The role of vocational education and training in welfare to work

The Welfare to Work initiative aims to move people from income support to paid work. While the primary emphasis of this policy has been on getting people into jobs, many of those targeted need to engage in training in order to get sustainable employment; this poses a new challenge to vocational education and training (VET) providers.

The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) commissioned two studies to investigate the role of VET in welfare to work: one by Kate Barnett and John Spoehr called Complex not simple: The vocational education and training pathway from welfare to work, which can be found at http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications.1987.html and this report, The role of vocational education and training in welfare to work by John Guenther and colleagues. This report is based on 62 interviews with welfare clients, training providers, government agencies and enterprises, and will be of most interest to those who are directly dealing with the clients of the Welfare to Work programs.

The report focuses on what makes training programs effective for the target groups in the transition to employment and points out that there are many challenges to be faced—notably the personal circumstances of the clients and the constraints associated with contractual obligations and funding arrangements.

Key messages

Effective transitional programs must address the needs of the speci?c client groups. They must:

• develop employability skills
• involve considerable pastoral care from the training providers
• provide on-the-job experience and preferably a career pathway
• be ?exible and allow for the personal constraints of the clients, for example, transport, childcare and illness.

Tom Karmel
Managing Director, NCVER

In the 2005–06 federal budget the Welfare to Work policy was implemented and took effect from 1 July 2006. This initiative is driven by a desire to reduce dependency on income support payments by moving those who are considered able, or potentially able, into paid employment. Parents of children over the age of six receiving the Parenting Payment , long-term unemployed people, mature-age people on the Newstart Allowance and people receiving the Disability Support Pension are the groups targeted by this policy.

The Welfare to Work initiative is responding to: an ageing population and the economic impact of this, particularly in relation to skills and employment; a perception that a significant number of very long-term unemployed people have the capacity to work; steep increases over the long term in the number of Parenting Payment and Disability Support Pension recipients; and significant and sustained skills shortages in some occupations.

The initiative focuses on ‘helping people move into work’ and includes a mix of increased obligations and compliance tests, together with a range of additional services to assist those making the transition from welfare to work. While the Welfare to Work initiative is described as a ‘work first’ approach—that is, the priority is getting people into work rather than preparing them for work— training is acknowledged as having a role to play in assisting some people to get ready for work.

But where does training really fit into this policy initiative? How ready and able is the vocational education and training (VET) sector to respond to the growing numbers of people who are now required to look for work, many of whom have low skill levels and may be disadvantaged in the labour market for a number of reasons. What are the barriers to people engaging in training as they move from welfare to work? What are providers already doing in response to these issues? This research attempts to answer these questions and offers some guidance for VET stakeholders— training providers, policy-makers, trainees and employment service providers—about these issues.

This research uses a mixed methods approach, combining case study techniques, numerical data and empirical observations. The researchers have compiled a ‘statistical profile’ of key training and employment indicators for Welfare to Work priority groups. These have been used to inform an analysis of qualitative data derived from a series of semi-structured interviews with clients, training providers, government agencies and enterprises—each with an interest in Welfare to Work and training—across six sites in South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria. A total of 62 interviews were conducted. The research was undertaken in the early months of the implementation of the Welfare to Work initiative, between June 2006 and February 2007.

Summary of findings

A set of profiles was developed to show employment, qualifications and VET participation rates for each of the Welfare to Work groups in every Australian state and territory. The profiles show that people with disabilities are relatively under-represented for all indicators shown. That is, their participation in the labour force, their participation in vocational education and training and their qualification levels are all lower than might be expected in the general population. The profiles show that mature-aged people are well represented in terms of vocational qualifications. However, the profiles do not show us how relevant or up to date their qualifications are, and it is difficult to say whether more training is a priority for this group. In terms of VET, lone parents are well represented among students. The proportion of lone parents with VET qualifications is high, but analysis shows that this group is more likely to achieve certificate I and II qualifications (and also less likely to achieve bachelor qualifications) than the population as a whole.

Six intervention cases highlight different aspects of training in Welfare to Work contexts from a variety of stakeholder perspectives.

Case 1: Mature-aged trainees in a TAFE course
This case identifies a range of prerequisite needs for a particular group of clients. These needs are described in terms of the importance of a supportive learning environment, flexible training provision, an interactive system of teaching and learning, and training that leads directly to a job.

Case 2: Parents in a Work for the Dole program
This case reports on the challenges faced by mutual obligation service providers and the tensions in supporting students to achieve learning outcomes, while at the same time meeting the sometimes competing requirements of the funding body.

Case 3: Perceptions of two disability support services
This case contrasts two different approaches taken by providers, with both approaches being described as having merit. The first focuses on the needs of clients in a case-managed process. The second relies on achieving outcomes within the ‘work first’ framework set out for Job Network members.

Case 4: Perspectives of training providers working with mature-aged clients
This case highlights the high degree of diversity that exists within the client group and the importance of ensuring that training responds to the group’s multiple needs.

Case 5: How enterprise registered training organisations respond
This case explores how enterprise registered training organisations can facilitate positive outcomes for clients who are disadvantaged in terms of employment opportunities. It highlights a model that shows signs of success outside the Job Network system.

Case 6: Policy perspectives
This case reports the views of Australian Government department heads to articulate the overarching policy expectations held of the VET sector in the context of the Welfare to Work strategy. The case highlights the significance of a ‘work first’ agenda as a key element of the strategy.

The research reveals that training can be an effective tool in the pathway from welfare dependency to employment. Effective transitional training programs were those that:

• support the development of a range of employability skills
  
  
• include the active support of the provider, for example, through follow-up and one-to-one attention
  
  
• provide on-the-job experience and build career pathways
  
  
• are flexible, not only in terms of training provision, but also take into account needs of children, adapting to illnesses and disabilities, and being mindful of transport constraints.

In the context of Welfare to Work, providers and clients face a number of challenges before they can effectively engage in learning that supports skills for the workforce. For clients, barriers associated with transport, child care, health, the competing pressures of the needs of children, the demands of Centrelink and, sometimes, feelings of inadequacy all contribute to a diminished desire to undertake training. For service providers (including Job Network members, Work for the Dole programs and training providers), barriers such as contractual obligations, ‘red tape’, participant behaviour and a struggle to find adequate and appropriate resources contribute to difficulties providing an environment where skills for vulnerable labour market entrants can be delivered.

Several changes need to occur at a variety of levels to raise the profile of training in the Welfare to Work initiative. First, key performance indicators and star ratings—a way of rating the performance of employment service providers—for Job Network members and Work for the Dole providers must change to reflect the importance of skills acquisition among the Welfare to Work target groups. Second, employers need additional incentives to encourage them to provide a combination of formal and non-formal training to vulnerable new labour market entrants. Third, employment-disadvantaged people require a lot more intensive support to encourage them to overcome the multiple barriers they face when looking for work. A case management approach that deliberately includes skills development should be incorporated. This will require additional resources. However, the costs involved are potentially offset because the likelihood that these people will remain unemployed or underemployed for extended periods of time is reduced. Fourth, in order to meet the anticipated needs of the growing number of Welfare to Work labour market entrants, the VET sector needs a coordinated response to assess the likely skills needs and training demand for this group. Finally, the VET sector needs to work collaboratively with other specialist training providers to provide a range of training options tailored for the particular needs of employment-disadvantaged groups.