Rural Scotland - trajectories of young people and young adults: report

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1. Background, aim and objectives

This report was commissioned in April 2024 with the overall aim ‘to produce a report which will review existing data and literature, identifying areas for further development in relation to the mobilities/migration of young people and adults (16-45 years) in rural Scotland through the lens of a life-course approach.’ It focuses on one aspect of the Scottish Government’s (2024) ‘Addressing Depopulation Action Plan’: rural youth outmigration, retention and attraction. These have become a focus of policy attention given concerns about the impacts of ageing and declining populations, and feature in several government initiatives, a selection of which are outlined in Appendix 1. In pursuit of this overarching aim, the objectives of this report are: (i) to summarise existing demographic data on patterns of mobilities of young people and adults (Chapter 2); (ii) to identify insights on the mobilities of rural young people and young adults through the lens of a life course perspective (Chapters 3 and 4); (iii) to draw out key learning points for future policy and areas for further research (Chapter 5).

1.2. Life course lens

The report uses a life course lens to frame the discussion on understanding the mobilities of young people/adults. This approach considers their past lives to contextualise their present and future lives, choices and decisions (Elder et al., 2003). The temporal frame used is broadly young people and adults between 16 and 45 years of age.^[3],^[4] The rationale for this choice is to capture key milestones/transitions in relation to three life course stages where research demonstrates impacts on young people’s and adults’ mobility decisions (that is the post-school, tertiary education/training, and post tertiary stages respectively). Within this context it is recognised that life can be messy and does not always work out in a defined chronological sequence. The lives of individuals and groups are influenced by changing social, cultural, historical and biographical contexts (social pathways’), institutional structures, and national and global trends, which are all important in understanding their mobility decisions.^[5] Transitions and how they are understood and experienced vary historically, across national, social and cultural contexts, as well as depending on the biographical history of an individual.

1.3. Young people and adults’ mobilities in the rural context

An urban-centric focus, and the dearth of literature on the experiences of young people living in rural areas, particularly within youth studies, have been highlighted in the academic literature (Farrugia, 2013). Where attention has been paid to rural young people, academic studies have sought to highlight and challenge a tendency in policy to view rural youth outmigration and mobility decisions through a predominantly economistic and individual lens. This tendency has been reflected in implicit and explicit assumptions that rural young people have to leave for urban areas to be seen as ‘successful’ individuals, thus stigmatising those who choose to stay (Corbett, 2007; Farrugia, 2016; Looker and Naylor, 2009). Policy responses to rural youth outmigration and migration/retention have been subject to critical scrutiny since the late 1990’s (e.g. Dey and Jenstch, 2001; Jentsch, 2006; Jones and Jamieson, 1997). However, the most recent policy and research interests in rural youth outmigration have emerged in the context of growing concerns about aging/declining populations.

Mobilities (movements of people) encompass four aspects/elements, which this report will touch upon. These include a) mobilities in the context of people’s lives; b) access to transport c) social and cultural norms and expectations of mobility at different stages of life; and d) social and policy implications of mobilities (Bruzelius and Shutes, 2022; Hannam, Sheller and Urry, 2006). In the policy-focused literature on young people and adults, a dichotomy of mobility-leaving versus immobility-staying has tended to imply mutually exclusive groups. By contrast, the academic literature has emphasised mobilities as encompassing a variety of movements, from daily movements to one-off moves, each of which may involve varied distances and relational processes/practices over the life course, and this has resulted in a growing recognition that mobility is best understood over the life time and as part of life events/transitions which include post-school education, employment, household/family formation, ‘empty nest’, retirement, etc. (Findlay et al., 2015a&b; Ní Laoire and Stockdale, 2016).

1.4. Structure of the report

The report is arranged as follows. Chapter 2 provides a context for the report by focusing on demographic (age and gender) aspects of in/out migration and their wider impact on population in three island local authorities (Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles), drawing on data published by NRS. It also draws on published Census data down to island/island group and civil parish levels for selected rural mainland and island areas. Despite some limitations in the spatial data available, the chapter identifies significant diversity in migration patterns between different areas (particularly of in-movements) and thus points to important policy implications in relation to the mobilities of young people and adults. Chapters 3 and 4 provide insights on the mobilities of young people and adults in rural communities and highlight the complex and diverse factors that shape mobility decisions over the life course. The chapters draw on a range of sources: academic literature from the global north and Scotland/UK; applied and policy related studies and surveys undertaken in Scotland; and selected insights drawing on a workshop undertaken with the Young Islanders Network (YIN) in August 2024. Chapter 5 identifies the key messages and areas for further development that emerge from chapters 2, 3 and 4. Appendix 1 presents an overview of selected Scottish policy actors, strategies and interventions relevant to the focus of this report.