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

Chapter 4: Insights into experiences of and attitudes to mobility in the lives of young people/adults

This chapter aims to summarise some key insights into the mobilities of young people and adults aged 16-45 in Scotland’s rural and island areas and to discuss implications for further research and policy development. This chapter uses a life course lens to highlight the specific factors that are important at three life course stages: post-school, tertiary education/training, and post-tertiary. Overall, however, and particularly in Scotland, broadly focused literature on young people and adults from rural areas during and after the tertiary education stage is scarce.

Despite some older academic and policy-focused interest in Scotland on the lives of young adults living in rural areas and on their mobilities, there continues to be a gap in information (e.g. Jamieson, 2000; Jones, 1999; Jones and Jamieson, 1997). The last review of literature on rural youth migration in Scotland was published in 2008 (Jamieson and Groves, 2008). There are also some previous academic studies that have explored specific issues such as social exclusion among young people living in rural communities (Dey and Jentsch, 2001; Shucksmith, 1996; Pavis et al, 2000; 2001). The last decade or so has seen an increase in academic work on ‘returnees’ and migration to rural areas at different life course stages, as well as a growing body of literature on leaving, staying, returning and newcomers.

The literature cited in this chapter draws primarily on research focusing on rural youth and adult mobilities in the UK and Scotland, as well as some studies from Australia, Canada and Europe. Most of this literature has focused on specific local places and communities, both near and distant from major cities or metropolitan areas, but particularly on what is referred to as predominantly ‘peripheral’ or ‘remote’ rural regions (e.g. Alonso – Pardo et al., 2023; Barcus and Brun, 2010; Corbett, 2007; Forster and Main, 2018; Wyn et al., 2020). In the Scottish context much of the literature refers to the Highland and Islands, and to some extent the Borders, and Dumfries and Galloway. As noted in Chapter 2, each of these areas has much internal diversity with regard to distance from towns, population sparsity, communities, economies and socio-cultural factors, and it is a challenge to reflect this in an exercise such as this. This literature also tends to place particular emphasis on movement from rural to urban areas, particularly at the post-school education stage and most is set within the national context, although there are some exceptions where the focus is on mobilities within or between regions within a country.

4.1. Post-school mobilities – decisions and aspirations

Educational/employment aspirations, limited choices and lack of available tertiary education, training and apprenticeships in rural and island areas for young people aged 16 - 24 have received considerable attention in the academic and policy literature. In this context, the assumption that social mobility is synonymous with spatial mobility, as reflected in the oft-repeated phrase ‘you have to leave to succeed’, has long been associated with contributing to a ‘brain drain’ of the most ‘able’ young people and a stigmatisation of those who choose to remain.

There is a particularly comprehensive discussion of these issues in rural Scotland in a Highland and Island Enterprise (HIE) report of results from a large-scale survey on mobilities of young people aged between 15 and 30 (Highlands and Islands Enterprise, 2018).^[23] The 2018 HIE survey found that in some rural areas moving away was ‘almost an expectation’ (Highlands and Islands Enterprise, 2018, p.18). Similar assumptions have been attributed to societal perceptions of rural areas as lagging behind urban areas perpetuated through family and community narratives and expectations, the metrocentric nature of the education system and through ‘development’ discourses (Farrugia, 2015; Corbett, 2016; Schafft, 2016). Describing the post-school trajectory of one of her daughters, who ‘could not wait to leave the Island to go to University’, a YIN participant highlighted that a year into her university studies she:

…has come through the stage of ‘oh my goodness it’s so awful it’s small’. We do hear from the schools ‘if you don’t move away, you’re not doing anything with your life’. School has a huge impact on young folk and whether they want to stay or leave’ (participant, 4).

Some other recent Scottish regional surveys on rural and island areas have also targeted young people as respondents (e.g. Youth Work Dumfries and Galloway, 2023; Sleeping Giants, 2022) and highlight the prevalence of intentions to leave even amongst some of the youngest age groups.^[24] Both the HIE and the Youth Work Dumfries and Galloway reports include some material on intra-regional variations.^[25] However, the findings of these surveys are less helpful than they might be as they lump age cohorts together, combining the aspirations and experiences of teenagers with those aged 18-24 years of age whose mobility experiences and expectations, as shown in Chapter 2 above, will have been, and will be very different.^[26] It would be helpful if future surveys of this kind differentiate age groups throughout their analysis. Despite the important role and influence of schools and communities, there appears to be limited research into their role in shaping the mobility decisions of young people and adults in the Scottish context. This is another area where future research would be helpful.

