Future of Work Forecasts and the Employment Orientation of Contemporary Marginalised Working-Class Young Men

Advances in automation and new technologies are forecast to produce future employment changes, including a decline in routine manual jobs while increasing levels of jobs requiring stereotypical female traits, such as empathy and communication. This employment shift may negatively affect marginalised working-class young men who have historically been associated with manual job orientations and a rejection of feminine-associated work due to the inheritance and influence of a masculine identity. However, there is a lack of contemporary understanding regarding the employment aspirations of marginalised working-class young men.

Addressing the lack of contemporary knowledge regarding marginalised working-class young men and employment, this presentation explores the employment orientations of a group of marginalised working-class young men from the South Wales Valleys, UK, in the context of predicted future employment changes. The presentation draws on qualitative research that was undertaken collaboratively with a youth centre and included an ethnographic study of nine young men aged 12–21, alongside interviews with youth workers and a schoolteacher.

This presentation documents continuity and change concerning the common understanding of marginalised working-class young men's employment orientation. Continuity includes a protest masculine-related rejection of some service sector work and some attraction to manual employment influenced by cultural and structural factors. Change is observed through attraction to non-manual work that develops from what is referred to as a rupturing process or pivotal social influences that destabilise working-class masculine modes of being. The concept of a rupturing process provides valuable insights, suggesting that targeted interventions replicating this process could broaden the employment prospects of marginalised young men, better prepare them for future employment changes and enhance their prospects for securing decent work.