava, Darko, Ivo, Hristo)
evaluated them positively as an important source of income. But the size of
the benefits, according to them, was insufficient. For instance, while Desislava
was registered as unemployed, she had received compensation amounting to 6
leva per day (equivalent of 3EUR).
b. Targeting of the programmes for young people
Some cases described by the interviewees show that the measures had limited
coverage in the more vulnerable categories of youths: those low-skilled and
without education. For example, Nadja (dropped out of school at 17, ISCED 2)
had learned that the programmes offered at the time she was looking for a job
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132 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
through PES were not for people with a lower education. Emil, who dropped
out of school before finishing primary education (ISCED 1) and could only do
unskilled work, also felt no support coming from the state. In Emil's view, the
state does not provide adequate support for people who are lacking education.
At the same time, many of the young people interviewed believed that
employment offices were able to provide only low-skilled work for people
who cannot cope by themselves and can rely only on state support. This
conviction was confirmed by people who were working for these institutions.
Dragan had never visited the local PES, because, according to his friend who
works at this office, they only offer 'work that is low skilled and paid.
Along with this, in the interviews we could identify a cream-skimming
effect - a programme that can be qualified as successful but is actually
addressed only to those young people with secondary and university education,
i.e., those with abilities that can easily be activated. A n interesting case
was Ivo, who found a job through his own contacts and initiative as an intern
in an NGO. Later, this organization applied for an internship programme for
young people with higher education and with no work experience, and Ivo's
internship was extended, but this time the payment came from the state. The
employer certainly benefited from the programme, but it is also clear that Ivo
succeeded in getting an internship without the intervention of the state. This
case is an example of an unintended policy success because it supports the
employer and enables the interviewee to continue the internship.
c. Adequacy or mismatch to young people's abilities and ambitions
As shown above, the respondents differ in abilities, ambitions and needs and
we can therefore classify them into one of the four types described in the
theoretical frame.
The first type discussed in the theoretical section includes young people
with ambitions and abilities to work, but who did not have such an opportunity
(conformists). Under this type, we can group those participants who had
studied in vocational high schools and looked for employment in their specialty
but did not find it (Nikola, Desislava, Milica, Dragan). The main reason
for that was due to lack of experience (Desislava) but a shortage of vacancies
and low quality of jobs offered were also mentioned. Nikola and Milica were
more successful in finding work, but had to change various temporary precarious
jobs.
Some of the youths had low education levels but were employed (mainly in
the grey sector) or were actively looking for a job (Nadja, Silvia, Emil, Atanas,
Darko). They could be classified under the second type (dependent) - i.e.
young people who had ambitions, but lacked abilities.
Two cases (Bogdan, Galina) might be classified under the third type - i.e.
young people who were lacking in both abilities and ambitions (survivors).
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 133
Galina was passive in looking for a job but the employment she found under
a programme for 'activation of unemployed' (working six months as a cleaner
at the municipality) had not changed her motivation to work or changed her
possibilities to improve her education.
Three cases (Ivo, Maxim, Hristo) can be classified under the fourth type
(entrepreneurs). These were young people who had both abilities and ambition
to work; however, their ambitions differed from the usual jobs which were
proposed by the employment office. At the age of 25, Ivo created his own art
school for children and started to work in agriculture as an additional means
to cope financially. After periods of unemployment and various jobs, Maxim
created his own online store. And Hristo opened his own jewellery shop. The
various situations in which the young people found themselves indicate different
implications for the adequacy of the policies.
The available institutional support was assessed by most interviewees to be
unsuitable, or not corresponding to the abilities and ambitions of the young
people. Darko (dependent), for instance worked for two years in a choke and
transformer factory, where he reached a 'pretty good' level and received an
offer for a very low-skilled job:
The job proposals I received ... for instance, jobs like cleaning and that sort of thing,
were unacceptable, both in terms of the salary and the work itself. (Darko)
Low-skilled jobs were even proposed for the youths with higher education.
For instance, Ivo (entrepreneur) with a bachelor's degree from the Academy of
Music, Dance and Fine Arts and with a Master's degree in Pedagogy received
offers for car mechanic jobs. Here neither the abilities nor the ambitions of the
young individuals were taken into consideration.
In addition, some respondents thought that the opinions and interests of
jobseekers were disregarded.
[S]he [the civil servant] strives to express her opinion about me, to say what is best
for me. An example of this is that she registered me as looking for work as a storehouse
clerk, although I did not like that [job]. I wanted her to list the things that are
available, that are in demand, but she said that only this job is applicable for people
without education. (Nadja, dependent)
Some of the respondents were enrolled in training courses (Atanas, dependent
and Bog dan, survivor). Despite the opportunity to increase their knowledge,
the young people were disappointed because the course was not related to
a job upon completion. In addition, youths who wanted to improve their qualification
and enhance their confidence to work in the field of their vocational
high school specially were not given this opportunity. For example, Dragan
(conformist), who has a diploma from a vocational school for Hospitality
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134 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
and Tourism, wanted to raise his qualifications as a waiter, but the PES in his
hometown did not offer such courses.