4.1.1 Initiatives to improve access to post-school training and education

Concerns about the outmigration of young people in rural and islands areas have led to improving access to post-school education and training in rural and island areas in Scotland, particularly from the 1990’s onwards. This trend coincided in Scotland and the UK with major structural changes in the further education sector and in relation to polytechnics (which became universities) resulting in the expansion of higher education provision.^[27]

In Scotland, it led to the founding of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) in 1992 and the Crichton Campus in Southwest of Scotland in the mid-1990s, to provide more choices for young people and adults who wished to remain in their locality /region, as well as attracting students from outside the region (Taylor, 2023). YIN participants did highlight examples of young people and adults who had chosen to stay in their home locality because of strong family connections, selecting courses available locally or on-line through the UHI as well as other universities. Overall, the 2018 HIE survey found that 74 per cent of school pupils indicated that they wanted to go on to HE or FE, with significant variation by area (from 63 per cent in Shetland to 81 per cent in Caithness and Sutherland). Male school pupils were more likely than females to aspire to an apprenticeship^[28] (12 per cent versus 4 per cent) or a job (15 per cent versus 7 per cent) (Highlands and Islands Enterprise, 2018, p.23).

Despite the growth in post-school provision in regions such as the Highlands and Islands and the more positive perceptions of tertiary provision in the region, the HIE report (2018) also highlighted that course options and reputation rather than proximity to the nearest town and access to social facilities were important in young people’s/adults’ choices of a university or college. The report acknowledges that the influence of significant others (e. g. family and community, etc.), as well as factors such as independence and being exposed to new experiences, were also important in post-school decision making choices. For some young people and adults, however, living in an urban environment may be particularly difficult for personal and or health reasons. One YIN participant (9) highlighted that she felt overwhelmed by the noise in a city environment and preferred a quiet environment.

Overall, therefore, despite concerns about young people leaving rural areas to access post-school education/training, it is now widely acknowledged in the Scottish and the wider international literature that post-school mobilities are diverse and varied. Moving for educational or employment purposes at one stage in the life course does not preclude returning or staying, as Evans (2016, p.514) notes in his study in Wales.

Young people’s relationships with place were often complex, multifaceted and contradictory and were not characterised by binary positions of ‘late-modern’ detached-leaver or ‘traditional’ attached-stayer (Jamieson, 2000) but rather by conflicting aspirations.

Moving beyond binaries is also highlighted by Silva et al. (2021, p.17) in their study of young adults in the border regions of Portugal just before and at the school leaving stage. They argue that:

the imperative to leave and have better chances and new experiences means that they don’t see leaving as abandonment or irreversibly nullifying prospects of putting down roots in their regions at some future juncture. ... Bonds with family, a strong appreciation for their home regions, quality of life factors, and cultural traditions are amongst the primary motives that young people refer to when considering staying or returning.

So, as one of our YIN discussants noted, post-school mobility and emotional ties with one’s home or local community are not mutually exclusive:

people often have the perspective of ‘been on the island my whole life and there is a whole Scotland to explore’ – most of my friendship group do want to eventually come back. It’s such a good place to live (YIN participant, 8).

There is, indeed, now a broad agreement amongst scholars in this field that, rather than expending increasing effort in preventing young people from moving at the post-school stage, much more policy effort and commitment is required to put in place the conditions that would enable young people and adults to return should they wish to (Silva, ibid; Jentsch, 2006).

Much of the literature (policy focused and academic) on tertiary education decisions has focused on intentions expressed or decisions made at the point of leaving school. However, intentions expressed at the school/post-school stage may not always materialise as intended. Maersk (2022, p.18) in her research on the mobilities of rural young people and adults in Denmark and the Netherlands argues for the importance of:

… broadening the scope of mobility and immobility choices of students to go beyond the binary question of ‘staying or leaving?’ and more towards ‘staying and leaving – by whom? Where? And why?’

4.2. Tertiary and post-tertiary mobilities

Studies focusing on the aspirations of young adults during their tertiary studies and following graduation are scarce, particularly in Scotland (e.g. Alexander, 2023). For this reason, we discuss these two stages/events here together and draw more heavily on research insights from other countries.

