Transição para a vida adulta, trajetória profissional e marcadores interseccionais: um estudo com jovens trabalhadores

Abstract

Youth involves traits, aspirations, and particularities that tend to be relegated to the background due to adult-centric biases and stereotyped and reductionist discourses and approaches. Specifically in Brazilian society, which is distinguished by a historical and cultural legacy of perpetuating inequalities, the experiences of young people acquire relevance by allowing us to reflect on the opportunities and possibilities unveiled for the different forms of youth. Considering the changes that involve the transition to adulthood in its multidimensionality and the professional trajectories in contemporary society, this thesis aims to analyze how the transition to adulthood and the professional trajectory of young alumni of apprenticeship programs can be influenced by intersectional markers. We assume that it is crucial to reflect on young Brazilians and their social markers of difference while avoiding generalizations stemming from generational and career typologies that reproduce models predominantly developed in North American countries. Thus, it becomes relevant to attain a greater degree of understanding about the different forms of youth, especially those consisting of groups of young people from the lower strata of Brazilian society, while considering how the transition of these young people to adulthood occurs and what role work (or non-work) plays in this process, as well as the possible influence of multiple intersectional markers. To this end, we conducted a qualitative and descriptive research study, which complied with the necessary ethical requirements and was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (CAAE 39863220.2.0000.5149, Opinion No. 4.554.646). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and projective techniques with young alumni from different regions of Brazil who participated in an apprenticeship program. The data were submitted to Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) and the points in common and, not least, the heterogeneity of the perceptions of the young research subjects were observed. The results showed that the participating students perceive themselves mostly as adults. In addition, we highlight that some of them could not live their youth because of a process of early adulthood related to work and permeated by social markers of difference, such as class or social background, which still make the boundaries between childhood, youth, and adulthood more fluid. In general, work trajectories begin early and informally and involve the conciliation of work and education. The apprenticeship program is seen as a milestone in the alumni’s trajectories and represents a turning point and a gateway to formal and qualified insertion in the labor market. By accumulating experience and theoretical and practical knowledge under the terms of the apprenticeship contract, young people tend to complete and/or start different educational cycles and continue their trajectories in formal and non-temporary jobs. However, to a lesser extent, some youngsters are self-employed, and others are unemployed. Faced with the heterogeneity of the respondents, different social markers of difference were identified that, when interconnected, strongly impact the boundaries between youth and adulthood, as well as individual experiences in the world of work. The results also revealed that ageism, racism, lookism, and class prejudice stand out in the experiences of the majority of the research subjects. These ranged from accounts of crimes, such as racism, bigotry, and sexual harassment, to accounts of everyday situations in which young people were judged for their age and the tattoos on their bodies. As already pointed out in the literature and statistics about population and work, it is common for young people, in general, to be exposed to vulnerability in the world of work to a greater degree; however, the research demonstrates that when it comes to specific forms of youth that are in some way characterized by the vital need to work, their vulnerabilities become peculiar.