In 1995, Roberts argued that the debate about `choice versus opportunity’ was never won
decisively by either side (p111) because:
• there is an acknowledgement that the opportunities for choice are different
amongst different groups of young people;• the transition period for young people to move from education to employment is
now so extended that almost all young people are able to exercise some choices
at some stage of this process.Various changes (e.g. economic restructuring, higher unemployment and pressure from
young people and their parents) have necessitated new concepts (Roberts, 1995, 1997) to
understand the process of transitions into employment:
Individualization:
Life patterns have become more individually distinctive than ever before, because of shrink-
ing social networks and changed social behaviour. Several trends have contributed, includ-
ing:
• breakup of the concentration of employment in the firms and industries that once
dominated many local labour markets;• higher rates of residential mobility;• the increasing instability of marriages and families;• the weakening of neighbourhood and religious communities.Uncertain Destinations & Risk
Robert’s uses the image of different types of transport to convey an understanding of how
individuals undertake life transitions. He suggests that typically, people embarkon their life
journeys without reliable maps - in private cars, rather than the trains and buses in which
entire classes once travelled together. Reflecting reality, these vehicles don’t all have equal-
ly powerful engines. That is, some young people have already accumulated advantages in
terms of economic assets and socio-cultural capital. Some have to travel by bicycle or on
foot. Common to all is the requirement to take risks. (Roberts, 1995, p118)
Individualization makes young people’s later destinations unclear. Young people themselves
are aware of this uncertainty and career steps now invariably involve some degree of risk.