4.1.3 Outcomes of policy performance
The experience of the interviewees with PES changed their opinion about the
social role of the state; most of the interviewees shared that their confidence
in this type of institutions had decreased. Most of them stated that they would
no longer seek help from this institution and would continue to search for
work by themselves, with the help of their friends and relatives. The reason for
this was the lack of job proposals due to the character of the Bulgarian labour
market (but also due to the weak links between employers and PES) and the
disrespectful attitude of the institution, an attitude that in some cases is felt
to be discriminatory. Silvia, who is Roma, was dissatisfied with the services
provided by the Public Employment Office because she was convinced that its
employees treated the unemployed Roma people differently. Desislava said
that there was no communication between her and the staff at PES, and none
of them were interested in the opinion of the young who were unemployed:
Just submit documents and wait. And then comes the long waiting. (Desislava)
The poor quality of the support provided is also evident from Darko's comment
about his communication with PES staff:
There is no communication at all, they simply check off an activity as done; in my
opinion, it is not the officials themselves who are to blame but the system itself is
like that. (Darko)
The youths who had contact with PES were disappointed. There were some
who never even considered registering. Five out of the 14 interviewed had
never registered as unemployed at the employment office and had never sought
help from state institutions. Some of the respondents were confident that they
could manage on their own (Milica, Nikola, Maxim) and some of the respondents
additionally expressed doubts that the state institutions could help those
in need (Emil, Dragan).
Overall, the respondents did not consider PES as a source of opportunities
that could improve their situation in the transition from school to work. The
PES was seen as the last resort for finding employment, because the respondents
believed that the work and positions offered there were low paid and
did not match their needs and abilities. The interviews generally revealed the
respondents' lack of trust in the state policies for supporting the unemployed
and increasing employment.
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 135
4.2 Czechia
4.2.1 Young people in a labour market context
About half of the young people we spoke to did not finish secondary-level
education. They stated that it was due to low interest in school so they decided
to stop attending the school. They also perceived the poor quality of the school
and they stated that they had behavioural problems. According to the young
people, an incomplete education crucially influenced their labour market
situation (for example, they did not meet the formal requirements for the job).
Radek, Jakub and Klára discussed whether vocational training or high school
is enough to get a job. Some young people completed vocational education but
they could not find a job in the studied field (Vanda, Elena). Others could find
jobs in the studied areas, but only low-quality jobs with unacceptable or poor
working conditions (Barbora, Radek, Klára).
Almost all our respondents had problems finding work or accepted jobs that
they would otherwise not choose, for example, not matching their qualifications,
poor working conditions, and unstable. Some women (Karin, Barbora,
Sofie) had a baby during their education or briefly after it ended. Single
motherhood influenced their lives and their chance to find work. Some others
(for example, Elena) mentioned various mild temporary or permanent health
problems. Several respondents were ethnic Roma, and perceived it as another
barrier to getting a job.
Youth usually considered more job characteristics together (wage, employer,
distance, working conditions). Harsh working conditions, employers' negligence
(employers did not care about employees), and nasty behaviour led
to reduced trust, reduced motivation, and quitting jobs. Several respondents
refused to do particular work, including demanding and monotonous jobs in
a factory (Dušan, Vanda, Klára, Radek, Petr), specific product selling positions
(Jakub), hard work in the building industry (Roman, Kvido), cleaning
jobs (Jana), long working hours (Kvido, Jana, Vanda), or jobs without an
employment contract (Barbora, Jakub). Young people were sometimes afraid
that accepting such work would mean that they could not later shift to better
jobs (Kvido).
Young people saw work as essential to their life goals. They needed money
to live a decent life (Vanda, Klára, Albert), have security (Barbora, Dušan,
Jana), and be independent. Working meant 'general improvement in life'
and 'not to live like my mates'. Young people used to link work to desired
outcomes, such as 'having a small house with a garden', 'having a peaceful
life', 'better life for my children', and 'going on holiday abroad'. The overall
declared readiness of the interviewed young people to accept the job was high,
with a few exceptions (due to studying, etc.). However, they had reservations
due to the quality of work offered. Family circumstances were essential,
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136 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
contributing positively (financial support) and negatively (lack of guidance,
expulsion) to young people's situations and ambitions.
Several youths dreamed about having a 'standard job' (Jakub, Jana), or
doing specific professions (Elena, Roman), for example, driver, or being entrepreneurs.
Vanda and Sofie would like to have work matching their education.
Young people wanted to do something sensible, enjoy work, and build a career
(Vanda, Jakub, Radek, Kvido, Dušan, Klára, Sofie, Jana) or be active (Vanda,
Roman, Karin, Klára). Others admitted that they did not have any work goals
because they were limited by other life circumstances, for example, children
(Petr, Barbora). Other respondents (Kvido, Petr) were skipping from job to job
(job hoppers); they tried various things, learned from experience, and looked
for (more) suitable positions.
Some young individuals had personal development goals which were realistic,
to various degrees. Some studied or intended to begin their studies soon
to achieve Secondary Education or get additional education. Young people
stated that it was difficult to combine school and work. This was due to time
restrictions, the need to switch between work and school activities, and financial
limits (Barbora, Jana, Sofie, Roman, Kvido, Petr, Dušan). Completing
education was perceived as a gateway to betterjobs and a decent life (Bohouš).
However, some respondents (Albert, Jakub, Barbora) completely abandoned
the idea of returning to school (although they were willing to take a short
training course).
4.2.2 Interactions of young people with institutions
a. Scope of the measures
Most of the young people assessed job-search assistance as insufficient,
useless, or non-existent, while a minority (Albert, Elena, Klára) evaluated it
positively. Appointments at the employment office were described as brief
and formal and were focused on administration. Meetings usually included
checking whether young people had found a job and arranging the date of the
following appointment.
Our cooperation was that I enlisted there, and they told me: 'come after three
months,' and so I came after three months, and they asked me if I found work. I said:
'no,' and they told me to come in another three months. (Radek)
Young people would welcome concrete job tips but PES workers rarely provided
them. A n essential tool the employment office uses is 'job recommen­
dation'.9
Some young people would like to get recommendations to improve
their chances. However, Kamil argued that job recommendations were not
functioning well because employers always refused him.
