Colin Lindsay

Avoiding the 'McJobs': unemployed job seekers and attitudes to service work

Service employment plays an increasingly important role in the UK economy. However, it has been suggested that some forms of service work are unattractive for many unemployed job seekers, and particularly those formerly employed in ‘traditional’ sectors. The argument has been made that these job seekers and others may be reluctant to pursue the type of positions that have become known as ‘McJobs’ - de-skilled, entry-level service jobs which often offer poor pay and conditions. This article examines whether there is such a reluctance amongst job seekers to pursue service work, and whether it differs between job seeker groups. It also compares differences in job seekers’ attitudes towards entry-level work in three areas of the service sector - retail, hospitality and teleservicing or ‘call centre work’.The analysis is based upon a survey of 300 registered unemployed people in Scotland. A substantial minority of respondents ruled out entry-level service work in retail and hospitality under any circumstances. Older men, those seeking relatively high weekly wages and those without experience of service work (and who perceived themselves to lack the necessary skills) were particularly reluctant to consider these jobs. Differences between job seekers were much less apparent in relation to attitudes to call centre work, which was more unpopular than other service occupations across almost all groups. The article concludes that policy action may be required to encourage job seekers to consider a broader range of vacancies and to provide financial and personal support for those making the transition into work in the service economy. However, on the demand side, service employers must seek to ‘abolish the McJob’, by ensuring that even entry-level positions offer realistic salaries, decent work conditions and opportunities for personal development.

Unemployment Duration and Employability in Remote Rural Labour Markets.

This paper analyses the barriers to work faced by long- and short-term unemployed people in remote rural labour markets. Applying a broad concept of ‘employability’ as an analytical framework, it considers the attributes and experiences of 190 job seekers (22% of the registered unemployed) in two contiguous travel-to-work areas (Wick and Sutherland) in the northern Highlands of Scotland. The labour demand side of employability is also considered through interviews with 17 employers. The paper identifies the specific job search and other employment problems faced by unemployed people living in isolated rural communities (labour supply); considers the perspective of employers (labour demand); and discusses potential policies to address the needs of unemployed individuals. Many job seekers were found to have gaps in generic and job-specific skills, whilst some (particularly males) were reluctant to pursue opportunities in non-traditional sectors of the economy. The importance of informal job search and recruitment networks (which may exclude the young and the long-term unemployed) and the lack of access to formal employment services in remote areas also potentially contributed to labour market disadvantage. Holistic and client-centred solutions are required to address the barriers faced by these rural job seekers, including adult basic education provision, flexible training focussing on skills and work experience with particular relevance to the new rural economy, and support services for job seekers in isolated areas. These supply-side policies should be combined with demand-side measures to stimulate endogenous and exogenous growth in isolated local economies.

Inter-agency Cooperation and New Approaches to Employability

This article examines the role of inter-agency cooperation, which is one form of ‘partnership’, in new approaches to employability in the UK. The article articulates a ‘model for effective partnership working’ on employability. This model is applied first in a general review of employability policy and then to discuss case study research on the recent ‘Pathways to Work’ and ‘Working Neighbourhoods’ pilots. It is argued that successful partnerships need a clear strategic focus based on a necessity for inter-agency cooperation and institutional arrangements that allow for shared ownership, trust and mutualism, and flexibility in resource-sharing. While some of these factors are apparent in UK employability services, an over-reliance on contractualism and centralized organizational structures may undermine partnership-based approaches. Many of the success factors associated with effective partnership working appeared to be in place, even though the role of the Public Employment Service was fundamentally different in each case (as a key actor in implementing the first pilot, but largely withdrawing from the implementation role in the second). The article concludes by outlining the relevance of this model and the case study findings to discussions of the future development of employability policies and related partnership working.

In a Lonely Place? Social Networks, Job Seeking and the Experience of Long-Term Unemployment

Combating long-term unemployment remains a central strand of policies to promote social and labour market inclusion. One area of increasing concern is that the long-term unemployed (and especially those residing in disadvantaged communities) can find themselves isolated from the diverse social networks that can contribute to effective job seeking. This article draws on interviews conducted with 220 job seekers in two areas of high unemployment within the city of Glasgow to investigate: whether long-term unemployed people in these areas struggle to access social networks for job search; and the extent to which long-term unemployment is in itself associated with a more general erosion of social/community relations and a withdrawal from what has been termed the ‘tertiary sphere of sociability’. The article concludes with a discussion of the potential role for social policy in seeking to help the long-term unemployed and other job seekers to develop and broaden social networks and activities.

