Guiding young adults at risk – effects and challenges in the Danish welfare state: Paper for 6th Nordic Conference on Adult Education and Learning, March 2015

The paper discusses and analyses results from qualitative research on a Danish youth project named Youth in Development (Danish: “Unge i Vækst”). The project, financially supported by the EU and local authorities, was aimed at finding new ways in the guidance of young adults at risk of being marginalized from the labor market. The youth participants in the project had all experienced serious social and academic problems during compulsory school. They were motivated for further education, but they needed extensive support in the process of choosing education and attending school. The problems of these young people can be understood with a reference to socialization and concepts such as habitus and social and cultural forms of capital. Based on collaboration between relevant local actors (vocational schools, labor marked authorities, business associations and others) a full-time course was organized consisting mainly of individual and group-based guidance as well as introductions to different educational paths and professional trades. We have conducted. Most were characterized by having severe problems of social and often also physical character. The research, mainly consisting of semi-structured interviews with participants, strongly indicates that it is possible to facilitate processes to improve self-confidence in these young people and develop the necessary social competencies to meet the demands of further education and work.