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 137
About half of young people went through some active labour market policy
measures. Young people appreciated combining (re)training courses with
financial support. However, they also criticized some aspects of these measures:
the insufficient length and quality of the courses (Petr, Klára) and when
PES refused to pay for the training. This was usually because the unemployed
could not guarantee a job in advance. Others mentioned that only if they had
a job in advance could they then undergo PES-funded training (Kvido, Elena,
Radek and Petr). The usefulness of the training was related to the perception
of using the gained qualification (Albert, Vanda, Klára). Participation in
subsidized employment was helpful for Bohouš and Karin as this gave them
the opportunity to get one year of work experience and learn something. This
meant they had their first real job and would get a permanent job afterward.
For others, it did not lead to a permanent position, or later there was no use for
the gained qualification (Klára left the job herself, and Petr was fired after the
state-subsidized period).
Some respondents (for example, Albert, Vanda, Dušan, Roman) criticized
social benefits as they were hard to access and the benefit level was insufficient
(typically around 4500-6000 CZK, representing roughly one-third of
the minimum wage). Young people were not often eligible for (temporary)
social assistance because they were living with parents or siblings who had
a confirmed or past but currently unavailable (thus fictional) income (Dušan,
Elena, Albert).
b. Targeting of the programmes
We noted both 'too good to benefit' and 'too bad to benefit' issues in targeting
policies.1 0
PES workers assessed young people and decided about help/
enforcement in job searches and access to active labour market policy. Petr
and Dušan thought that help is reserved for the disadvantaged, while active
(short-term) unemployed people are left on their own. Peter argued about the
importance of proving activity and behaving politely.
Some people get a lot of recommendations for bad work, but no one forced me. The
truth is that I behaved politely, I told them what I wanted and I had already arranged
the work interviews. (Petr)
Vanda argued that PES workers were overburdened with high workloads,
which reduced the opportunities for assistance. They had to choose whom
to help and whom not to. Young people who were left alone were allowed
to follow their strategies (Petr, Jana, Klára) and they perceived low activity
from PES workers as an advantage. On the contrary, PES workers targeted job
search activities to a few more disadvantaged, but they forced these people (for
example, Kamil, Radek) to do bad work which the youth did not appreciate.
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138 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
Kamil, Albert, Karin, Roman, Jakub and Radek all stated that they did not
get A L M P offers or any other help beyond basic job search assistance. Roman
noted that he was denied participating in the training because he had not been
unemployed for long enough.
Some young people admitted they were not actively looking for any help
and they had no idea about potential opportunities (Jakub and Karin). Others
said they missed relevant offers because they did not care enough (Klára) or
the offers collided with their other activities and plans (Dušan).
c. Adequacy or mismatch with the young people's abilities and
ambitions
We tried to classify our respondents according to the typology provided in
the theoretical section. The first group of people had ambitions and abilities
but lacked opportunity. These respondents completed secondary education
and were inclined to work in the studied jobs, but they were unsuccessful in
obtaining or maintaining employment (Vanda, Jakub, Kvido, Radek, Barbora,
Klára). Employers required work experience, and youths did not have the
opportunity to develop their competencies in work (Kvido, Radek).
The second group of young people had ambitions, but they lacked abilities
(dependent) (Roman, Dušan, Sofie, Elena, Albert, Kamil). Dropping out of
school or an unwillingness to work in the studied field (Klára, Kvido, Elena,
Roman) caused them to lack competencies. Other young people (for example,
Petr) had learnt the skills during work but lacked a corresponding vocational
education and training certification. Those people often worked in simple
manual jobs, where few competencies were necessary, and there was relatively
little to learn. The dependent aspired to personal development - they were
working in manual jobs until they gained some qualification and then they
planned to shift to a better job.
I want to find some cleaning job or warehouse job, working part-time in two years
and then working in health services for sure. (Sofie)
Many respondents lacked both ability and ambition (survivors). Concrete
reasons/circumstances differed (Bohouš, Albert, Kamil, Karin, Sofie, Jana).
Lack of motivation to study resulted in them dropping out of school. This led
to a lack of competencies and low interest in doing jobs in the studied fields.
Discouragement and feeling inferior were essential themes in some stories
(Bohouš, Karin, Klára, Jana).
I thought that it could not happen that I could find work and develop into someone
different. No. (Karin)
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 139
The fourth category is 'alternative entrepreneurs' (their ambitions differed
from regular norms of employment). Petr's flexibly combined the various
options (for example, jobs, training, PES registration), he frequently changed
his job, and he was not keen to accept any authority: 'The reason is that I often
stopped liking it, or I found something more interesting'. Moreover, some
long-term work on the side/in occasional jobs can be classified as an individual
alternative lifestyle. Their ambition did not correspond to mainstream
society's view of a 'normal job'. For example, they refused legal employment
with unacceptable working conditions (Barbora, Elena, Radek, J ana). Instead,
they went their own way, accepting what they found interesting, rather than
accepting offers from the employment office.
Due to maturing and altered circumstances, some young people changed
from careless adolescents to young adults with life ambitions (for example,
Bohous, Karin and Jana). Young people perceived their situation differently:
This [referring to the past] was my dark period. I left home, and I lived in the squat
for a year with my mates...I loafed around for three years, racked up significant
debts that I have to repay now... and had some drug episodes lasting for half
a year... it was not easy...However, I developed a lot last year since I've been
working. (Bohous)
Young people sometimes aspired to one activity and rejected other options.
