Activation for whom? Experiences of the Transition to Adulthood and Adapting to Norwegian Activation Policies

This article investigates the experience of accessing the labour market for two different groups: 1) young people who have been enrolled in the service system since childhood and age out of care and 2) young people with intellectual disabilities. We analyse the experiences and strategies of adapting to Norway’s employment activation policies for these two groups who share a number of characteristics. Both have accessed assistance from public services throughout their childhood. Both have low educational attainment and a high likelihood of being marginalised in the labour market. However, despite these similarities, we argue that while one group is regarded as deserving claimants, the other is regarded as undeserving. We show that while young people who leave care experience difficulty in accessing social service benefits, young people with intellectual disabilities who want to enter the labour force are often directed away from employment and channeled into receiving social service benefits.



Keywords: activation, transition, after care, labour market, intellectual disabled