Long-term Unemployed Youth Research Articles

Bridging gaps, building futures: evaluating a multinational’s employment programme vs. work-first for youth with diverse education levels

ABSTRACT In the Netherlands, public work-first support tends to cause unemployed young people to exit into primarily non-standard jobs. A worldwide-renowned Dutch company, Royal Philips, has offered since the mid-1980s a two-year lasting work experience and vocational training programme to long-term unemployed youth as an alternative to public work-first support. This quasi-experimental study uses data from the company programme's participants and national longitudinal register data for the matched control group receiving public work-first support. The present study observes the employment impact of this private company's employment programme compared to the public programme for inadequately skilled youth (aged 16–35) by education level. Participants’ employment levels are compared with a carefully matched public work first-subjected control group up to a maximum of ten years later. Fixed-effects panel regression models show that, due to its upskilling and work experience features, the employment programme positively affects sustained wage-fitted employment over ten years compared with the control group subjected to public work-first support. The programme's employment effect associated with upskilling is achieved notably with low-educated participants who received vocational training. In contrast, participating high-educated young people seem to profit from human capital and signalling effects.

I’ve Changed, I’m Smarter: Empowering Youth to Thrive Neurosequential Approach to Employment, Education and Training Outcomes for Youth

This paper explores the impact of a neurosequential brain development approach on employment, education and training outcomes of vulnerable long-term unemployed youth, aged 15-24 years. The Empowering Youth to Thrive (EYTT) program utilises neuroscience research, which underpin varied creative and sensory and regulatory experiences used to engage youth in social and emotional learning. The aim is to enhance brain pathways to increase youth’s higher order thinking functions such as problem solving, communication and critical thinking skills. These are considered necessary attributes for positive engagement in the current and future workforce. A bricolage methodology was used to evaluate the impact of the program, with findings determining the EYTT program had benefits for participants in gaining successful training, education and/or employment opportunities.

Long-Term Youth Unemployment: Evidence from Turkish Household Labour Force Survey

Long-term unemployment has been discussed in academic studies as a cause for both scarring effect on young people and their future. In this context, examining differences between long-term unemployed youth and adults requires a perspective that consolidates an analysis of demographic and work-related factors; however, there are a limited number of systematic works distinguishing long-term unemployment between youth and adults. To address this gap, this study aims to present a logistic regression analysis that examines the differences between youth and adults in the relationship between long-term unemployment and demographic and work-related variables, by using the micro-data from 2016 Turkish Household Labour Force Survey. The results of the study reveal that the lack of qualifications and work experience and the desire to work in full-time jobs and in semi-skill occupations, as well as the inter-regional disparities in terms of economic development, are the main driving factors that increase the likelihood of young people becoming long-term unemployed. Also, a university or postgraduate degree does not guarantee young people protection against long-term unemployment.

Why do Young People Give up Their Job Search?

The decision to search or not to search for work is usually considered a purely individual choice. However, this is a simplistic view, which ignores important structural and situational aspects of job search behaviour. This article discusses the reasons why long-term unemployed youth in Finland give up their search for work or a student place. The data comprise 28 life course interviews that were analysed by means of content analysis. The data show that young people’s job seeking behaviour is greatly influenced by how they view their labour market position and prospects. Job search abandonment is often temporary and young people soon resume their search because of the expectations of the society around them and their willingness to find work. The young people interviewed provided rational, emotional and life value reasons for their decision to suspend their job search. The article offers a deeper understanding of youths’ job search behaviour.

Development of a Resilience Enhancement Education Program for Long-term Unemployed Young man Based on Adler Individual Psychology

