Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-30T17:26:54.549Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Empowering Lone Parents to Progress towards Employability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2021

COLIN LINDSAY Open the ORCID record for COLIN LINDSAY [Opens in a new window] ,
SARAH PEARSON ,
ELAINE BATTY ,
ANNE MARIE CULLEN  and
WILL EADSON
COLIN LINDSAY
Affiliation:
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0QU email: colin.lindsay@strath.ac.uk
SARAH PEARSON
Affiliation:
Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB email: s.pearson@shu.ac.uk
ELAINE BATTY
Affiliation:
Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB email: e.batty@shu.ac.uk
ANNE MARIE CULLEN
Affiliation:
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0QU email: anne.cullen@strath.ac.uk
WILL EADSON
Affiliation:
Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield S1 1WB email: w.eadson@shu.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Policymakers in liberal welfare states like the UK have prioritised extending the reach of compulsory activation to target vulnerable jobseeker groups, such as lone parents. However, such interventions – especially when combined with intensified welfare conditionality – appear to have had limited positive effects on lone parents’ employability, while often negatively impacting wellbeing. This article argues that the problem is a disconnect between the complex barriers to employability faced by lone parents (including their need to balance work and caring) and the content of ‘work-first’ activation favoured by successive UK Governments. We report positive findings from in-depth interviews with lone parents and key stakeholders involved in more person-centred, non-compulsory local employability services. Multi-agency service delivery, collaborative governance and a clear role for user voice in programme design were important facilitators of positive experiences. Our analysis points to the need for services that empower lone parents to make choices to progress towards employment while supporting family life.

Type
Article
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 51 , Issue 4 , October 2022 , pp. 856 - 875
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Batty, E., Dayson, C., Eadson, W., Pearson, S., Sanderson, E., Lindsay, C. and Cullen, A.M. (2017), Making It Work: Final Evaluation, Sheffield: Sheffield Hallam University.Google Scholar
Campbell, M., Thomson, H., Fenton, C. and Gibson, M. (2016), ‘Lone parents, health, wellbeing and welfare-to-work: a systematic review of qualitative studies’, BMC Public Health, 16, 188, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Casebourne, J., Davies, M., Foster, S., Lane, P., Purvis, A. and Whitehurst, D. (2010), Lone Parent Obligations: Destinations of Lone Parents after Income Support Eligibility Ends, Sheffield: DWP.Google Scholar
CEC (Commission for the European Communities) (1999), The European employment strategy: investing in people: investing in more and better jobs, Luxembourg: Commission for the European Communities.Google Scholar
Crisp, R. and Powell, R. (2017), ‘Young people and UK labour market policy: a critique of ‘employability’ as a tool for understanding youth unemployment’, Urban Studies, 54, 8, 1784–1807.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duell, N., Thurau, L. and Vetter, T. (2016), Long-term unemployment in the EU, Gütersloh: B.Stiftung.Google Scholar
Evans, M., Eyre, J., Millar, J. and Sarre, S. (2003), New Deal for Lone Parents: Second Synthesis Report of the National Evaluation, Sheffield: DWP.Google Scholar
Feldman, G. and Schram, S. (2019), ‘Entrepreneurs of themselves: how poor women enact asset-building discourse’, Journal of Social Policy, 48, 4, 651–669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, A.E., de Hoyos, M., Barnes, S.A., Owen, D., Baldauf, B. and Behle, H. (2013), Literature review on employability, inclusion and ICT: the concept of employability, with a specific focus on young people, older workers and migrants, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Google Scholar
Guilbert, L., Bernaud, J.L., Gouvernet, B. and Rossier, J. (2016), ‘Employability: review and research prospects’, International Journal of Educational and Vocational Guidance, 16, 1, 69–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harkness, S. (2016), ‘The effect of employment on the mental health of lone mothers in the UK before and after New Labour’s welfare reforms’, Social Indicators Research, 128, 2, 763–791.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haux, T., Salman, D., Taylor, L.E., Deave, T., Cohen, S., Dewar, L. and Samelius, T. (2012), ‘A longitudinal qualitative study of the journeys of single parents on Jobseeker’s Allowance’, Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 20, 3, 337–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, R. (2007), ‘Job capability match, adviser skills and the five self-efficacy barriers to employment’, Journal of Occupational Psychology, Employment and Disability, 9, 1, 32–40.Google Scholar
Johnsen, S. and Blenkinsopp, J. (2018), Welfare Conditionality: Final Findings: Lone Parents, York: University of York.Google Scholar
Lindsay, C., Pearson, S., Batty, E., Cullen, A.M. and Eadson, W. (2019), ‘Street-level practice, personalisation and co-production in employability: insights from local services with lone parents’, Social Policy & Society, 18, 4, 647–658.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meager, N., Newton, B. and Sainsbury, R. (2014), Work Programme Evaluation: The Participant Experience Report, London: DWP.Google Scholar
McQuaid, R.W. and Lindsay, C. (2005), ‘The concept of employability’, Urban Studies, 42, 2, 197–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Millar, J. and Ridge, T. (2009), ‘Relationships of care: working lone mothers, their children and employment sustainability’, Journal of Social Policy, 38, 1, 103–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Millar, J. and Ridge, T. (2020), ‘No margin for error: fifteen years in the working lives of lone mothers and their children’, Journal of Social Policy, 49, 1, 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (1994), The OECD Jobs Study, Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
Orton, M., Green, A.E., Atfield, G. and Barnes, S.A. (2019), ‘Employer participation in active labour market policy: from reactive gatekeepers to proactive strategic partners’, Journal of Social Policy, 48, 3, 511–528.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rafferty, A. and Wiggan, J. (2017), ‘The time-related under-employment of lone parents during welfare reform, recession and austerity: a challenge to in-work conditionality’, Social Policy & Administration, 51, 3, 511–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Towaszewski, W., Chanfreau, J. and Barnes, M. (2010), Lone Parents and Employment: An Exploration of Findings from the Families and Children Study, 2006-2008, London: DWP.Google Scholar
Whitworth, A. (2013), ‘Lone parents and welfare-to-work in England: a spatial analysis of outcomes and drivers’, Social Policy & Administration, 47, 7, 826–845.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zenger, M., Berth, H., Brähler, E., and Stöbel-Richter, Y. (2013), ‘Health complaints and unemployment: the role of self-efficacy in a prospective cohort study’, Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 32, 1, 97–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar