Introduction

This chapter provides an introduction and a short background to the policy developments around young people who are unemployed, building on discussions and research in the Nordic countries and beyond – with a specific focus on the dynamics within social welfare and social work. A Nordic research network on restructuring welfare practices for youth was arranged in 2016–2017. The network consisted of inclusive research workshops that set out to discuss research in emerging practices around youth. Different actors from the Nordic countries and beyond were invited to both present and discuss youth unemployment and welfare practices. The workshops took place in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. For the research workshops, dual objectives were set: to disseminate critical research on frontline practices that go beyond the comparison of policies and outcomes and to facilitate discussion of reconstructing welfare practices. How can context-sensitive research, involving young service users, researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and management, add to the understanding of youth, welfare, and the diverse experiences of unemployment, both within and between national contexts? The workshops shed critical light on the implementation of new models and new technology in welfare practices and, most importantly, contributed to an understanding of the diversity within young people facing the challenges of unemployment. One important conclusion was that welfare services must be seen as human investments that may have far-reaching effects.