The aim of this work is to describe the Italian labour market at the entrance level. The focus is on the individual work history patterns for young people in the private sector. Work histories are investigated through duration models. We wonder whether there can be groups in the labour market, with specific characteristics, who do not benefit from the same advantages guaranteed to the others. This is done through looking at different aspects of the careers, specifically both substantial and contractual aspects. Substantial aspects of the work history patterns are defined independently from the typology of work arrangement. This measurement of stability in the labour market is based on the cumulative time actually worked and the number of transitions (number of job to job changes) that were necessary to an individual in order to work continuously. We further profile different work history patterns looking at the contractual aspects. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of flexibility for a group of employees involved in non-standard work arrangements, comparing their performance with their counterparts with standard labour contracts.