On October 24, CARCEIT hosted Dinara Alimkhanova, a PhD candidate at NU GSE, who presented her research on NEET youth—those not engaged in employment, education, or training—in Kazakhstan.
Globally, one-fifth of individuals aged 15–24 belong to a NEET population (not in employment, education or training). NEETs have become an increasingly important phenomenon, especially for policy-makers concerning significant concepts such as social exclusion and inequality, gender, or poverty among youth. While the rate of NEET youth is comparatively low in Kazakhstan, its conceptualization has not yet come to a consensus in the academic field as well as in national policy.
This research seeks to contribute to the debate by addressing the risk factors associated with NEET youth in Kazakhstan. It has been revealed that being a female, having children, and possessing a low education level are significantly associated with the NEET condition. Along with the finding NEET rate also increases with age, young people’s engagement in informal employment sector delays their involvement in education and formal economy sectors. The research used data from the Labour Force Survey to examine factors that contribute to the NEET status and further explored those factors in-depth in Karaganda city which has shown the highest NEET rate across Kazakhstan. Determining the risk factors is significant to design better targeted preventive and intervening policy strategies towards NEET youth.
This research seeks to contribute to the debate by addressing the risk factors associated with NEET youth in Kazakhstan. It has been revealed that being a female, having children, and possessing a low education level are significantly associated with the NEET condition. Along with the finding NEET rate also increases with age, young people’s engagement in informal employment sector delays their involvement in education and formal economy sectors. The research used data from the Labour Force Survey to examine factors that contribute to the NEET status and further explored those factors in-depth in Karaganda city which has shown the highest NEET rate across Kazakhstan. Determining the risk factors is significant to design better targeted preventive and intervening policy strategies towards NEET youth.
Watch the full seminar recording below to explore these findings and potential implications for youth policy.
