Abstract
There is scant understanding of what supports African emerging adults who are not in employment, education or training (i.e., NEET) to show resilience to NEET-related challenges. This article narrows that gap by reporting an iterative phenomenological study with nine African emerging adults (mean age: 23.44; 66% female) who were NEET for the 18-month duration of the study and living in a resource-constrained community in South Africa. We interviewed each young person three times (June 2021; December 2021; June 2022). A reflexive thematic analysis of these interview transcripts showed that being NEET is a multifaceted challenge. Supported by a mix of personal, relational and environmental resources, young people managed this challenge by resisting or recuperating from destructive coping mechanisms and believing in a successful future self. These findings point to the importance of young people and their social ecologies (families, peers, service providers and policymakers) recognising and enacting their co-responsibility for resilience to the compound challenges of being NEET.