Maersk (2022, p.227) notes that young adults in Denmark and the Netherlands related to their home region differently at different points in time – at the point of going to university they expressed a sense of belonging to their community with no intention of going back which changed to a ‘more balanced approach at the point of graduation, reflecting the dynamic nature of place-based attachments across life course events’. She identifies social networks and wanting to provide the same opportunity as they had to bring up their children in their birth area as the primary reasons for the change. Research undertaken in Europe, and Alexander’s study of young people and adults on Orkney and Shetland, have highlighted that some young adults intentionally choose courses which they consider more likely to lead to jobs which they hope will facilitate their return. Courses cited include those which are likely to lead to public sector employment in areas like education and healthcare, which are seen to be more available in rural and island areas (Alexander, 2021 & 2023; R’erat, 2014b).

There are examples of international policy initiatives targeting students whilst at university to encourage them to consider working and living in rural communities as a post-tertiary option. For example, in Zaragoza province, Spain, the Rural Erasmus Programme, a joint initiative between the University of Zaragoza and the Provincial Council, was established as a way of addressing rural depopulation. This programme provides students studying at the University with varied opportunities to experience living and working in a rural area (University of Zaragoza (ud).

In Scotland, there are some initiatives to build and maintain rural links amongst young people and adults during their tertiary education studies as well as at the post tertiary stage. For example, the Scottish Government since 2016 has funded the Scottish Rural Medicine Collaborative (SRMC) to develop ways to improve the recruitment and retention in rural areas of people working in primary care’.^[29] The enterprise agencies - HIE and Scottish Enterprise - offer graduate placement programmes in the geographical areas they operate in. However, the extent to which the graduate placements are in rural areas and the contribution of these programmes to the attraction and retention of young people and adults is difficult to assess from the literature available.^[30]

Elsewhere, research undertaken by Silva et al (2021) and Maersk (2022) has explored the role of local governance structures (e.g. local municipalities) in facilitating and maintaining attachment to place among young adults who leave their home region for tertiary education. Maersk (2022) explored an initiative established by a municipality in the western part of Jutland (Denmark) called ‘expatriate West Jutland people’ which targeted students from the area who were studying and living in other regions. Through the use of newsletters and social media, students could keep in touch with business opportunities and professional networks in West Jutland in case they decided to return at a different point in their lives.

Maersk (Ibid) notes that municipalities may have the potential to influence young adults to return if they provide information on employment opportunities and what is going on in the region and facilitate professional networks. However, she concludes:

Municipalities that seek to attract academically oriented adults who have out-migrated from their region need to focus on the young adults who have already obtained a strong sense of belonging to the region during their childhood, because these are the ones who seem to be most receptive to the type of stimulation the home region is able to provide (Maersk 2022, p. 222).

This research suggests that it is important to understand the experiences of children and young people in relation to place attachment and belonging as these shape mobility decisions including ‘returning’ to their birthplace later in life^[31]. Such issues have received little if any attention to date in the Scottish rural context.

Silva et al (2021, p.16) in their study in the Portuguese border regions highlighted that municipalities did not have a strong narrative regarding “keeping youth at home”; instead, they focused on a range of place-based activities to attract young people at tertiary education to connect and/or return. The importance of cross-sectoral working and strong partnerships at local, regional and national levels are emphasised as critical in attracting young people/adults. The activities noted included extending educational opportunities, financial assistance for those renting accommodation and tax incentives for young couples or single people who wanted to purchase a house, improving quality of education, as well as cultural activities. Both Maersk (2022) and Silva et al. (2021, p.55) conclude that those brought up in a particular rural region/area have ‘location specific advantages’:

Young people understand the value of being backed by the accumulated social capital of a collective. Bonds with family, a strong appreciation for their home regions, quality of life factors, and cultural traditions are amongst the primary motives that young people refer to when considering staying or returning (ibid, p.17).

However, they also acknowledge that such strong social bonds are not experienced by all. As Maersk (2022, p.227) explains ‘young adults who expressed having bad memories of their childhood and youth in their local region expressed strong intentions of not returning back’.

The important nuances and intersections between age, gender and other demographic and identity characteristics^[32] explored in this chapter, illustrate the need for disaggregated data and a more dynamic understanding of mobility as a lifelong process, if we are to understand rural young people and adult’s mobilities.

The University of Zaragoza Rural Erasmus Programme provides an interesting opportunity for young people to experience living and working in a rural environment; however, the extent to which this attracts young people/adults to rural areas is difficult to assess. The examples from Denmark and the border regions of Portugal suggest that there is a role for local partnerships involving local/regional authorities in facilitating more place-based activities. A growing awareness that childhood experiences are important in later mobility decisions, highlights a need to include the views of children which is lacking in much existing research. Furthermore, a tendency to privilege ‘return’ migration neglects the potential to attract migrants with no previous connections to rural places, an issue that requires much more emphasis within the context of rural depopulation discussions.