For example, they did not want to study further or work in their original
profession (for example, cook, bricklayer) but they were willing to try other
professions. These preferences also tend to develop over time.
PES workers rarely took the ambitions of young people into account when
considering an appropriate form of help. A significant problem identified by
interviewees concerned the employment office workers enforcing their views,
instead of incorporating the perspective of young people (Petr, Radek, Kamil,
Jana and Karin). We notice that this was more often the case with the survivors
and those involved in alternative entrepreneurship.
They listened to me, but they were not even minimally willing to fulfil my needs,
absolutely not.. .they forced me according to some plan of theirs and their timetable.
(Petr)
It has to be emphasized that not everyone shared such experiences. Some
young people described situations where PES workers asked them about their
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140 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
needs or conveyed that PES workers did not force them to do anything against
their will (Elena, Jana, Jakub).
When I was registered before, the lady was very good. She even asked me what
I wanted to do... I asked the lady for some specific jobs, and she gave me a paper
where there were only those specific professions listed. (Jana)
Young people wanted to partake in the selection of appropriate jobs and
appreciated it when the job offers were attractive, relevant, and matched their
qualifications or competencies. Kvido, Sofie and Vanda criticized the fact that
PES workers gave/sent them a general list of inappropriate job offers.
...you feel stupid when you come there, and employers tell you: 'What are you
doing here? This job is not suitable for you. You are not from this field, you have no
work experience, and we are not interested in you'. (Kvido)
Some complained that they were not offered appropriate jobs, although
there were jobs available. The offered positions were mainly of low quality
and often worse than offers that they found individually in available private
databases (Radek, Elena, Barbora). Young people complained that they were
being sent to workplaces where 'no one is willing to talk to them' or where
the jobs were, in fact, unavailable (Kamil, Roman, Jana). Kamil, Petr and Jana
criticized the pressure to accept 'anything', even 'bad' jobs. Sometimes young
people were denied or discouraged from training1 1
(Petr, Radek, Roman) or
forced to take a course which they perceived as useless (Petr, Karin).
4.2.3 Outcomes of policy performance
Some young people (for example, Bohouš, Roman, Karin) presented a low
orientation and personal ability to set goals or change their situation without
outside help (these can be seen as dependents or survivors). They were too
passive in their interest in various A L M P measures, and as a result, they did
not receive anything. They would need concrete, direct, and individual offers.
By contrast, Elena and Vanda learned to rely on themselves when they realized
that employment office clerks would not help them. Petr and Elena mentioned
they had refused available offers and had found alternative employment offers.
Similarly, Dušan said that he preferred to go for an occasional job rather than
to sit at home with meagre financial support. People who were more active
stated a higher motivation to change their situation (we assume them to be
conformists, and some of the dependent or alternative entrepreneurs).
Vanda, Radek and Petr felt a general discomfort while they were interacting
with PES workers. We noted some opportunistic behaviour of young people
towards PES workers (misusing, manipulating, or working on the side). For
example, young people disguised living in the same household with another
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 141
person or pretended compliance and that they were interested in formal offers.
At the same time, they were not interested, or they even secretly worked on
the side. Some respondents mentioned that this was a result of low support
provided. In addition, some would need more help from PES workers in negotiations
with some employers. For example, PES workers forced the young
people to accept the job even though it was apparent that the job offer was poor
and the employer was not a respectable person.
Several young people had experiences of being expelled from the employment
office (usually for six months). The reasons for expulsion included
'missing an appointment' (Barbora, Dušan), 'attending school' (Jana), 'refusal
of a suitable job' (Kamil), 'non-compliance during an active labour market
policy programme' (Klára), or conflict when working on the side. After expulsion
from the employment office, the young people were denied social benefits
and they had to pay social insurance contributions themselves for the period of
expulsion (otherwise, they would be paid by PES). Because they lacked help
from the employment office during the expulsion period, their social insurance
debts would grow (Bohouš), and employers sometimes refused to hire them
because they were not PES clients (Albert, Kamil). After the expulsion, Kamil,
Klára, Jana and Barbora temporarily accepted an undeclared job or a formal
job that they would not have previously considered in order to lessen financial
hardship. Young people were sometimes uncertain whether they could return
to the employment office at all, after an expulsion (Jana, Albert).
Some young people avoided cooperation with PES due to previous bad
or disappointing experiences, a lack of trust or negative expectations. For
example, Albert decided not to visit the employment office as he expected
that PES would not help him. Jakub argued that the unemployment insurance
benefit was so low that he would do anything rather than retake the benefit.
The other reason for the non-take-up of employment services was that young
people felt mistreated by the employment office, for example, harsh administrative
barriers and the efforts needed to tackle them. As a result, the young
people were not always successful and they gave up (Petr).
4.3 Poland
4.3.1 Young people in the labour market context
Half of our respondents finished secondary vocational education (economic,
logistics, construction) and half of them continued their university education
(Ola, Ela and Krysia in full-time mode and Iga, Anna, Witek and Halina in
extramural mode). The university level was too demanding for Jan, Iga and
Dominik, which ultimately led to them reorienting their careers. Graduates
assessed their secondary education as inadequate for the labour market, where
professional experience was a key asset. In respondents' opinions employers'
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142 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
expectation of work experience was a proxy for competencies. In some cases
they contrasted work experience with their educational experience, especially
in technical secondary schools (Jurek, Kuba, Dominik), where they were
taught more theoretical knowledge than the skills required by employers.
