Introduction

This book is concerned with the exploration of non-conventional means of empowering young people in their transitions to work and adulthood. Biographical transitions are normally related to status passages between different phases of the life-course. As such they refer to learning: the acquisition of knowledge and skills inherent to the demands of the life-phase to come. Institutionalized forms of organizing this kind of learning mainly focus on the skills and qualifications young people need. But equally important to the process of learning is the development of competencies necessary for coping with these demands in a subjectively meaningful and individually viable way. This issue represents a key focus of this book.