employment research institute 1 employability and disadvantaged parents: the case of working for...

Employment Research Employment Research InstituteInstitute

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Employability and

Disadvantaged Parents: the Case of Working for Families

Ronald McQuaid, Vanesa Fuertes, Sue Bond

Employment Research Institute,

Napier University, Edinburgh UK

Paper presented at the ERSA Conference, Liverpool

August - September 2008


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Structure of the presentation

• Background of Working for Families Fund (WFF)

• Aims of WFF

• Delivery Model

• Methodology for the evaluation

• Results

• Conclusions


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Background - policy issues• “Closing the Opportunity Gap” – eliminating child

poverty by 2020

• 23% of Scottish children in poor households (UK ranked 22nd of EU25 on child poverty in 2005)

• Link between worklessness and poverty (lone parents especially vulnerable to worklessness)

• UK: aim of 70% lone parents in work (57% in 2005); high levels of general employment (72% in 2005)

• 1998 – National Childcare Strategy

• Childcare: access and cost key barriers to work

• Childcare Subsidy


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‘Holistic’ approaches to employability

Scottish Government definition of employability:

• “The combination of factors and processes which enable people to progress towards employment, stay in employment, and ‘move on’ in the workplace”.

McQuaid and Lindsay (2005): Employability defined by:

• Individual factors – literacy, health, skills, confidence

• Personal circumstances – caring roles, household circumstances (‘chaotic lifestyle’), debt, social capital

• External factors – jobs, transport, benefits, services


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Approach of WFF• Key worker model – a single worker contact to

engage and support parents through providing and signposting mentoring, advice, counselling, etc.

• Help both inactive and those in work (breaking the low pay-no pay cycle)

• In rural areas, support also provided to combat the barriers created by poor transport, limited services and the lack of a critical mass of clients

• Referral by various means: Public Employment Service and other agencies, informal reputation-building and ‘word of mouth’


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Numbers of New Clients Registered by Month to 31 December 2008Total: 25,508 clients

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

Total Phase 1 LAs Phase 2 LAs


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Type of Qualification of Clients Registered to 31 March 2008 (%) compared to Scotland (Census 2001)

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

No Qualifications/ below SVQ1

SVQ1-2 or equiv

SVQ3 or equiv

SVQ4-5 or equiv

Other

WFF

Scotland


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Barriers to Progression for sustained contact WFF Clients to 31 March 07

68.80%

75.10%

35.50%

44.70%

1%

6.30%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Opportunitiesand Skills

CaringResponsibilities

Transport Other Issues None Missing

Barriers to Progression


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TYPES OF OUTCOMES

Outcomes

‘Hard’ Outcomes(Key Transition)

‘Soft’ Outcomes

IntermediateActivities

Employability Measures


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Take up a Job offer

1% (71)

SelfEmploy2% (115)

Full-Time18% (1147)

Voluntary work 16+hrs week

0% (19)Training/Educ

22% (1368)

Move Employment

1% (91)

Improve Employment

3% (212)

Sustainted Activity

27% (1703)

PT Less16 hrs/wk

6% (342)

PT 16to29 hrs/wk

20% (1262)

Type of Latest KEY Transitions to 31 December 07

Total Number of Transitions = 13,095 by March 2008

47%

31%


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Intermediate Activity Outcomes (w/o Key Transition) to 31 March 07

Total IA outcomes without Key Transition = 850

Voluntary work btw 3 to 16 hrs

a week5% (45)

Work placement 30 hrs or more

3% (27)

Accumulated activity 20 hrs

or more92% (778)


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Distance travelled: Change on Employability Measures – Change in Average Score between Registration and at Six-Month Review

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2

How confident are you when meeting new people?

How would you rate your job skills (in relation to thetype of work you are looking for or would like to do)?

If you are not currently in work, how confident do youfeel about starting work?

How confident are you that you know what benefitsyou are entitled to (include work-related benefits, tax

How aware are you of the childcare servicesavailable in your area?

How easy do you find it to organize childcareservices for your children?

How confident are you that your children would bewell looked after by the childcare services available

How able are you to call on friends and family in yourarea to help with looking after your children?


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All Client Outcomes to 31 March 2007 to 31 March 2008

Valid Six Month

monitoring

4% (906)

No significant

Outcome

28% (7,202)

Registered in

previous 6 month

(no outcome

expected)

7% (1,666)

Intermediate Activity

Outcome

10% (2,576)

Key transition

51% (13,095)


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Progress for unemployed• Unemployed at registration who had a

transition → 33% (1103) FT employment and 36% (1223) PT (>16 hrs) employment

• Sick/disabled at registration who had a transition → 27% (94) FT employment and 28% (97) PT (>16 hrs) employment


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Logistic regression model: transition

• Probability of achieving transition given range of independent variables/factors (individual, personal circumstances, external)


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Logistic regression model:

• More likely to move into work, major training or education if:

• the person has qualifications (SVQ level 2 or above).

• being in either part time or full time education

• having English as their first language, • being a lone parent


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Logistic regression model:

Less likely to move into work, etc. if:• pregnant, • having more than two children; • being over 45 years old;• being unemployed over 2 months; • having other forms of stress (such as drug

dependency); • living in accommodation that is not owner

occupied (especially if in hostel or supported care).


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Conclusions• Major initiative that reached targets

• ‘Holistic’ model works well

• Reached the relatively disadvantaged

• But within this ‘group’ the less disadvantaged had greatest progression

• Range of employability factors that are important is large, and need to consider motivations etc.


Thank you for listening

[email protected]

www2.napier.ac.uk/depts/eri/home.htm


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END


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Hard Outcomes• entered full-time employment;• entered part-time employment;• entered self-employment;• being able to take up a job offer;• moved into different employment (changed jobs, moved to a

better paid job, etc.);• improved current employment (gain promotion, change

hours or pay, etc.);• sustained activity (employment, education or training);• entered or completed education or training course of at

least Six-Months duration;• entered voluntary work of 16 hours or more a week.


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‘Soft’ Outcomes

• Intermediate Activity Outcomes

• Employability Measures: Distance Travelled

employment research institute 1 employability and disadvantaged parents: the case of working for...

Documents

poverty lone parents

support parents

public employment service

child poverty

disadvantaged parents

cost key barriers

poor transport

combination of factors