Active Labour Market Programmes in UK and Denmark – Employer critical and consider programs unsuited to their needs

This report presents findings from a comparative mixed methods study of employer engagement in active labour market programmes (ALMPs) in the UK and Denmark. The report focuses on findings from 103 in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews with employers and organisations delivering (ALMPs) (‘providers’) 3 in the UK 4 and Denmark.

 Employers in both countries were positively disposed towards unemployed candidates but were critical of ALMPs, which they considered unsuited to their needs.
 Employers felt that benefit conditionality and ALMPs could ‘tarnish’ candidates and were dissatisfied about receiving large numbers of job applications as a result of conditionality and entitlement conditions, particularly in the UK.
 UK employers were discouraged from engaging in ALMPs due to the large number of programmes and providers, lack of knowledge and clarity about their value and how to access them.
 Danish employers were more knowledgeable about ALMPs and positively disposed towards them but felt that they were not focused on hiring individuals into sustained, permanent employment.
 Employers considered themselves to be engaged when they felt committed towards ALMPs. In the UK, 23% of employers considered themselves to be engaged on an ‘instrumental’ (ad hoc) level and 33% on a ‘relational’ (in-depth, sustained) level. In Denmark the figures were, respectively, 35% and 40%.
 Danish employers had greater institutional trust in government policy and programmes. This translated into stronger inter-organisational trust (between employers and providers). Inter-personal trust (between individuals from employer and provider organisations) could augment this but was not crucial to employer engagement.
 By contrast, in the UK institutional trust was extremely weak, leaving more ‘gaps’ to be filled by providers through the development of inter-personal relationships with employers. However, although these relationships were critical to employer engagement, they were also fragile.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story @ Employer engagement in active labour market programmes | Centres and institutes | University of Leeds