Following an intensive preparatory phase, WP4 is now well into the fieldwork phase, bringing EDU-LAB’s case-study research into direct contact with young people across Europe. Through focus groups, participatory workshops and structured diaries, partners are gathering first-hand accounts of how young people experience their pathways and transitions in education and training, and into the labour market and what they think needs to change and how.

The common data collection tools and protocols have been provided, ethical and data protection requirements have been addressed, and recruitment and data collection are underway in the case study countries. The project is thus making an important transition: from preparing the research framework to listening directly to young people from different educational backgrounds, labour market situations and local contexts.

This work had already reached a considerable scale. In the case study countries, 223 institutions had been contacted, 75 had agreed to collaborate, and 19 cooperation protocols had been signed. A total of 1,314 young people were involved in the study through 113 group onboarding sessions and more than 200 individual onboarding sessions. In addition, the project had collected 727 consent forms and 617 short demographic questionnaires.

Focus groups form a central component of the WP4 methodology. To date, 83 focus groups involving 552 participants have been conducted in face-to-face, online and hybrid formats. These groups cover a broad spectrum of different youth profiles, ranging from young people in upper secondary general and vocational education, through those in higher education, employment or seeking work, to young people not in education, employment or training. This breadth is essential to the WP4 approach. EDU-LAB is not looking for a single transition narrative, but rather for the diverse pathways through which young people navigate education, training and work.

The figures demonstrate the scale of the work. The country reports explain why it is

In the updates received so far, young people repeatedly describe their pathways and transitions as characterised by interlinked pressures rather than isolated barriers. Financial insecurity, uncertainty about the future, mental health pressures, the challenge of gaining initial work experience, weak links between education and life in general, including labour market realities, and gaps in institutional support recur in various forms.

In Finland, data collection in Helsinki and the Tampere region is almost complete. There, 20 focus groups and 13 series of participatory workshops were conducted with young people from diverse educational and life backgrounds. The participants identified key challenges affecting educational pathways and transitions into the labour market, including financial constraints, pressure and uncertainty about the future, mental health pressures, and a lack of work experience and available jobs. The most frequently proposed policy solution was to improve students’ financial security during their studies. Participants also emphasised the role of educational institutions and the need for sufficient resources to provide low-threshold support for mental health, support with learning skills and learning difficulties, career guidance, opportunities to engage with the world of work, and support in gaining work experience and building professional networks.

In Poland, one contradiction stood out particularly clearly: experience is needed, but experience is lacking. Following 17 focus groups and 17 series of participatory workshops, young people repeatedly highlighted difficulties in gaining initial work experience, unstable employment conditions, inadequate communication in recruitment processes, and a perceived disconnect between education and the realities of the labour market. At the same time, the discussions did not focus solely on problems. The participants proposed practical solutions, including better career guidance, paid and meaningful work placements, greater awareness of employees’ rights, mentoring opportunities, and closer cooperation between educational institutions and employers.

In Portugal, young people from Porto and Santarém, with diverse backgrounds and educational pathways, shared their experiences of education, training and the transition into the labour market. One of the most striking insights from this fieldwork was the importance of shared experience. Participants described common concerns and challenges, but also the comfort of realising that others face similar difficulties. One participant put it this way: “Everyone has the same problems, just in different ways.” Another reflected: “Ultimately, it’s comforting to see that we’re not alone.”

In the United Kingdom, the BCU team has observed a growing gap between education systems and labour market requirements. Young people are not disengaged, but are adapting by pursuing practical pathways such as apprenticeships, volunteering and entrepreneurship. Confidence in higher education as a secure route to employment appears to be waning, whilst job-specific skills are coming to the fore. This raises important questions about how education systems can support employability without neglecting broader skills such as critical thinking. The UK update also highlights a broader methodological issue: traditional metrics may not fully capture the diverse experiences and strategies young people use to navigate transitions.

ata collection is now largely complete. More than 180 young people in Graz and Vienna shared their perspectives in group discussions and focus groups. On 18 June, Natalia Wächter and the Austrian team presented initial findings at the symposium ‘Social Pedagogy: Transitions as Life Stages’ at the University of Graz. Together with students who supported the research project, the team shared results during a poster session and led a workshop on transitions into higher education and working life. The event also linked the Austrian fieldwork to a broader academic exchange, including a keynote address by James Williams on research with vulnerable groups from a practice-oriented perspective.

In Italy, the AlmaLaurea team in Bologna has been engaging young people aged 15 to 30 since July 2025. The team has conducted 11 focus groups with 65 participants and 19 participatory workshops with 112 participants, alongside 461 structured diary entries.

In Kosovo, the Kolegji AAB team has conducted 10 participatory workshops with 53 participants in Prishtina, alongside 163 structured diary entries.

Taken together, these updates show that WP4 is beginning to realise one of EDU-LAB’s central objectives: placing young people’s own perspectives at the heart of the evidence base. The picture that is emerging is not only one of barriers, but also one of practical ideas for change. Young people are calling for greater financial security, stronger career guidance, more meaningful learning experiences, better support for mental health and learning, more inclusive recruitment practices, better support when entering their first jobs, and closer cooperation between educational institutions and employers.

The next phase of WP4 will focus increasingly on analysis and reflection. Initial analyses are already underway, whilst data collection continues. The in-depth analysis will be based on a shared codebook and a supporting protocol, followed by a systematisation of the individual case studies and countries, and a comparative analysis. These steps will feed into the forthcoming WP4 outputs, including summaries of key findings by site and country, insights relating to education, training and employment pathways as well as the respective situations of young people, and practice- and policy-oriented guidelines that reflect the voices of young people.

As WP4 progresses, EDU-LAB will continue to share insights from the case study sites via the project website, the newsletter and social media channels. Further results will follow as the fieldwork moves from data collection to the analysis.

Addressed: this line is baked into the infographic image (Canva design), not document text, so it can't be edited here. Flagged separately to update the source graphic and re-embed it once approved.

Added Italy and Kosovo below, using only the participatory-workshop and structured-diary counts from the WP4 Commission briefing (no focus-group breakdown by country was available in that source). We don't have narrative highlights or quotes from AlmaLaurea or Kolegji AAB yet, so that's flagged inline for them to fill in.

Update: Stani found AlmaLaurea's own Italy update, so the Italy entry now also includes 11 focus groups (65 participants) and the July 2025 start date / 15-30 age range, on top of the workshop and diary figures already there.

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