“We live in a society that is closing its doors to young people”: Youth Development: an opportunity to strengthen youth employment programs

Abstract

This essay exposes the need to strengthen the paradigms for formulating youth employ ability programs, in which an adult-centered approach predominates. This is evidenced in the solutions proposed to young people, whose origin is to satisfy a need of companies for employees trained for productive purposes (Human Capital Theory). Given this, more integrative perspectives emerge, such as Community Youth Development, which bets on youth growth beyond the economic; and that if they are incorporated as the foundation of said programs, they would allow more significant results. These evaluations arise from the findings of a qualitative, phenomenological and intensive research, carried out in 2019 and 2020, which analyzes through a case study, the formulation and scope of a Successful Youth Employ ability Program in light of the principles and indicators of Community Youth Development.

Realidad: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades No. 157, 2021: 177-194.