Jobcentre Plus or minus? Exploring the performance of Jobcentre Plus for non-jobseekers

Since April 2002 Jobcentre Plus has started to operate nationwide in the UK providing fully integrated benefit claiming and work placement/job-seeking activities for people of working age. This new organisation put an explicit work-focus in the delivery of the benefit system. Along with Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants who traditionally have been the focus of relevant work-focused policies, Jobcentre Plus targets a much wider group of clients including lone parents, disabled people and carers. Although the work-focus of the new organisation could be beneficial for clients who themselves have an explicit work orientation, its effect on clients for whom work is not a feasible option are far less clear. This paper explores whether the changes in the delivery of the benefit system introduced by Jobcentre Plus have been beneficial for claimants who are not jobseekers and assesses which aspects of the new organisation work well and which could be improved in order to address more effectively the needs of non-job-oriented clients

Wage rigidities, barriers to entry and the welfare state: Their impact on labor markets in industrialized countries

The above quotes exemplify quite well the strange world in which we live: on the one hand governments over the last 30 years have generally attempted to enact measures to liberalize international trade (and as a matter of fact the movement of factors of production) so as to be able to profit - in the form of higher employment levels - from a more efficient allocation of resources. On the other hand, in many of the same countries governments (and/or unions) have effected (or supported) measures for domestic labor markets, the impact of which runs counter to the expected gains from a reduction in trade barriers. In other words, while a rapid expansion of international trade may have contributed significantly to creating employment, measures affecting the training, employment, remuneration and/or social security of the working-age population may well have caused jobs or job opportunities to disappear or job-seeking activities to be otherwise structured.

Jobcentre Plus or Minus? Exploring the performance of Jobcentre Plus for non-jobseekers

Since April 2002 Jobcentre Plus has started to operate nationwide in the UK providing fully integrated benefit claiming and work placement/job-seeking activities for people of working age. This new organisation put an explicit work-focus in the delivery of the benefit system. Along with Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) claimants who traditionally have been the focus of relevant work-focused policies, Jobcentre Plus targets a much wider group of clients including lone parents, disabled people and carers. Although the work-focus of the new organisation could be beneficial for clients who themselves have an explicit work orientation, its effect on clients for whom work is not a feasible option are far less clear. This paper explores whether the changes in the delivery of the benefit system introduced by Jobcentre Plus have been beneficial for claimants who are not jobseekers and assesses which aspects of the new organisation work well and which could be improved in order to address more effectively the needs of non-job-oriented clients.Jobcentre Plus, welfare-to-work, non-jobseekers, policy evaluation

Exploring the effects of integrated benefit systems and active labour market policies: Evidence from Jobcentre Plus in the UK

In April 2002 Jobcentre Plus started to operate in the UK bringing together the service of the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service. Offering a fully integrated benefit claiming and work placement/job-seeking service for people of working age this new organisation aims to strengthen the link between welfare and work. Due to the magnitude of the associated organisational change, the national roll-out of the new organisation is being implemented gradually over a transitional period ending in 2006. During this transitional period some local offices are fully integrated while others functions remain split between pre-existing Benefits Agency and Employment Service offices. In this paper we examine how changes in the level of integration (measured as the percentage of offices within districts offering the integrated Jobcentre Plus service) within districts over time affected performance with respect to job entry, benefit service and customer service delivery. Our analysis suggests that Jobcentre Plus has a clear positive effect on job entry outcomes for all client groups, a negative effect on business delivery while it has neither a positive nor a negative effect on customer service outcomes.Jobcentre Plus, welfare-to-work, non-jobseekers, policy evaluation

Who are the job seekers? explaining unemployment among doctoral recipients

Despite increased attention for doctoral education in recent years, one particular phenomenon has received little attention—the unemployment of doctoral candidates following graduation. While the unemployment of doctoral recipients is relatively low in comparison to the general popula-tion, the absence of empirical studies means possible important patterns are being overlooked. Using survey data from four universities in the Netherlands, we investigate unemployment among recent doctoral graduates. By comparing the job seekers to employed doctoral recipients and fo-cusing on both structural and individual level variables, including demographic characteristics, previous research experience, job seeking activities, and differences in the PhD trajectory, we are able to discern a number of shared characteristics among the job seekers. Our findings suggest that unemployment among doctoral candidates is not random or evenly distributed. In contrast to the general population, where socio structural characteristics such as educational level and gender are integral in explaining unemployment, within this level of educational attainment primarily individual level factors are more salient in explaining unemployment among this group of job seekers

