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Street-Level Practice, Personalisation and Co-Production in Employability: Insights from Local Services with Lone Parents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2019

Colin Lindsay ,
Sarah Pearson ,
Elaine Batty ,
Anne Marie Cullen  and
Will Eadson
Colin Lindsay
Affiliation:
Department of Work, Employment and Organisation, University of Strathclyde E-mail: colin.lindsay@strath.ac.uk
Sarah Pearson
Affiliation:
Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University E-mail: s.pearson@shu.ac.uk
Elaine Batty
Affiliation:
Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University E-mail: e.batty@shu.ac.uk
Anne Marie Cullen
Affiliation:
Scottish Centre for Employment Research, University of Strathclyde E-mail: anne.cullen@strath.ac.uk
Will Eadson
Affiliation:
Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University E-mail: w.eadson@shu.ac.uk
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Abstract

Policymakers in the UK have promised to deliver personalised employability services for vulnerable jobseekers. However, unemployed people often describe their engagement with state-funded services as defined by: the offer of low cost, standardised job search services; and pressure to accept any job, irrespective of quality or appropriateness. This article argues that more progressive, co-produced alternatives are possible. We draw on an evaluation of local, third sector-led services targeting lone parents (LPs) in five local government areas in Scotland. Our research involved more than 100 in-depth interviews with both service providers and LPs. We find that partnership-oriented co-governance mechanisms facilitated collaborative approaches to the management of services and processes of co-production. LPs expressed positive views of the personalised services that were co-produced. We conclude that a commitment to collaboration and co-production may be more effective in promoting personalised services that are responsive to the needs of vulnerable groups.

Keywords

Employabilityco-governanceco-managementco-productionactivation
Type
Themed Section: Rethinking Welfare-to-Work for the Long-Term Unemployed
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , October 2019 , pp. 647 - 658
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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