How Do Young People Experience the School-To-Work Transition in Post-Conflict Transition Economies?

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This project will explore the experiences and livelihoods of young people (18-25) intwo post-conflict transition economies in the process of transitioning from school to work.There is growing concern surrounding the situation of youth unemployment andunderemployment globally, due to the prioritisation of SDG 4 Quality Education and SDG8Decent Work and Economic Growth in the UN SDGs. The period in which a young persontakes between finishing school and entering primary-sector employment is referred to as theschool-to-work transition, however this theory does not accurately represent the complexity ofyouth livelihoods and the transition to adulthood. The livelihoods of young people across theworld are shaped by diverse and complex sociocultural contexts which are inextricablyinterconnected, in which a young person's social capital and personal networks play animportant role in their socioeconomic status and stability. Unemployment andunderemployment have a life-long scarring effect on a person's labour market trajectory,representing a loss of productive resources and human capital. This topic is of particularrelevance due to the ongoing EU ascension plans of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, andthe subsequent increased migration in pursuit of education and employment within the EU(Koneska, 2016). Understanding the school-to-work transition is vital in achieving SDG4Quality Education and SDG8 Decent Work and Economic Growth, as it is an importantindicator of both the strength of a countries education system, and the macroeconomicconditions of the labour market that absorbs them.This project proposes a comparative analysis of the school-to-work transition in Bosniaand Herzegovina and Kosovo, two former-Yugoslav countries who faced severe conflictfollowing the collapse of Yugoslavia. These countries suffer from a double-edged sword whereboth democratization and economic transition run parallel to post-conflict reconciliation andreconstruction, all which have left youth in these regions disengaged and underemployed(Koneska, 2012). The analysis of different national experiences offers two main benefits; thecapacity to extend existing evidence on key issues such as school to work preparationprogrammes, and the observations of differences between neighbouring countries providinginsight into effective policy interventions. There is a current gap in research surrounding labourmarket transitions in post-conflict transition economies, so existing literature is drawn fromseparate fields of post-conflict studies (Hughes & Pupavac, 2005; The World Bank, 2007;Baraka & Zyck, 2009) and transition economics.This project aims to answer three key questions:1. How do young people in transition/post-conflict economies countries such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo experience the school-to-work transition?Georgina Whiteman PhD Proposal2. How do young people in transition/post-conflict economies such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo articulate school-to-work 'success' and what do theyconsider to be key features of such 'success'?3. How do social and human capital act as barriers or enablers of school-to-worktransition for young people in post conflict countries and/or transition economies?