Moving on to a discussion of post-tertiary mobilities, the return of graduates to their parental home for a period following graduation is not new (Dey & Jentsch, 2001). Alexander’s (2023) research explores the diverse experiences associated with the interaction between career and relationships (partners and those with caring responsibilities) in return migration among recently graduated students (within a year of completion) resident in Orkney and Shetland. She argues (ibid, p.8) that:

Mobility and career decisions therefore develop through time, so that changing relational frameworks (where people are based, who is in their relational network) and career frameworks (where opportunities are coming up) could result in quite different spatial horizons. Therefore, it is important not to understand young people’s mobilities in isolation but to understand them as embedded within wider relational networks and employment and occupational structures.

Careers and occupational structures and requirements evolve over time and can assume flexibility with regard to mobility. For those living on islands and in remote rural areas, accessing occupational training may require being away for periods of time. This can be particularly challenging for those with partners and children or with other caring responsibilities and can make it difficult to establish and/or maintain a career. Alexander (ibid) found that in cases where employment aligned with ‘career interests and a partner, young people can feel settled’, for others returning to their parental home without either can lead to feelings of being relatively ‘unsettled' (see also Maclaren et al. 2024). She argues for more graduate support, including specific funding in relation to accessing training, graduate placements and internships, as well as careers guidance.

R´erat (2014a, p83) observed that although regional labour markets and the possibility of accessing relevant professional jobs are important, return migrations is a result of ‘… a conjunction of factors related to social and personal life, living environment and labour market’, which are difficult to disentangle. Issues such as attachment and sense of belonging to the region/place the quality of the rural living environment and social ties involving family, partner, friends and community were also identified as significant factors in the return narrative. The interconnectedness between the physical and social environment in mobility decisions at the post tertiary stage is also acknowledged as important in possible return and migration decisions in the Scottish and international context. A Youth Work Dumfries and Galloway report (2023) and a HIE survey of over 5,0000 adults in the Highlands and Islands cited ‘quality of life’ as being an important factor amongst returnees and movers (Highlands and Islands Enterprise, 2022, p.4)

The literature identifies a range of life course events that provide a motivation for moving at the post-tertiary stage, with social relationships being consistently emphasised as significant in staying/returning/moving to rural areas. One of the most cited reasons for young people and adults returning or moving for the first time to rural areas includes family formation and/or a desire to bring up children in a rural community which is associated with being small, safe and spacious (Ní Laoire, 2007). For those who have been born or grown up in a rural community, moving at the household formation stage is associated with strong kin/family bonds and ‘insider’ advantages which include access to: housing, employment and mutual family support (especially care responsibilities for parents) (Ní Laoire and Stockdale, 2016; Maersk, 2022). Understanding these differences between returners and migrants are critical in designing relevant policies in relation to attracting young people and adults to rural areas.

4.3. Conclusion

Reviewing the literature on the mobilities of young people/adults in rural areas faces some challenges which have been highlighted previously in relation to rural migration and continue to be relevant (see Crow, 2010). These include the following: the varying age parameters used in studies in relation to young people and adults; the prevalence of one-off small-scale studies and the lack of large-scale studies and particularly of longitudinal studies which allow the tracing of individuals’ behaviour patterns over time; the diverse geographies and individual motivations that influence mobility decisions and are difficult to capture in an exercise such as this.

Despite these challenges there are some recurrent themes. Mobilities are best understood over the life course, and it is life events (including leaving school, post-tertiary education, employment, household formation, divorce, empty nest, and retirement) rather than age that are the key influences on mobility decisions, reflecting the increasing fluidity between and within the life course. As this chapter has also highlighted, acknowledging and understanding diverse mobility patterns of different groups, defined for example by diverse migration backgrounds, as well as by gender, socio -economic background among other factors – are also important in designing research and developing appropriate policies.

It is widely acknowledged in the literature that rural youth outmigration and retention should not be a sole, or even primary, main focus of policy. Instead, the emphasis should be on supporting and enabling young people /adults who wish to return and attracting new in-migrants as well as addressing the wide range of infrastructural issues identified in the previous chapter which constrain young people’s mobility choices.

Despite initiatives designed to give young people a voice (for example, the Young Islanders Network, Scottish Rural and Island Youth Parliament), many or perhaps even most young people in these areas continue to feel excluded from decisions on issues and policies in areas such as education, housing and transport that are impacting on their lives.