Nine out of ten young people in and out of care (88%) study, work or combine both. This is one of the data derived from the Survey of the Federation of Entities for Youth Emancipation (FEPA) 2024, which seeks to reflect the social and economic reality of the 5,704 young people under and ex-tutored in transition programs to adult life.
This group, named by the study as the ‘Yes-Yes Generation’demonstrates exceptional effort and resilience, far above the ‘Ni-Ni’ image that is often associated with the youth population at risk.
However, the report points out that this commitment is not enough to guarantee full and sustainable emancipation. The data reflects a youth that facing the transition to adulthood from a position of “significant disadvantage”fighting against economic precariousness, lack of housing and deficiencies in the protection system. All of this fueled by a state context where “being young today… [es] a risk factor.”
The ‘Yes-Yes Generation’ or training and work resilience
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The study highlights the emergence and consolidation of what they call the ‘Yes-Yes Generation’ among ex-tutored youth. This commitment means that the main activity is distributed among those who are alone studying (39,10%), just working (26.90%) or, the most notable option for its effort, those who combine study and employment (22,80%).
This percentage of dual activity is significantly higher than the 16.3% recorded for the entire young population in Spain. The study points to two factors that could explain this fact. The urgent need for update constant of the training to access a competitive labor market. And, crucially, the imperative need to obtain income to help pay for their own emancipatory processesgiven the absence of family support networks.
In the training field, the Vocational Training (FP) is consolidated as the preferential route. 44% of formerly tutored youth are actively pursuing a training cycle, and 39.75% of the sample has already obtained a vocational training degree or certificate. This underlines the preference for training that allows for faster and more practical incorporation into the labor market.
Just one 3.65% access universityindicating that economic and social barriers continue to be an impediment to accessing long-term studies. Added to this is
Support networks continue to be essential
Despite the work commitment – ​​half of the formerly cared for youth are working – economic autonomy continues to be the main obstacle to full emancipation. The report indicates that the 60% of the youth between 18 and 25 years of age served lack economic autonomysince their main source of income does not come from salaried work.
And, in the case of ex-tutored youth who combine studies and employment, despite the fact that six out of ten (63%) work full time, for just over half (56.1%).
Given the lack of their own income, the Dependence on external support networks is critical. Financial aid from the FEPA entities themselves (27.42%) and specific benefits for young people out of care (17.92%) are essential for subsistence and for avoid homelessness.
For 18-year-olds, these Third Sector aid constitute the main source of income (34.5%)which underlines the irreplaceable role of entities in the first phase of adult life.
Furthermore, the study warns of the very low coverage of social benefits generalists. Only 3.64% of ex-tutored youth receive subsidies such as Minimum Vital Income (IMV). They talk about restrictive requirements such as age or registration time that they cannot meet as the main causes.
This situation of total lack of protection is worsened by the fact that the 15.07% of the young people served do not have income or benefits of any kindleaving them in a situation of extreme vulnerability.
The “jump into the void” of coming of age
Access to decent housing continues to be one of the biggest barriers for this group. Added to this is the so-called “jump into the void” that involves cessation of administrative guardianship upon reaching the age of 18. Lacking a family support network that can offer them accommodation, these young people begin adult life “early and abrupt”being immediately exposed to the most expensive and competitive housing market in the country.
The reality of young people ex-tutored: less than half access emancipation flats
The report places this challenge within the framework of the “generational threat” of housing in Spain, where the average young person must allocate almost their entire salary to paying rent.
For ex-tutored youth, the situation is more precarious: without savings or guarantees, the only viable option is usually access to transitional housing programs managed by FEPA entities, to which 65% of 18-year-olds had access.
The Federation criticizes that this situation shows that the Public Administration is not guaranteeing the right to housing to the youth it has supervised. In this sense, they point out that the lack of public housing resources forces young people to depend on the capacity of entities to offer housing alternatives. And this, as a consequence, ends fragmenting the emancipation itinerary and subjects it to the availability of resources of each autonomous community.
76.69% of the young people served are foreigners
The report also sheds light on the majority profile of the youth servedwith a 76.69% of non-EU origin. Of this group, 88% respond to the profile of young people who have migrated alone (MENA), which adds the complexity of the migration process to their life itinerary.
An overwhelming 77.60% of these young people lack family references in the national territory, which forces them to build their lives from scratch without parental support.
Despite this starting situation, the commitment to social and labor insertion is undeniable. The “immigration project as an engine of emancipation” is reflected in the high level of work and training activity.
In this sense, the organization considers that the Reform of the Immigration Regulations at the end of 2021 it’s a positive “turning point” by facilitating documentation. Also, according to the data collected, it has allowed 71.46% of this youth to obtain a residence and work authorization that accelerates their access to the labor market.
However, the study highlights that the administrative obstacles and the need for a more specialized care they persist. FEPA entities must address the language barrier, cultural differences, migratory grief, and difficulties in accessing basic services that these young people often experience. For this reason, the Federation insists on the need for a comprehensive care model that concretely addresses the multiple dimensions of the accumulated disadvantage suffered by this group.
