Young adults as paid care workers

This article brings a youth lens to the study of care (opens new window) by empirically examining the accounts of young adults who pursue paid adult social care employment.

The youth lens includes drawing on youth studies – particularly youth transitions – literature, which is combined with paid care work scholarship in a novel way. Young adults’ experiences as paid care workers are peripheral in youth studies and care work scholarship, despite this work’s increasing prevalence.

The article examines the experiences of young adults pursuing, starting out and doing this work, through qualitative empirical research in Teesside, north-east England. A key finding of young people’s unpaid caring for adults influencing their pursuit of paid adult social care work is identified.

The article contributes to understanding of youth transitions, particularly in relation to care work, and offers insights regarding the reproduction and sustainability of the paid adult social care workforce.