The working years
The Brotherhood has identified paid work as critical to reducing the risk of social exclusion, while recognising that many people move in and out of the workforce for reasons of family responsibilities, economic change, further training or personal health. A large number of jobseekers and income support recipients could take up jobs if they received better support – and if decent, sustainable jobs were more readily available.
Our research focuses on understanding the risks that particular groups confront when seeking learning and employment opportunities, working with employers to develop new ways to manage diversity, advocating reform of the employment assistance system to provide more responsive and flexible support, developing place-based approaches to serve disadvantaged community members, and creating a clear line of sight for jobseekers to decent jobs.
Current research projects include:
Understanding employer barriers and benefits in taking on disadvantaged jobseekers
Contact Michael Horn mhorn@nullbsl.org.au
The Brotherhood is collaborating with the Melbourne Business School, through its Asia Pacific Social Impact Leadership Centre, in a two-year study of the factors affecting employers taking on disadvantaged jobseekers. This research, funded by the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, will use the integrated service model of the Brotherhood's Line of Sight strategy in the City of Yarra in inner Melbourne to investigate the attitudes and behaviour of employers and the barriers they face. The findings will be used to influence changes to labour market and workforce diversity policies to increase the take-up of disadvantaged jobseekers into work, thereby reducing welfare costs for governments and providing recruitment solutions for employers.
Risk and insecurity
Contact Dina Bowman dbowman@nullbsl.org.au
In a labour market characterised by a growth in casual or temporary jobs, risks have increasigly shifted to individuals and families. The risks associated with moving in and out of paid employment are unequally distributed and are shaped by factors such as gender, age, caring responsibilities and health or disability. In turn this 'risk shift' has unequal consequences, as people have unequal access to the resources to help manage the risks..
Centre for Work and Learning evaluation
Contact Michael Horn mhorn@nullbsl.org.au
The Centre for Work and Learning is a Brotherhood community employment initiative in inner Melbourne funded by the federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. It aims to deliver an integrated, client-centred response to high local unemployment. A baseline survey of public housing residents was undertaken to inform the service delivery. An evaluation of the Centre’s impact was implemented by Brotherhood researchers.
Reports
Lauren SIegmann 2010, Work and learning in Fitzroy, Richmond and Collingwood: survey of public housing residents (PDF file, 372 KB)
Research and Policy Centre 2012, Centre for Work and Learning Yarra evaluation report June 2012, (PDF file, 1 MB)
Learning and work for women in public housing
Contact Dina Bowman dbowman@nullbsl.org.au
Supported by the Victorian Women’s Benevolent Trust, the Making it Happen study was designed to help develop an innovative, gender-sensitive model to address the learning and work needs of women in public housing. Through research and interviews with the women and with front-line staff, the project identified issues that affect women’s ability to gain access to education and employment and pointed to approaches that will assist their economic, social and cultural participation. The project resulted in a toolkit with thee components.
Toolkit components
Dina Bowman and Loretta Mui 2012, Sorting it out: a framework for culturally responsive work and learning services for women (PDF file, 559 KB)
Dina Bowman and Loretta Mui 2012, Thinking it through: understanding culturally responsive work and learning services for women (PDF file, 711 KB)
See related resources on the Making it Happen section of the Brotherhood’s current awareness portal, BroCAP
Working Futures Initiative
Contact: Eve Bodsworth ebodsworth@nullbsl.org.au
The Working Futures Initiative investigated the level of financial support required to sustain Intermediate Labour Market social enterprises, businesses which operate in order to train, support and employ disadvantaged job seekers and assist them to find mainstream jobs. A report has been submitted to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Literature review
Danielle Nockolds 2012, Exploring success for intermediate labour market social enterprises:a literature review (PDF file, 205 KB).
Youth employment in Caroline Springs
Contact: Eve Bodsworth ebodsworth@nullbsl.org.au
The Youth Employment Project, funded through the Victorian Government’s New Workforce Partnerships program, has provided work experience, training and case management for ‘at risk’ young people in the growth corridor surrounding Caroline Springs in western Melbourne. Through a partnership between industry (with Delfin Lend Lease the lead partner), local government and community (including the Brotherhood of St Laurence), the project aims to provide a direct link between young people and employers, while also responding to local labour market needs and skill shortages. An evaluation has been undertaken by the Brotherhood’s Research and Policy Centre.
Eve Bodsworth 2012 Pathways that work: lessons from the Youth Employment Project in Caroline Springs (PDF file, 268 KB)
Flexicurity
Contact Paul Smyth psmyth@nullbsl.org.au
‘Flexicurity’ can be understood as a policy framework, well developed in Europe, to balance flexibility for employers (making it easier to hire and fire according to need) on the one hand, with improved unemployment benefits and training and assistance in regaining employment for workers on the other. The Brotherhood is investigating the relevance of flexicurity to the Australian context.
In June 2010, the Research and Policy Centre hosted a roundtable with participants from the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the federal government, as well as universities and the community sector.
Working paper
James Allebone 2010, Flexibility with security: driving a new compact down under? (PDF file, 206 KB)
Roundtable report and papers
Flexicurity and Australia roundtable report (PDF file, 368 KB)
Presentations and papers from the Flexicurity and Australia roundtable are also available.
