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Employer Participation in Active Labour Market Policy: from Reactive Gatekeepers to Proactive Strategic Partners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2018

MICHAEL ORTON ,
ANNE GREEN ,
GABY ATFIELD  and
SALLY-ANNE BARNES
MICHAEL ORTON
Affiliation:
Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL email: Michael.Orton@warwick.ac.uk
ANNE GREEN
Affiliation:
City-REDI, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT email: A.E.Green.1@bham.ac.uk
GABY ATFIELD
Affiliation:
Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL email: G.J.Atfield@warwick.ac.uk
SALLY-ANNE BARNES
Affiliation:
Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL email: Sally-Anne.Barnes@warwick.ac.uk
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Abstract

Active labour market policy (ALMP) is a well-established strategy but one aspect is greatly neglected – employer participation – about which there is a lack of systematic evidence. The question of why and how employers participate in ALMP, and whether there may be some shift from employers solely being passive recipients of job-ready candidates to having a more proactive and strategic role, is addressed by drawing on new research into Talent Match, a contemporary UK employability programme which places particular emphasis on employer involvement. The research findings point to a conceptual distinction between employers’ roles as being reactive gatekeepers to jobs and/or being proactive strategic partners, with both evident. It is argued that the Talent Match programme demonstrates potential to benefit employers, jobseekers and programme providers, with devolution of policy to the local level a possible way forward. The conclusion, however, is that the barrier to wider replication is not necessarily a problem of practice but of centralised control of policy and, in particular, commitment to a supply-side approach. Empirical, conceptual and policy contributions are made to this under-researched topic.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 48 , Issue 3 , July 2019 , pp. 511 - 528
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2018 

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