01803 856012
07770 750913
info@mewstones.co.uk
Tackling Worklessness - Yes/No? Who?
Unemployment and worklessness have been in the news again this week, raising three important questions. Are they different names for the same thing? Do they need to be tackled? Who should we be looking to for a solution?
Unemployment and worklessness – different names for the same thing?
No, they are not the same thing, and some reports described this very well. In fact the figures launched this week made it clear simply because they were different: unemployment fell slightly, but worklessness rose to 21.3%, according to the BBC’s report of the ONS data. The measure of worklessness includes not only those who are unemployed but also those who are sick or disabled, students, and people looking after the family and home.
Do unemployment and worklessness need to be tackled?
With a clear answer to the first question, the second becomes more interesting. I imagine most of us would agree that eliminating unemployment is a good thing, ensuring that there is work for all those wishing to be employed. But worklessness is a more controversial issue. There is a whole government agenda targeted at tackling worklessness, an agenda which cascades down to regional, sub-regional and community level. But is this being cancelled out in part by the drive to increase the number of young people in education and training (students)? Is it ethical to try and force sick and disabled people into employment by threatening withdrawal of benefits? And what is the net financial and social benefit to transferring responsibility for looking after the family and home from a full time volunteer (once known as a housewife/husband) to a part-time low paid worker (e.g. child minder or nursery worker)?
Who should we be looking to for a solution?
Which organisations are best placed to offer solutions to worklessness or even just unemployment? The start point lies with employers; more job opportunities in the labour market should lead to a reduction in the number of unemployed. Unfortunately it is not that simple, there is the small matter of skills to consider; the type and level of skills required by employers compared with those on offer by potential employees. A great innovative technology or business services sector is going to want a well-skilled workforce with specific technical competencies such as engineering, IT or accountancy. So a pincer movement is required - dating agencies to match employees to employers, and campaigns to address the skills deficit.
The dating agencies already exist. In the private sector recruitment agencies are thriving businesses and work across all skills levels and business sectors of the labour market, including the public sector. I have to confess to being a little surprised when about a year ago I discovered that Jobcentre Plus felt that it offered a comparable recruitment agency service, including the high skills end. My surprise was twofold: those in the professions do not appear to rate it either as employers or as jobseekers, and more importantly the private sector provision in this field did not seem to show signs of market failure that required public sector intervention. I am sure that someone will have a view on this and look forward to them contributing to this discussion.
This week, it looks like the tables are turning though. ‘Tackling worklessness’, getting the low-skilled and long term unemployed into work, has long fallen to the public sector and indeed the community and voluntary sector. The market failure here is clear and the need for public sector intervention. But, as I say, this week it looks like the tables are turning; I was invited to comment on a proposed private sector initiative led by a recruitment firm. They plan to boost regeneration through tackling worklessness, simply by adapting what they do to reach these traditional hard to reach groups. They will benefit too of course, recruitment is their core business. I wait with interest to see how it develops, and wonder if this could mark the start of a whole new approach for the 21st Century.
