Activation and Active Ageing? Mature-Age Jobseekers' Experience of Employment Services

Bowman, Dina; McGann, Michael; Kimberley, Helen; Biggs, Simon

doi:10.1017/s1474746416000245

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Our results also reveal that exclusion from unemployment benefits is much more than a sanction for a failure to seek employment: it invalidates the experiences of those unemployed people who occupy lower positions in the labour market, and lower ranks in the unemployment queue. In this sense, it is similar to ‘carelessness’, observed among other unemployed people in difficulty (Bowman et al , 2016). However, the twin-stranded nature of the unemployed respondents’ job searches appears to be an adjustment to difficulties they have encountered – a product of their job search experiences (McDonald, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

When Job Search is Deemed Insufficient: Experiences of Unemployed People Disbarred Following Compliancy Monitoring

Demazière¹,

Zune²

2021

Social Policy and Society

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Job search is a central element of activation policies, which aim to transform unemployed people into active jobseekers who are subject to checks. We examine a neglected aspect of activation: sanctions. To do so we analyse, through biographical interviews with formerly-unemployed people whose benefit payments have been stopped, what it means when a job search is deemed insufficient. Although these formerly-unemployed people have failed to present enough written and tangible evidence of their job search during checks, they have pursued a different type of job search comprising more informal activities that are difficult to convert into written documents. So, we identify a twin-stranded job search – prescribed and alternative. We also point out that the gap between institutionally-framed job search and experience-based job search widens among unemployed people having low employability attributes, so that ever-stricter checks penalize those who are most vulnerable.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

When Job Search is Deemed Insufficient: Experiences of Unemployed People Disbarred Following Compliancy Monitoring

Demazière¹,

Zune²

2021

Social Policy and Society

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“…This reinforces criticisms of Australia's employment system which has been labelled by both employers and job seekers as being overly bureaucratic and complex (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019). The widespread criticisms of this system are also supported by the fifth and seventh-ranked barriers in Table 2 “G overnment employment agencies not understanding challenges ” and “Lack of Support from government to get into work” (Consideine et al , 2010; Bowman and Randrianarisoa, 2018; Commonwealth of Australia, 2019). The Australian Government Senate inquiry report into the recently restructured Jobactive system in 2019 stated that the $7.3bn scheme has resulted in people gaining employment “in spite of jobactive, not because of it” (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to employment for refugees seeking work in the Australian construction industry: an exploratory study

Loosemore

Alkilani²,

Hammad

2021

ECAM

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PurposeIn Australia, as in many other countries, refugees are over-represented in the ranks of the unemployed, under-employed and precariously employed and often become frustrated in their attempts to secure work. Despite the construction industry being a major potential source of employment for refugees, there has been a surprising lack of research into their experiences of securing work in the industry. Addressing this gap and also the general lack of voice for refugees in construction research, the aim of this paper is to explore the barriers refugees face in securing employment in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports a survey of refugees who have worked or attempted to seek work in the Australian construction industry.FindingsResults show that the main barriers to securing employment in construction are: lack of local work experience; employer discrimination; employer failure to recognise previous qualifications, skills and experience and employers not understanding the challenges they face. Government employment agencies and systems are also perceived to be of limited value and overly complex, in contrast to the activities of not-for-profit support agencies.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the research is limited to Australia, the findings contribute an important and missing refugee dimension to the emerging body of research on construction social procurement. They also contribute unique sector-specific insights into the broader debate about refugee resettlement and employment. Further research is needed in other national contexts.Practical implicationsRecommendations are made to address the barriers to employment identified including: initiatives to provide refugees with work experience in the industry; education to break-down negative stereotypes of refugees among employers; greater support for not-for-profits supporting refugees and reform of government and employment agency systems and procedures.Social implicationsBy enhancing understanding of the barriers to employment for refugees in construction and proposing solutions to reduce those barriers, this research contributes new insights into a growing global challenge of how we better integrate growing numbers of refugees into harmonious and prosperous societies.Originality/valueThe findings are important in facilitating the smoother integration of refugees into society. Beyond the moral imperative, there are significant social, cultural and economic benefits which successful refugee integration brings to host countries and industries like construction which in many countries are now being required to employ refugees in their workforce as a condition of public sector contracts.

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“…A large body of empirical research has documented the challenges of interacting with this system for both job seekers and employers. These include complexity and bureaucracy, poor matching of jobseekers and training with employers' needs, perverse incentives which prevent collaboration, “parking” and “churning” of job seekers to attract payment and disincentives to help job seekers with complex needs (Bowman and Randrianarisoa, 2018; Commonwealth of Australia, 2019).…”

Section: Cross-sector Collaboration In the Context Of Social Procurementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimising social procurement policy outcomes through cross-sector collaboration in the Australian construction industry

Loosemore

Denny-Smith

Barraket

et al. 2020

ECAM

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PurposeSocial procurement policies are an emerging policy instrument being used by governments around the world to leverage infrastructure and construction spending to address intractable social problems in the communities they represent. The relational nature of social procurement policies requires construction firms to develop new collaborative partnerships with organisations from the government, not-for-profit and community sectors. The aim of this paper is to address the paucity of research into the risks and opportunities of entering into these new cross-sector partnerships from the perspectives of the stakeholders involved and how this affects collaborative potential and social value outcomes for intended beneficiaries.Design/methodology/approachThis case study research is based on a unique collaborative intermediary called Connectivity Centre created by an international contractor to coordinate its social procurement strategies. The findings draw on a thematic analysis of qualitative data from focus groups with 35 stakeholders from the construction, government, not-for-profit, social enterprise, education and employment sectors.FindingsFindings indicate that potentially enormous opportunities which social procurement offers are being undermined by stakeholder nervousness about policy design, stability and implementation, poor risk management, information asymmetries, perverse incentives, candidate supply constraints, scepticism, traditional recruitment practices and industry capacity constraints. While these risks can be mitigated through collaborative initiatives like Connectivity Centres, this depends on new “relational” skills, knowledge and competencies which do not currently exist in construction. In conclusion, when social procurement policy requirements are excessive and imposed top-down, with little understanding of the construction industry's compliance capacity, intended social outcomes of these policies are unlikely to be achieved.Originality/valueThis research draws on theories of cross-sector collaboration developed in the realm of public sector management to address the lack of research into how the new cross-sector partnerships encouraged by emerging social procurement policies work in the construction industry. Contributing to the emerging literature on cross-sector collaboration, the findings expose the many challenges of working in cross-sector partnerships in highly transitionary project-based environments like construction.

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Activation and Active Ageing? Mature-Age Jobseekers' Experience of Employment Services

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

When Job Search is Deemed Insufficient: Experiences of Unemployed People Disbarred Following Compliancy Monitoring

When Job Search is Deemed Insufficient: Experiences of Unemployed People Disbarred Following Compliancy Monitoring

Barriers to employment for refugees seeking work in the Australian construction industry: an exploratory study

Optimising social procurement policy outcomes through cross-sector collaboration in the Australian construction industry

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