Interview participants also showed some difficulties in reconciling studies
with work (Dominik, Halina, Alicja) and were facing very high intellectual
requirements (Jurek). Financial constraints required a combined work-study
approach (Iga, Anna, Ela), and only two students were working in jobs related
to their specific educational background. The educational disruption was
caused mostly by medium-term health problems (Sandra, Jan), long-term
family problems (Ela, Halina) or disability (Anna), and for two whose illness
changed their career paths (Jan, Sandra). Despite educational needs, their
personal situations forced Sandra, Iga, Ela, Krysia and Halina to earn a living.
For example, Ela and Halina had to leave the family home because of family
conflicts. Living with parents caused a negative impact of having low motivation
to look for a job, but created an opportunity to not have to take low-quality
jobs given that their basic needs were being fulfilled. In Witek's case he has
a mechatronic engineering diploma but could not find a decent job offer and
stayed with parents.
All interviewees in the Polish sample had work experience, but some
remained passive in the labour market (Jurek, Krystyna, Halina, Alicja). Many
respondents ceased contact with Public Employment Services (Kuba, Ola,
Ela, Krysia Halina, Alicja) and directed their job search efforts solely towards
Private Employment Services. Just three people out of 14 were registered as
unemployed (Jan Witek and Dominik). The decision not to enrol resulted from
cohabitation with parents that secured their financial independence or from
studying (Ola, Ela and Krysia).
The predominant employment type was casual jobs under mandate contracts
(Krysia, Alicja), and work placements (Sandra and Agnieszka). Only
Iga and Anna had long-term employment contracts and described their work
as matching their educational background. A n important occupational experience
of illegal work was prominent and only Sandra, Aga, Witek and Ela
did not accept this type of work. General evaluations of employment were
negative, both in terms of the available positions (low-paid, poor employment
conditions, no chance for permanent contract) and for the self-assessment of
qualifications and skills. Initial contact with employers revealed competence
gaps and lack of experience among interviewees. Recurring failures in finding
suitable employment prompted Sandra and Alicja to emigrate (Dominik and
Halina had considered going abroad).
The studied narratives fall into four life goals: family and relationship, work
(position, type of work), independence (including ideas about migration) and
personal development and education (formal and informal). None of the young
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 143
individuals in the Polish sample were married or had children, while five were
in long-term relationships. A l l future marital and parental decisions were
postponed or thoroughly planned for times of financial security (Sandra, Aga,
Halina, Alicja).
At the beginning we decided on a plan: rent together, decent jobs, then settle down
and only after that have a child. (Alicja)
All respondents reported that they had a strong interest in finding a decent job
as it was a good way to earn a living or fulfil other needs, such as a hobby or
independence from parents. For those in long-term work placements, their
aim was a stable full-time position. They described the aspirational process
of finding a job as a long-term one, which started from being employed by
a temping agency through several fixed-term contracts and finally getting
a permanent contract. Vocationally educated respondents could wait for a suitable
job over a longer period, working in low-paid and low-quality jobs in the
interim (Dominik).
Employers highly influenced respondents' self-assessment and subsequent
choices on the labour market, as in the cases of Kuba, Alicja, Ola, Krysia and
Halina, all of whom had had difficult experiences in their first jobs, resulting
in lower job-search ambitions and increased self-motivation in upskilling.
Many young people continued their higher education as a combination of
professional and developmental goals, where they were hoping that a university
degree would be the key factor in their career path and enable them
to lead a happy private life. Three interviewees (Iga, Halina and Krysia) had
well-defined professional ambitions and pursued them without waiting for
university graduation.
4.3.2 Interactions of young people with institutions
a. Scope of the measures
PES job search measures for young people both in terms of quality of job offer
and matching their ambitions were assessed negatively (Jurek, Witek, Iga).
I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that the internships and training provided
by the State Employment Service are a little bit pointless. (Witek)
There was no personal counselling and each encounter with PES clerks was
anonymous, dominated by the need to fulfil procedures such as attending the
meetings, screening and responding to job offers. Only a few - Jurek, Aga and
Witek - reported that their first interaction had been helpful, and it was based
on the employee officer's good first impression and their belief in PES.
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144 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
Young people who received and accepted work placements were satisfied at
the beginning but had to renew their placements every six months, up to three
years (Aga) and never ended with an employment offer (Jurek, Aga). Training
opportunities were limited and were offered selectively, as was the case with
Aga, who took an advanced course in office software. Similarly, internships
were seldom offered to people with long-term health problems and little work
experience, as with Sandra, who participated in a three-month internship in an
office and was paid (900 P L N per month) by PES.
Some respondents mentioned that employment and traineeship vouchers
were an option which was mentioned by PES workers but they were unavailable
during their visits. For the newly unemployed, one of the first options
in their employment search was a jobs fair (Aga, Anna, Witek, Dominik).
A positive example of both a proactive attitude and an appropriate usage of
PES measures was true for Iga, who suggested her employer use PES subsidies
to create a position for her. No social benefits were mentioned, mainly because
all those who enrolled failed to meet the eligibility criteria due to the fact they
were pursuing university studies or they were living with their parents.
b. Targeting of the programmes
We identified mostly negative opinions about targeting. Employment office
staff preferred to address easy-to-use and available labour market measures
over taking into account the diverse needs of youth.
I was looking through job offers from the employment office, there were very
limited offers, like a welder, some kind of cook, so these were the kind of jobs that
were not in my area of interest. (Jurek)
The partial disability that excluded him from his studied profession and lack of
experience would have required more vocational reorientation or counselling
rather than the work placements offered by PES clerks. The mistargeting of
apprenticeships was also noticeable, especially for the respondents who were
continuing their university education.
