First master thesis based on EXCEPT project successfully defended in Estonia

In June, Margit Rebane Züger from the University of Tartu successfully defended her master thesis: "The opportunities of youth in NEET-status due to discontinued education to enter employment or to continue education as seen by youth”. The work is based on the EXCEPT interviews with youth that were conducted in Estonia. The project was supervised by Kaja Oras, a member of Tallinn University EXCEPT team. The thesis centred on the question of how NEETs perceive their educational path to date, and their future plans in relation to education and work. The analysis showed that, whilst the youth just have short-term plans, they do have longer-term ambitions and dreams. The interviewees stress that having a job would grant financial stability, which in turn would enable them to return to education either to acquire upper secondary education or a profession. They see continuing their educational path as a priority, whilst realising this aspiration is closely dependent on financial constraints.