본 연구의 목적은 Adler 개인심리학에 근거하여 장기 미취업 청년을 위한 회복탄력성 증진 교육 프로그램을 개발하는 것이다. 회복탄력성 증진 교육 프로그램의 목표는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 자기 자신의 감정·사고·행동에 대한 자기 조절력을 키운다. 둘째, 열등감을 감소시키고 자신의 자원을 인식할 수 있도록 긍정성을 강화한다. 셋째, 사회적 관심을 조장하여 대인관계능력을 향상시키는 것을 목표로 한다. 교육내용은 장기 미취업 청년의 자아탄력성 증진을 위해 자기조절력, 긍정성, 대인관계능력의 3개 주제와 감정조절력, 충동통제력, 원인분석력, 자아낙관성, 생활만족도, 감사하기, 소통능력, 공감능력, 자아확장력과 같은 총 9개의 하위 활동을 선정하였다. 교수-학습방법은 Adler 개인심리학의 치료적·교육적 접근에 따라 관계형성, 심리적 탐색, 해석, 재정향이라는 4단계를 거치는 수업 모형을 적용하여 개발하였으며, 구안학습, 발견·탐구학습, 협동학습을 적용하여 교육적인 접근을 보다 강조했다. 이러한 개발 결과를 토대로 본 교육 프로그램은 다양한 기관에서 활용할 수 있는 방안 및 제안들을 도출하였다.The purpose of this study is to develop a resilience enhancement education program for Long-term unemployed young man based on Adler Individual psychology. The goals of the Resilience Enhancement Education Program are as follows. First, it raises self-control over one`s feelings, thoughts and actions. Second, it strengthens positiveness to reduce inferiority and recognize its own resources. Third. it aims to improve interpersonal skills by facilitating social interest. The contents of the training have three topics like self-control, positive and interpersonal abilities for ego resilience of Long-term unemployed youth man which are selected a total 9 sub-activities such as empathy control, impulse control, causal analysis, self-optimism, life satisfaction, auditing, communication ability, empathy and self-efficacy. The teaching-learning method was developed by applying a class model through 4-steps; relationship formation, psychological exploration, interpretation and reestablishment in accordance with the therapeutic and educational approach of Adler Individual psychology also it emphasized the educational approach by applying the concept learning, discovery, inquiry learning and cooperative learning. Based on the results of these developments, we have drawn up plans and proposals to operate the program in various institutions.

Business Model Choice for Latvian Public Employment Service: What is the Best for Labour Force Competitiveness?

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of advantages and disadvantages of different business models for public employment services (hereafter - PES) aiming to determine the model most suitable for the Latvian labour markets.The study identifies strengths and weaknesses of performance monitoring systems applied by Latvian, Estonian and Danish PES, especially in the area of the implementation of active labour market policies and suggests a set of indicators which may be used for evaluation of PES influence on the performance of the labour market in light of the EU growth strategy “Europe 2020”.The study starts with a review of the theoretical and empirical literature on the impact of the design of the PES performance management on the labour demand and level of unemployment. The literature will provide theoretical framework for extensive evaluation of the business models of Latvian, Estonian and Danish PES. In-depth cross-country comparisons will make a stronger case for conclusions about the impact of different labour market policies instruments on the labour market in general and on specific target groups such as long-term unemployed and unemployed youth.

Integration of Young People into the Latvian Labour Market

Abstract The research deals with the question of how different resources affect the labour market integration of the long-term unemployed youth. The main hypothesis it advances is that the youth who have access to different resources will find more stable jobs or develop their own business after unemployment than those lacking such different kinds of support. In making the education and employment decisions during the transition from school to work, there is strong evidence of the importance for young people to make good initial career decisions and an enduring effect of academic achievement on labour market and education outcomes. This research is based on scientific discussion of different author opinions and survey results of young people as well as on views on the future vision of authors.

Welfare institutions, resources, and political learning. Interacting with the State as an Incentive for the Political Participation of Long-Term Unemployed Youth

This paper examines the impact of interactions with welfare institutions on the political partici-pation of long-term unemployed youth in two cities. We assess the role of resource redistribution and of political learning on engagement in protest activities. We use a unique dataset of long-term unemployed youth to predict the probability that long-term unemployed youth participate in protest activities and be-come politically alienated as a result of their interactions with the state. Our study suggests that the impact of staid aid on political participation comes from providing services through the unemployment office and the social aid office rather than from direct payments. However, we do not find strong evidence revealing a process of political learning, as political alienation does not seem to mediate the effect of interactions with the state on protest. The most important finding of our study is that the connection between welfare insti-tutions and political learning is context-dependent. We find a differential effect of interactions with the unemployment office and with the social aid office across cities.

Subjective Well-Being and Political Participation: A Comparison of Unemployed and Employed Youth

In this paper I analyze the role of subjective well-being in unemployed and employed youth political participation. Research shows that life satisfaction increases participation in voting, but has no effect on protest activities when looking at the overall population. However, in the case of youth, life dissatisfaction fosters the potential for protest activities. Since unemployment is detrimental for the subjective well-being of individuals, especially when long-lasting, I ask whether the reduced subjective well-being of long-term unemployed youth, their life dissatisfaction, fosters their participation in two forms of voice-based participation—contacting and protest activities—that can be used to express their dissatisfaction. I find that life dissatisfaction fosters the participation of employed youth in contacting activities, but not that of unemployed youth. Quite on the contrary, for protest activities, it is life satisfaction that fosters participation of the unemployed youth.

