Non-profit organizations in training for employment: On the transformative potential of their critique of education

A sociology of conventions perspective is used in this paper to examine how non-profit organizations make sense of their educational action in the field of training for employment. Both critiques of education that such organizations voiced and compromises that they had to establish at the turn of the 21st century are revisited here in view of the transformations that the field of training for employment has experienced in recent years. We show empirical data illustrating their discourses on education 20 years ago that were obtained through in-depth, focused interviews with trainers and management of Spanish non-profit organizations. Some critiques are highlighted that were prominent in their discourse at the turn of the century, when the ‘third sector’ was regarded as a promising actor that could amend some of the most concerning inadequacies of the education system. However, the transformative potential of such critiques is critically re-examined in view of the transformations that such an increasingly hybrid field has experienced since, transformations that allow for a new perspective into those once change-promising discourses.