Delivering job search services in rural labour markets: the role of ICT

This paper reports original research on job seekers in two contrasting rural areas in Scotland: one a remote rural area; the other semi-rural with strong metropolitan connectivity. It seeks to answer two key questions. Firstly, what are the potential benefits and barriers associated with the delivery of services for rural job seekers through the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-based systems? And following from this, what is the nature and extent of the 'digital divide' affecting unemployed job seekers and what policies are required to address this problem? Rural labour markets in the United Kingdom, like those across Europe, have recently experienced a period of continuous and rapid change. The decline of primary sector industries has been accompanied by increases in service employment, especially in tourism. However, in the UK, as elsewhere, this economic transition has not been without its difficulties. Whilst social exclusion is less prevalent in rural areas than in many cities, instances f poverty remain. Unemployment, and particularly long-term unemployment, has been cited as an important factor explaining the continuing problem of social exclusion in many rural areas. Recent research has suggested that an important barrier to work faced by unemployed people in rural areas relates to the absence of locally-based job search and advice services. The Employment Service (the main public agency in the UK dealing with job seekers) has argued thagiven the remote and sparsely populated nature of many rural labour markets, ICT-based job search and advice services (e.g. delivered through telephone helplines and the Internet) may offer the most efficient and cost-effective policy solution in many areas. However, the viability of this policy is dependent on the level of ICT awareness and access among job seekers. Interviews were conducted with over 400 job seekers in the two areas. The Caithness and Sutherland area in northern Scotland is among the most remote and least densely populated in Europe, with unemployment rates well above the national average. West Lothian, in contrast, is situated near to Scotland's economic centre and is a major centre of manufacturing activity with unemployment below the national average. The interviws examined the level of ICT skills possessed, attitudes towards and access to ICT, and additionally collected information on a range of personal skills and attitudes. Evidence of relatively low levels of ICT awareness and access was found in both communities Although those residing in the more remote study area were also more likely to have Internet access, a significant minority did not even have access to a telephone at home. The paper concludes that, if ICT is to prove to be the waforward in delivering services for job seekers in rural areas, community-based access and support facilities must be provided, along with appropriate training for job seekers in basic and higher level ICT skills.

On Mandatory Activation of Welfare Recipients

This paper investigates whether mandatory activation programs for welfare recipients have effects on welfare participation, employment and disposable income. In contrast to earlier studies, we are able to capture both entry and exit effects. The empirical analysis makes use of a Swedish welfare reform in which the city districts in Stockholm gradually implemented mandatory activation programs for individuals on welfare. Overall, we find that mandatory activation of welfare recipients reduces overall welfare participation and increases employment. We also find that mandatory activation programs appear to work best for young people and for people born in non-Western countries.welfare reform, mandatory activation programs, welfare participation, employment, difference-in-differences

On mandatory activation of welfare receivers

This paper investigates whether mandatory activation programs for welfare receivers have effects on welfare participation, employment and disposable income. In contrast to earlier studies we are able to capture both entry and exit effects. The empirical analysis makes use of a Swedish welfare reform in which the city districts in Stockholm gradually implemented mandatory activation programs for individuals on welfare. The reform is well suited for investigating effects of such programs for several reasons. First, the reform was not combined with any other policy instruments, like time limits or tax credits, making sure that we will capture effects of mandatory activation policies and nothing else. Second, the reform was initiated at different points of time in different city districts, which ease identification. Third, using data from city districts within a single local labor market we can control for confounding macro economic shocks. Overall, we find that mandatory activation of welfare receivers reduce overall welfare participation and increases employment. We also find that mandatory activation programs appear to work best for young people and for people born in non-Western countries. For disposable income, we do not find a statistically significant effect.Welfare reform; mandatory activation programs; welfare participation; employment; difference-in-differences

From University to Work III Part 2 : How Students seek for ""Good Jobs"" in Non-Selective 4-Year-Colleges

This is the second report using the same survey data for non-selective college students in business major. In this report, we analyze the process of students\u27job seeking activities. We find that the timing and kinds of job seeking activities among those students are more diverse and less standardized than those from selective colleges. This less standardized feature of activities makes the process of job search for those non-selective college students more vague and more difficult. As a result, we also find that there are students, who stop or never start job seeking

ePortfolios: Mediating the minefield of inherent risks and tensions

The ePortfolio Project at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) exemplifies an innovative and flexible harnessing of current portfolio thinking and design that has achieved substantial buy-in across the institution with over 23000 active portfolios. Robust infrastructure support, curriculum integration and training have facilitated widespread take-up, while QUT’s early adoption of ePortfolio technology has enabled the concomitant development of a strong policy and systems approach to deal explicitly with legal and design responsibilities. In the light of that experience, this paper will highlight the risks and tensions inherent in ePortfolio policy, design and implementation. In many ways, both the strengths and weaknesses of ePortfolios lie in their ability to be accessed by a wider, less secure audience – either internally (e.g. other students and staff) or externally (e.g. potential employees and referees). How do we balance the obvious requirement to safeguard students from the potential for institutionally-facilitated cyber-harm and privacy breaches, with this generation’s instinctive personal and professional desires for reflections, private details, information and intellectual property to be available freely and with minimal restriction? How can we promote collaboration and freeform expression in the blog and wiki world but also manage the institutional risk that unauthorised use of student information and work so palpably carries with it? For ePortfolios to flourish and to develop and for students to remain engaged in current reflective processes, holistic guidelines and sensible boundaries are required to help safeguard personal details and journaling without overly restricting students’ emotional, collaborative and creative engagement with the ePortfolio experience. This paper will discuss such issues and suggest possible ways forward