CONSOLIDATING AN INDUSTRY AND PROLONGING DEPENDENCY - PROFESSIONALS, POLICIES AND YOUNG-PEOPLE

This article examines the nexus between professionalism and the repres entation of social problems among some young people. It considers how policy and professional interventions involve problem-setting as well as problem-solving activities. A central argument is that a primary ef fect of both professional activities and of major changes to the youth labour,market has been an extension of dependency for many young peop le. No matter how young people experience the disappearance of the you th labour market, the fact remains: most young people have been perman ently excluded from full-time work. As we reach the close of the twent ieth century and without essentialising 'youth' it seems that more and more young people are unable to live autonomous lives that resemble a dulthood until their mid-twenties. For some young people staying on in education, remaining out of the full-time labour market until their m id-twenties may not mark a dramatic shift in their experiences, but fo r other young people such trends have a dramatic impact on their life- worlds.