Because of my university education I could not apply for an apprenticeship from
the employment office, so finally I did not count on it. So I rather did not look for
any help. (Aga)
PES were not able to target their measures to those who were living and being
supported by their parents like Kuba, Jan and Dominik and consequently they
decided not to register with PES and they were not aware of the potential
opportunities.
There were very few cases of people who were excluded from benefits
for formal reasons. However Domink's case was poignant as he compared
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 145
his process of registration as unemployed (after his family benefit ended) to
a queue of animals where they are waiting to be slaughtered.
A deteriorating relationship between young people and PES was a consequence
of unavailability of financial resources for some of the desired instruments
like employment vouchers, settlement vouchers, and vouchers to start
a business (Aga, Anna, Witek, Dominik).
I went to a special job activation centre. And there, I couldn't say this person was
competent or tried to help me. (...) She said yes it (employment vouchers) was
available only until the end of August. So I thought to myself: I was here in August,
but you didn't want me to register. (Dominik)
A unique example of tailored use of the settlement voucher is the case of
Anna, who found employment in an NGO. However, her knowledge about this
measure stemmed from her mother's employment in PES. Sandra (internship)
reported that good communication and well-addressed needs were required
in her return to the labour market. Both Anna and the other registered unemployed
(Jan, Witek, Dominik) indicated health insurance as their main benefit.
Iga's story provides an example of an easily activated person (creamskimming
effect) who found work easily in the cosmetic industry without PES
assistance. She used her competencies (on-going chemistry studies, extensive
professional experience) as well as knowledge about workplace subsidies to
advise her new employer on how to apply and reduce the employment costs.
A n extremely important thread influencing job searches was university
education (Ola, Ela and Krysia in full-time mode and Iga, Anna, Witek, Halina
in extramural mode). Being a full-time student meant being ineligible for most
of the A L M P instruments, such as internships, which was highly demanded by
respondents seeking work experience. This caused an increasing gap between
the employer's demands and PES measures. The lack of part-time job offers
in the studied profession effectively expanded this mismatch and resulted in
the employment of overqualified students in low-paid jobs (Ola, Ela, Aga).
Receiving a maintenance grant from the university influenced labour market
behaviours because money shifted the job search to part-time jobs and made it
possible to balance studying and living independently (Ola, Ela, Halina).
c. Adequacy or mismatch with the young people's abilities and
ambitions
We applied the criteria from the theoretical part to divide young adults from
Poland into four different types. Conformists are people in a situation where
they had both ambitions and abilities to work but they were lacking opportunities.
Aga, Witek, Krysia and Dominik graduated from university, but could
not find adequate employment due to lack of sufficient work experience. A l l of
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146 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
them enjoyed family support during education, which limited their willingness
to look for a job and gain experience. Iga and Ela were forced to earn a living
so they accepted black market jobs. In Aga's case, she had been waiting unsuccessfully
for almost three years (fourth consecutive apprenticeship in public
administration) for employment.
In the second group the dependent individuals had ambitions, but they
lacked abilities like Sandra and Alicja, who temporarily emigrated for work.
Jurek, Jan and Iga dropped out of university and only Iga gave herself a second
chance to re-enter the university. While Ola, Ela and Dominik combined
part-time work with studies, they also had an additional source of income from
university maintenance grants.
Jurek, Kuba and Jan all lived with their parents and made up the third group
who were lacking in both abilities and ambitions (survivors). Jan could not
understand the reasons why the school he attended allowed him to graduate,
as he had a visual impairment that excluded him from working at heights
(a certification to work at heights is mandatory in 90 percent of construction
vacancies). Jurek has repeatedly experienced educational failures. The technical
secondary school did not provide him with the relevant qualifications.
He entered university twice but failed to graduate. Kuba was a person with
a safe life at home, who showed no interest in getting a permanent job but was
focused on earning some extra money illegally to support his hobbies.
The fourth group (alternative entrepreneurs) includes Anna, who took
advantage of specific active labour market measures which were available for
the disabled and held a managerial position in a social cooperative. In Anna's
case self-determination got her where she was. Her mother (employed in PES)
knew how to use A L M P and had personal relationships with the NGO, which
led to the acceptance of a project work organization (entrepreneurial attitude).
As a full-time employee, her work depended on being successful in obtaining
subsidies for projects in the non-profit organization. The only reported shortcoming
was the difficulty of accepting a fixed-term contract, stemming from
the external scheme that funded her employment at the NGO.
We may classify a few respondents into different types taking into account
the subsequent stages of labour market entry. As already pointed out, early
encounters with the demands of the labour market (mostly work experience)
and mediocre assistance of PES changed the ambitions and perceptions of
their competencies over time (Jurek, Aga, Iga, Krysia, Halina). Health problems
resulting from dropping out of the labour market (Sandra, Iga, Alicja)
or the inability to find a job in the profession (Jan) were important events in
these narratives. The most dynamic case was Iga, who started as a dependent,
but after a couple of years of professional experience and new studies, found
a dream job in a cosmetics lab.
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 147
The prevalent experience of PES was its callous bureaucracy that privileged
formal service more than counselling. The overall perception of being uninterested
from the job centre's staff led to an often indicated mismatch between
the A L M P and the ambitions of the respondents. One general PES database
of job offers was outnumbered by low-skilled job offers (Aga, Jurek) and was
incompatible with the ambitions of young people.
In almost all the cases (Sandra as an exception), we did not encounter an
individualized offer adjusted to a person's needs and preceded by a thorough
analysis of their situation. Employment office workers followed their procedures
when young people were looking for their first employment:
And have you found any employers with the help of the jobcentre?