Are CBT interventions effective with disadvantaged job-seekers who are long-term unemployed?

Research into effective interventions for the negative psychological impacts of long-term unemployment has been sparse. One intervention, based on cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), has been successfully implemented in two studies with long-term unemployed professionals and youth. Can these findings be generalized to disadvantaged job-seekers who are long-term unemployed? Local support services for unemployed people located within disadvantaged areas in Sydney were approached to recruit volunteer participants. Participants were assigned in random blocks to a brief group CBT training programme or a non-CBT skills-based comparison programme. Telephone administered questionnaires completed before each course and 12 weeks later assessed psychological health variables (general mental health, self-esteem, hopelessness, optimism, self-efficacy) and success in job finding. Analyses are based on the 57 CBT group participants and 43 comparison group participants who completed 12-week follow-up assessments. Both groups reported improvements in psychological health variables at 12 weeks. Improvements in optimism and hopelessness were greater for the comparison group than the CBT group. This study was unable to replicate the benefits of CBT-based programmes for disadvantaged long-term unemployed job-seekers. The difficulties and limitations of disseminating effective interventions to unemployed groups who are most disadvantaged using existing support services are discussed.

Improving mental health status and coping abilities for long-term unemployed youth using cognitive-behaviour therapy based training interventions

This paper reports on immediate and long-term well-being outcomes for a group of long-term unemployed youth who attended specially devised training courses based on the cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) model. The courses were aimed specifically at improving the mental health of participants, and providing them with coping skills to deal better with the negative consequences of prolonged unemployment. Results for participants were compared with a waiting-list, control group. Outcomes investigated were well-being (psychological distress, self-esteem, positive and negative affect), and coping behaviours (social support, self care, recreation, and cognitive coping strategies). Behavioural plasticity effects were also examined by comparing outcomes for participants who had higher distress scores prior to the course with participants who reported lower scores at that time. Immediate benefits were identified for both mental health and coping behaviours, and many of these benefits persisted into the long term. Participants with higher levels of pre-course psychological distress improved more than their low distressed counterparts, supporting the behavioural plasticity hypothesis. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Predisposing factors and consequences of occupational status for long-term unemployed youth: a longitudinal examination

In a longitudinal study, long-term unemployed youth were assessed at T1 on measures of psychological health (self-esteem and psychological distress), general ability and literacy levels. At T2, three occupational groups were established (those employed at T2, those continuously unemployed between T1-T2 and those unemployed at T2 who had been in the paid work force between T1-T2). These three groups were examined, first in relation to predisposing factors for occupational status, and second in relation to psychological health consequences of occupational status. Psychological health was not identified as a predictor of occupational status. Reductions in psychological distress occurred at T2 for the employed group only. No changes occurred in self-esteem for any group. General ability, literacy levels and length of unemployment were identified as predisposing factors for occupational status. Those with higher general ability, better literacy and shorter periods of unemployment at T1 were more likely to be employed at T2.

Neuroticism and mental health outcomes for long-term unemployed youth attending occupational skills training programs

This paper reports on short-term mental health outcomes for long-term unemployed youth who attended 16 week occupational training programs in Australia. Outcomes for 30 participants were compared with 52 waiting-list control subjects. Results were also analysed controlling for the independent variable of neuroticism to determine the influence of personality on outcomes. Courses were government funded Youth Conservation Corps programs, and consisted of work experience in National Parks (70%), and class-room training (30%). Measures used were the Rosenberg (1965) self-esteem scale, the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg, 1972, 1978), and the 12-item neuroticism scale from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck, Eysenck & Barrett. 1985). The courses resulted in significant improvements in self-esteem for participants, but not reductions in psychological distress. High pre-course levels of neuroticism were associated with poorer well-being for all subjects. For participants, post-course psychological distress scores, but not self-esteem scores, remained associated with neuroticism. Level of neuroticism was not related to well-being outcomes. Implications are that well-being is related to personality as well as situational and personal agency variables.