Training for the unemployed: differential effects in white- and blue-collar workers with respect to mental well-being

Abstract

In this study we investigate the effects of active labour market policy measures on health and well-being and how these effects are connected with socioeconomic status. The data were collected among the participants (n = 212) in 24 conventional vocational training courses in Finland. According to the results, training was accompanied by improvements in health and wellbeing among participants with a higher socioeconomic status, whereas for blue-collar workers the changes were neutral or even detrimental. The results raise questions about the role of active labour market policy measures as a public service. There seems to be a risk that these types of measures maintain or even produce health differences between socioeconomic groups.

Can Quasi‐market and Multi‐level Governance Co‐exist? Insights from the Case of Lombardy's Employment Services System

“…As for the availability of information that is critical to users' choice, the regional administration provides a significant amount of it, including providers' ratings and rankings which, however, can be easily understood mostly by prospective users with high human and social capital. The relatively high socio-economic status of the beneficiaries of the programmes confirms that ALMPs may exacerbate existing inequalities (Saloniemi et al 2014). Moreover, public institutions such as AFOL (for Milan) are better placed to intercept potential beneficiaries given their role of incumbent: as the unemployed register with the PECs in order to receive social benefits, they are also likely to be provided information about the endowment by a public actor who also plays the role of SP.…”

“…The relatively high socio‐economic status of the beneficiaries of the programmes confirms that ALMPs may exacerbate existing inequalities (Saloniemi et al . ). Moreover, public institutions such as AFOL (for Milan) are better placed to intercept potential beneficiaries given their role of incumbent: as the unemployed register with the PECs in order to receive social benefits, they are also likely to be provided information about the endowment by a public actor who also plays the role of SP.…”

Healing or Deepening the Scars of Unemployment? The Impact of Activation Policies on Unemployed Workers

“…Previous categorizations of activation policies into ‘emphatic’ activation including training programmes (see e.g. Saloniemi et al, 2014) and other supportive measures, and a ‘repressive’ (Vlandas, 2013: 5) approach maximizing the pressure on unemployed workers appear to be too broad as there is considerable variation within these categories. These findings thus add to previous research revealing that the impact of activation and ALMPs are contingent on fine-grained differences in the content or even the mode of implementation (Gundert and Hohendanner, 2015).…”

Effectiveness of community interventions for protecting and promoting the mental health of working-age adults experiencing financial uncertainty: a systematic review

“…59 At the conclusion of vocational training programmes in Finland, no improvements were observed in participants' psychological distress, stress symptom scores or sense of coherence, compared with baseline. 60 Nevertheless, subgroup analyses revealed improvements in these outcomes for people with a tertiary education, those studying courses in 'white-collar' occupations, but not for those studying 'blue-collar' occupations.…”

“…Saloniemi et al (2014) 60 Low Overall, no change in psychological distress, sense of coherence or stress at the end of the training course, compared with baseline. However, improvements in all three measures were seen among participants with a tertiary education and those who were previously employed in a 'white-collar' occupation.…”