Not yet. So far I visited only once and it was preliminary. I also received an invitation
to a job fair, which will take place in November.
Are you going?
Yes, it's always worth going. (Witek)
Based on the job vacancies register, public employment staff offered a list
of vacant posts. The evaluation of this measure (job search) is unequivocally
negative, as the PES criteria for candidate pre-selection did not reflect the
actual employers' criteria which was applied in job interviews. In this sense,
the job-search visit became just a frustrating and meaningless administrative
requirement.
What they offered me..., I was rejected in a minute because I did not pass the
medical examination. I did not know the criteria. (Jan)
Job fairs were another option for direct contact with employers, but most of
the respondents identified it as an effective employment measure. The training
provided by PES proved to be useless, as in Aga's story where participation
in a one-month 'advanced' computer course unrealistically raised expectations
of a career change to a highly in-demand occupation, i.e. a graphic designer.
Only in Sandra's case was an apprenticeship offered by PES positively
evaluated as an opportunity to re-enter the labour market after a long-term
employment gap which was caused by her health problems.
It is a form of activity of a person looking for a job and it signals proactivity to
a prospective employer. (Sandra)
Iga by herself used her knowledge about the employment grants and successfully
applied for money on behalf of the company where she started working.
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148 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
4.3.3 Outcomes of policy performance
The overall assessment of PES measures stemmed from the reaspondents'
negative experiences, but they also came from the assimilated opinions of
close relatives about PES ineffectiveness and the lack of attention paid to the
youths. In many cases, this led to the abandonment of contacts with the PES
(Kuba, Ola, Ela, Krysia, Halina, Alicja). Despite disappointing experiences,
some interviewees contacted PES only to get health insurance (Iga, Witek,
Dominik, Alicja) or apply for an apprenticeship after a period of long-term
health problems (Sandra). Thus, the employment office became more used as
a social security provider than a labour market transition facilitator.
Periodically renewed work placements in different departments and institutions
gave the interns a feeling of initial stability (Jurek, Aga), but gradually
became a source of frustration that ultimately transformed into an unequivocally
negative evaluation. At first, Witek and Dominik had positive opinions
about PES, but later changed their evaluations after further interactions with
PES clerks and finally lost their trust in PES. Only for Iga (cosmetic lab) and
Anna (NGO) were the services provided by PES seen positively.
A large group of respondents (Kuba, Ola, Ela, Krysia, Halina, Alicja)
revealed agentic labour market behaviours and focused only on direct job
searches and private employment offices. The interviewees shared a strong
belief that independent job seeking and networking were more effective in
finding a decent job, and Iga, Halina and Krysia all successfully found jobs in
their desired profession by themselves.
The A L M P measures were highly limited, both in terms of job search and
upskilling. As parents supported our respondents with the daily costs of living,
opportunistic behaviours, such as illegal work (Jan, Dominik, Alicja, Kuba)
or temporary labour migration (Alicja), became apparent. Some young people
(Jurek, Kuba, Jan) lived from day to day in a kind of passive limbo, manifested
by a lack of desire for personal and professional development, which separated
them from PES activities.
5. CONCLUSIONS
We have shown how disadvantaged young people in the three countries
perceive and assess their interactions with labour market institutions and
how employment services in three countries support them in effective
school-to-work transitions.
Disadvantaged youth in all three countries share similar problems and they
face multiple barriers to good-quality jobs. The key obstacles include human
capital deficits, the lack of education (in several cases they are drop-outs
like in Bulgaria and Czechia) or disability (Czechia and Poland). For those
with secondary education (and also in Poland the university graduates), low
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 149
quality or inappropriate types of education, as well as lack of work experience
play an important role. In some cases other barriers are also present, such as
poverty (in Bulgaria), disability (in Czechia and Poland), family circumstances
like early childbirth, lone parenting, and non-native/Roma ethnic origin (in
Czechia and Bulgaria). Those who have vocational or no secondary education
mostly had no job prospects, while the higher educated can get only low skilled
jobs. In Poland, young people with tertiary education cannot find jobs in the
field they studied. Often, young people live with their parents. Whilst this
provides them with economic security and the chance to avoid poor jobs, their
job-search activity declines sometimes. Young people are struggling through
and often they accept poor, non-desired jobs. Sometimes they work in the
black economy in order to gain work experience and money and/or are hoping
that they will shift to better jobs in the future. Some young people (examples
found in Czechia and Poland) are aware of their lack of education so they try
to combine work and schools but they find this very hard.
Evidently, these young people need individually tailored support, but
unfortunately the policy failures discussed in the theory section are visible in
all three countries. The first one is lack of support, insufficient scope/reach
and quality of measures. In principle, PES should provide young people with
unemployment benefits, job matching, counselling, and A L M P measures such
as vocational training and hiring/wage subsidies for job experience or permanent
jobs. In contrast to these expectations, young people are typically not eligible
for unemployment benefits, and if they are eligible they assess the level
of these benefits as low. They also complain that they get little or no real job
offers from PES (more often in Bulgaria and Poland than in Czechia). Because
of these reasons young people in Bulgaria and Poland often do not register at
PES and instead rely on their own job-search efforts and social networks. By
contrast, young people in Czechia do not avoid PES.
Some young people in all three countries participated in the active labour
market policy measures and appreciated this participation (more often in
Czechia). But these measures are rarely available to them due to the lack of
funding or to rigid eligibility criteria or to program provision time volatility.
Summing up, young people in Czechia used the wide support from PES and
A L M P measures while in Bulgaria and Poland they often avoided cooperation
with PES.