Workforce participation of mature-age adults in Australia
Contact: Dina Bowman dbowman@nullbsl.org.au
Preliminary work on this theme included a quantitative analysis of data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) survey, undertaken by NATSEM, University of Canberra, and a qualitative study undertaken by the Brotherhood's Research and Policy Centre.
A three-year project, Understanding and Preventing Workforce Vulnerabilities in Midlife and Beyond, funded through an Australian Research Council grant, focuses on pathways and outcomes for mature-age people whose non-participation or under-participation in paid work is not their own choice. The findings will inform policy and practice to better target interventions and support for mature-age workers. Research partners are the University of Canberra, University of Melbourne, Jobs Australia and the Brotherhood of St Laurence.
Reports
Honge (Cathy) Gong and Justine McNamara 2011,
Workforce participation and non-participation among baby boomers in Australia: a profile from HILDA data, full report (PDF file, 340 KB) published by NATSEM
Dina Bowman and Helen Kimberley 2011, Sidelined! Workforce participation and non-participation among baby boomers in Australia (PDF file, 361 KB) Summary (PDF file, 131 KB)
Nicole Berrell 2011, Workforce participation and non-participation among baby boomers in Australia: a life-course outline and literature review (PDF file, 302 KB) research support document
Helen Kimberley and Dina Bowman 2011, 'Understanding mature-age workforce participation in Australia', in Tabatha Griffin and Francesca Beddie (eds) Older workers: research readings, NCVER, Adelaide.
Policy submission
Response to Grey areas: age barriers to work in Commonwealth laws (Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry) August 2012 (PDF file, 219 KB)
Pathways to employment for disadvantaged job seekers
Contact: Michael Horn mhorn@nullbsl.org.au
An important research focus for the Brotherhood has been providing evidence to support a new approach to employment assistance, to better address the multilayered barriers which people face to gaining employment. The Australian Government has recognised the need for reform in its reconfiguration of the Job Network into Job Services Australia. The Brotherhood will monitor the new system’s performance to ensure it is responsive and effective for disadvantaged job seekers.
Paper
Michael Horn 2008, Rethinking employment assistance to strengthen social and economic participation, paper presented to the 2008 Economic and Social Outlook Conference, Melbourne, 27 March (PDF file, 66 KB)
Book chapter
Bowman, D and Horn, M 2010, ‘The Australian experience of employment services: what have we learnt?’, in D Ben-Galim and A Sachrajda (eds), Now it’s personal: learning from welfare-to-work approaches around the world, Institute for Public Policy Research, London, pp.8–10.
Policy submissions
Sustainable outcomes for disadvantaged job seekers: submission to the Australian Government on the Future of Employment Assistance February 2008 (PDF file, 150 KB)
Submission to the Australian Government on the Future of Employment Services in Australia discussion paper June 2008 (PDF file, 65 KB)
Response to the Exposure Draft of the New Employment Services 2009–2012 Purchasing Arrangements August 2008 (PDF file, 42 KB)
Line of sight: better tailored services for highly diadvantaged job seekers, submission re future employment services from 2012 January 2011 (PDF file, 250 KB)
Presentation to Inquiry into Social Security Legislation Amendment (Job seeker compliance) Bill 2011 April 2011 (PDF file, 64 KB)
Job pathways: employment retention and advancement
Contact: Dina Bowman dbowman@nullbsl.org.au
This four-year study, supported by an Australian Research Council Linkage grant, aims to identify the factors that assist people who have been unemployed to retain jobs and build career paths. It considers the situation of disadvantaged groups such as Indigenous Australians, as well as sole parents and people with minor disabilities who have experienced long spells out of the workforce. The Brotherhood is a partner in this project with the University of Melbourne, the University of Bristol and the London School of Economics.
The findings will be important for employment policy development in Australia, indicating ways to improve the human capital of disadvantaged entrants to the labour market and thereby reduce long-term poverty and social exclusion.
Articles and papers
Dina Bowman 2011, ‘What would help people to gain and retain decent work? Research insights’, Brotherhood Comment, August, pp. 4–5. (PDF file, 310 KB)
Dina Bowman 2011, ‘What would help? Insights from low paid workers and disadvantaged jobseekers’, paper presented to the Australian Social Policy Conference, Sydney, 7 July.
Daniel Perkins, Lauren Tyrrell and Rosanna Scutella 2009, ‘Is career advancement important to disadvantaged jobseekers? Analysis of a large survey of disadvantaged jobseekers‘, paper presented to the Australian Social Policy Conference, 8–10 July.
Lauren Tyrrell 2009, ‘Getting ahead: is career advancement important to disadvantaged job seekers?’, Brotherhood Comment, August, pp. 4–5. (PDF file, 272 KB)
Lauren Tyrrell 2008, ‘Tracking employment progress: the Employment Retention and Advancement Project’, Brotherhood Comment, November, p. 9. (PDF file, 442 KB)
Daniel Perkins and Rosanna Scutella 2008, ‘Improving employment retention and advancement of low-paid workers’, Australian Journal of Labour Economics, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 97–114.
Associated report
Daniel Kuehnle and Rosanna Scutella 2011, Employment retention in the economic downturn, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (PDF file, 548 KB)