Inter-agency co-operation in activation : comparing three vanguard active welfare states

New forms of inter-agency co-operation have gained increasing prominence in the development and delivery of activation strategies. This article compares different models of inter-agency co-operation, drawing on case study research in Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK. The different models have reported variations in performance when delivering on the key benefits often attributed to effective inter-agency co-operation. The article raises concerns that the process of contracting-out in activation has at times conflicted with attempts to improve co-operation between agencies, while the increasing dominance of purchaser–provider relations can undermine progress towards ‘shared ownership’ of activation policies and effective partnership-working

Ageing, skills and participation in work-related training in Britain: Assessing the position of older workers

Policy makers have introduced a number of measures to encourage older workers to stay in the labour market, with improving access to training a particular priority. Policy action appeared justified by evidence that older workers are less likely to participate in training, and more likely to have never been offered training by employers – a key finding of Taylor and Urwin’s (2001) review of Labour Force Survey (LFS) data from 1997. This article models LFS data from 2007 to assess whether age remained a predictor of inequalities in training. It finds that men over 50 remained among those least likely to have been offered training by employers. There were other significant inequalities in participation, suggesting a polarization in access to jobs that offer opportunities for training and progression. The article concludes that policies promoting ‘active ageing’ need to challenge negative employer attitudes and acknowledge fundamental inequalities in access to skills.

Long-term unemployment and the "employability gap": priorities for renewing Britain's New Deal

This paper reviews recent reforms to the UK’s main active labour market policy for the long‐term unemployed aged over 25: the so‐called New Deal 25 Plus. It discusses the appropriateness of the New Deal’s approach to the activation of these long‐term unemployed people, by drawing upon evidence from interviews with 115 job seekers in one urban labour market characterised by generally low unemployment rates. It is argued that these job seekers face a combination of personal and circumstantial barriers to work, best characterised as an “employability gap”. It is acknowledged that following recent reforms to the New Deal 25 Plus, the programme is better equipped to address some aspects of the employability gap faced by many long‐term unemployed people. However, it is argued that a stronger commitment to training within a “real work” environment and a more flexible approach to the administration of some social security benefits is required if the long‐term detachment from the labour market experienced by these job seekers is to be overcome.

Fit for purpose? Welfare reform and challenges for health and labour market policy in the UK

In the UK, as in some other EU states, the focus of recent welfare reforms has switched from those on unemployment benefits to those receiving sickness/incapacity benefits (IBs), reflecting concerns around the large numbers falling into the this last group. The Labour government elected in 1997 introduced a range of measures to activate those on IBs, setting a target of a one million reduction in the number of claimants by the end of 2015. The Conservative Party similarly came to acknowledge that high levels of IB claiming represented a problem of ‘unemployment hidden as sickness’, and in coalition now proposes even more aggressive supply-side strategies. This paper provides an extensive review of the most recent evidence to identify factors driving the rise in the number of people claiming IBs and, in light of this analysis, assesses whether current policy is fit for purpose. An important conclusion is that any national ‘one-size fits all’ supply-side policy response is blind to the distinctive geography of receipt of IBs and the complex combination of factors that leave some people trapped on these benefits.

'RECONNECTING' THE UNEMPLOYED Information and communication technology and services for jobseekers in rural areas

This paper discusses the potential uses of the Internet and other forms of information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool for delivering information services for unemployed people, comparing the experiences and attitudes of jobseekers in peri-urban and remote rural labour markets. The analysis is based upon research carried out in two areas: the first combining a remote rural town with a much larger, more sparsely populated, rural ‘travel-to-work area’; the second, a centrally located peri-urban labour market. Survey research undertaken in the study areas gathered responses from 490 unemployed jobseekers. Emerging issues were then followed up during twelve focus groups. The study found that the use of ICT for job seeking remained a marginal activity for most unemployed people, but was much more important in remote rural communities. In these areas, jobseekers were more likely to use the Internet as a search tool and were particularly dependent on telephone helplines provided by the public employment service (PES). However, the study also found that a ‘digital divide’ was evident within the unemployed client group. Those with low educational attainment, the long-term unemployed, young people and those perceiving their ICT skills to be ‘poor’ were less likely to use the Internet. Although respondents in rural areas were more likely to use ICT to look for work, they also pointed to the overriding importance of informal, social networks as a means of sharing job information in remote communities. We conclude that ICT may have a future role in the delivery of services for jobseekers, especially in rural areas. However, policies are required to ensure that information provided through ICT-based services is locally relevant, and disadvantaged groups have access to the facilities and training they require.

Fit for work? Health, employability and challenges for the UK welfare reform agenda

This article introduces a special issue of Policy Studies entitled “Fit for work? Health, employability and challenges for the UK welfare reform agenda”. Growing from a shared concern over the need to expand the evidence base around the processes that led to large numbers of people claiming disability benefits in the UK, it brings together contributions from leading labour market and social policy researchers providing evidence and commentary on major reforms to Incapacity Benefit (IB) in the UK. This special issue address three key questions: what are the main causes of the long-term rise in the number of people claiming IBs; what will reduce the number of claimants; and what is likely to deliver policy effectively and efficiently? This introduction first explains and examines the challenges to reforms to IB in the UK, and then, in conclusion, highlights the answers to the previous three questions – first, labour market restructuring and marginalisation have driven the rise in numbers claiming IBs. Second, economic regeneration in the Britain’s less prosperous areas coupled with intensive and sustained supply-side support measures will bring numbers down. Third, delivery need to be flexible and tailored to individual needs and needs to be able to access local and expert knowledge in a range of organisations, including Job Centre Plus, the NHS as well as the private and voluntary sectors.