Young people in all three countries also reported the second type of policy
failure i.e. mistargeted measures emerging from the strict requirements on
participation in support programmes or from the policy delivery practices on
the front-line. This policy failure is combined with the insufficient scope of the
programmes: for A L M P , programmes were selected either for the more educated
and more 'easy to employ' young people (Poland), or for those educated
but without work experience (Bulgaria), or both such groups (Czechia); while
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150 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
the low educated youth who need the programmes the most do not get access.
In addition, in Czechia some young people stated that they were considered as
'too good' for the programme; this means that they were expected to find jobs
without the support of the programme.
The most important policy failure is the mismatch of the support provided
with the abilities and ambitions of young people. Young people from all
countries complained about the formal and bureaucratic approach of public
employment services, the lack of genuine individual support and no recognition
of young people's abilities and ambitions. They are being pushed into
undesirable jobs of low quality and are thus not provided with other options,
with no respect for their ambitions or desires to find meaningful, good quality
jobs. Those who need to improve their abilities did not get access to the kind
of programme needed or the programme was assessed as insufficient as it did
not lead to a real job. Although we interviewed young people during a period
when 'Youth Guarantee schemes' were intensively implemented in the countries,
still, neglect by PES of abilities and ambitions of disadvantaged young
people appeared the key problem from their perspective. The most sensitive
to such neglect by PES were those young people who possessed abilities and
had ambitions but whose ambitions were different from what the frontline
workers at PES considered as the norm (we labelled them as entrepreneurs).
In some cases, former participants in the measures complained that job
experience or training was not sufficient to have a meaningful job because of
insufficient length and quality. In Bulgaria, participation in training courses
and community programmes were assessed as useless in terms of employment
prospects. Similarly, the internships provided in Poland to young people in
the public sector were heavily criticized since they did not lead to permanent
employment.
The combination of the employment barriers and policy failures implies
demotivation, i.e., a lack of trust in PES institutions and a non-cooperative
approach of young people, to the extent that in some cases they ended
their cooperation with PES and avoided them in the future. Young people
sometimes cheat PES officials and benefit from the systems in order to cope
with their financial difficulties. They often work in the informal economy
in Bulgaria and Poland, sometimes turning to their social networks or other
actors like NGOs for support and sometimes giving up searching for legal jobs
entirely. Some young people, however, mentioned that they had succeeded in
gaining jobs because they had learned how to struggle during negotiations with
the employers and how to forge their own way. On the other hand, the interactions
with employment offices often led to exclusions of many young people
from the employment register because they were not cooperative enough, as in
the cases of Czechia and Poland. This means that they lose access to all forms
of support and eligibility for A L M P measures, despite the fact that it is these
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Experiences of young people in Bulgaria, Czechia and Poland 151
young people who actually need the support the most, while in Bulgaria many
disadvantaged young people do not even register with PES.
We conclude that there are more similarities among the countries than differences
in that the types of policy failures and their reasons are very similar,
as well as the consequences of these policy failures for the strategies of young
people in the labour market. Although in Bulgaria and Poland disadvantaged
young people complain more often about poor job offers and poor support
provided by PES than in Czechia, it is apparent that young people who face
multiple disadvantages in all three countries lack sufficient support for their
abilities and ambitions, as well as job offers fitting their self-image. This
finding represents a challenge for labour market and social policy institutions
alike.
NOTES
1. This means how young people themselves perceive and assess support provided
to them by PES and the other actors.
2. Ability is seen as consisting of human capital (competences), social capital
(network and resources), and the ability to see, create and use opportunities (all
resources available to the individual to achieve something). The relevant content
of this ability depends on someone's ambition (what he/she wants to achieve) in
terms of social participation in the labour market (Spies 2017: 34-35). Ambition
for social participation in the labour market is seen as an intention and effort to
achieve a specific position in the labour market (Spies 2017). It may be related
to the broader/general life ambitions of young people.
3. Negotiate project: NEGOTIATE Negotiating Early Job Insecurity and Labour
Market Exclusion in Europe, Horizon 2020 (2015-2018) grant agreement no.
649395, coordinator NOVA, Oslo Metropolitan University.
4. Lack/depletion of skills, inability to combine family and employment, poor
access to opportunities and social rights.
5. Parking is a negative effect of the ALMP measures targeted at the most disadvantaged
groups: participation in these measure represents a negative signal to the
potential employers. Thus, parking/waiting effect is prolonging the individual
unemployment spells (for example, Brodkin, 2011).
6. Like expelling them from the register and eligibility for support due to
'non-cooperation'.
7. This means support PES provided through direct interactions with the clients,
like job mediation and counselling.
8. As Imdorf, Pohlig and Zander show in their chapter in this volume, previous
job-hopping was evaluated by Bulgarian employers more negatively than unemployment,
which made finding a job even more difficult.
9. Job recommendation is a specific job-search measure. The public employment
office worker finds a job place which is according to his/her assessment relevant
for concrete unemployed. He/she gives the unemployed person a form with
a recommendation from PES and the unemployed person is obliged to go to this
concrete employer and ask them for work. The employer is obliged to fill in the
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152 School-to-work transition in comparative perspective
form with the result of the meeting (for example, reasons for refusing) and the
unemployed person has to bring the result (form) back to PES.
10. Some people are denied help because PES workers expect that those youth are
able to find jobs without help while other young people are denied help because
PES workers assess their job chances as minimal even with help.
11. PES workers stated reasons such as insufficient length of unemployment, low
demand of profession for potential training and that training will be available
only in the distant future (need to wait).
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