More choices, no chances? Supporting interventions for promoting the reintegration of young people not in education, training and employment (NEET) through the use of mobile technologies

Project outline

The University of Strathclyde has appointed Capita as its Strategic technology partner. As part of the Partnership agreement, Capita funds have been used to support four PhD Studentships (including this one), with additional funds coming from across the University.

This PhD studentship is developed with a view of advancing understanding of the effective approaches to supporting 16-19 years old young people who are not in education, training or employment (NEET), in times of austerity. Currently, tackling their exclusion is a priority for the Scottish Government, through the More Choices, More Chances initiative and for all local authorities and organisations working with disaffected youth. This research proposes to examine young people’s attitudes to being NEET, and barriers to engagement. The research will aim to look at young people’s use of mobile technologies for education, service access and leisure and capitalise on their skills and knowledge in order to inform personalised intervention plans. It will be interdisciplinary in nature, as it will bring together knowledge from education, social work, social policy and technology sciences to inform policy and practice in service delivery for disaffected youth.

The research will involve quantitative and qualitative methods, including a survey with about 300 young people, focus groups and individual case studies. The outcomes of the project will include accessible guidelines for practitioners and events for young people. The outcomes will also inform current policy on tackling youth unemployment in Scotland. There is strong potential for a range of knowledge exchange activities with a wide range of users, including policy makers, service providers, voluntary sector organisations and young people.

Student eligibility

This 3 year full-time PhD studentship is offered with a start date of October 2014 and will be supervised by Dr Daniela Sime, Senior Lecturer, and Dr Claire Lightowler, Director of the Centre for Youth and Criminal Justice. The successful candidate will receive an annual stipend of £13,863 and fees (up to the Home/EU rate only) will be covered. Applicants should hold at least a good Honours degree (2:1 or above) in a relevant Social Sciences discipline. In addition, a Master’s degree with a research methods training element or equivalent research experience, and/or experience of working with disadvantaged youth, would be advantageous.

Applicants already holding doctoral qualifications should not apply.

Recruitment time scale: Deadline for completed applications- 30th June 2014; it is likely that shortlisted candidates will be called for interview.

For informal enquiries about the studentship, please contact Dr. Daniela Sime at: [Email Address Removed]

Application Process
Interested candidates with relevant training, experience and qualifications should submit a cover letter and CV via email to the Graduate School, at [Email Address Removed] by the above deadline.

For any other queries on applying, please contact:
The Graduate School
Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
University of Strathclyde
Lord Hope Building
141 St James Road
Glasgow, G4 0LT
Email: [Email Address Removed]
Phone: 0141 444 8400