Towards sustainable re-employment for low-skilled labour: new paradigms and policy options

The OECD notes that 'Welfare-to-Work' (WtW) active labour market policies are failing to meet the needs of low-skilled labour market re-entrants. The paper identifies possible reasons for this policy shortfall. The pervasive influence of the promotion of up-skilling as a panacea for labour market inequality is noted as is the impact of other economic orthodoxies on labour market programs, an outcome being the rewarding of placement outcomes, not sustainable employment outcomes. Job sustainability goals are focused heavily on the alignment of labour re-entry opportunities with skill shortages. However, the development needs of participants in environments characterised by 'job churn' and demand for labour market flexibility need greater attention. Adherence to certain economic orthodoxies, manifest in the types of Government labour market interventions, is preventing knowledge and learning being transferred between labour market programs to inform innovative approaches to creating employment for low-skilled labour. The paper identifies the heuristic value of the Business Services program for developing employment for people with disabilities through a dual focused business model that supports disadvantaged groups through training and experiential learning, whilst capitalising on commercial opportunities for flexible and adaptive forms of labour use. The increasing importance to many businesses of Corporate Social Responsibility drivers and Triple Bottom Line accountability provides opportunities for these dual focused businesses to seek new forms of engagement with industry in a commercially viable manner.