1st Edition

Effective Interventions for Unemployed Young People in Europe Social Innovation or Paradigm Shift?

Edited By Tomáš Sirovátka, Henk Spies Copyright 2018
    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    224 Pages
    by Routledge

    Young people in Europe have been disproportionally affected by unemployment as a result of the economic crisis and a large number of the most disadvantaged are migrant youth, or those of a different ethnic origin, living in deprived city neighbourhoods. This book examines the need for more appropriate interventions aimed at improving the inclusion of young people in the labour market, bringing together theoretical reflections and empirical evidence on emerging innovative policies and practices.

    Using case studies from across Europe, it asks how effectively innovative interventions respond to the specific needs, motivations, aspirations and strategies of unemployed and vulnerable youth within the contextual conditions of the welfare state and locality. It also provides a new theory of the effectiveness of interventions.

    As social exclusion remains high among young people in Europe, Effective Interventions for Unemployed Young People in Europe is essential reading for policymakers and practitioners. This book demonstrates where we can look for effective innovative interventions and how these can potentially add up to large-scale social innovation. It is also a crucial resource for academics and students interested in social and labour inclusion measures.

    Chapter 1 - A new perspective on activating young people (Tomáš Sirovátka and Henk Spies)

    Chapter 2 - A theory of effective policies on social exclusion (Henk Spies)

    Chapter 3 - The Loft: Birmingham (Jill Robinson, Ajmal Hussain, Helen Higson and Gemma Commane)

    Chapter 4 - The Loft: Shelter of ideas in Athens (Maria Pothoulaki and Pyrros Papadimitriou)

    Chapter 5 - Learning by Working (Tomáš Sirovátka, Jana Válková and Ondřej Hora)

    Chapter 6 - Transfer of an integrated approach for the improvement of employment prospects among Roma youth in Sofia (Marko Hajdinjak)

    Chapter 7 - Entrepreneurs of their own lives: Buzinezzclub Rotterdam as an alternative route to the social inclusion of young people (Maarten Davelaar and Henk Spies)

    Chapter 8 - The Youth Employment Agency in Hamburg – a needs-oriented service innovation? (Anne-Marie Gehrke and Simon Güntner)

    Chapter 9 - Brightful in Malmö: Finding One’s Own Way (Jonas Alwall and Pia Hellberg Lannerheim)

    Chapter 10 - Comparing innovative policies and practices for activating young people (Tomáš Sirovátka, Henk Spies, Jana Válková and Ondřej Hora)

    Chapter 11 - Conclusions: towards a paradigm shift in activating young people (Tomáš Sirovátka, Jana Válková and Henk Spies)

    Biography

    Tomáš Sirovátka is a Professor of Social Policy at Masaryk University, where he is currently heading the Institute for Public Policy and Social Work. He is interested in analysing labour market and social inclusion policies, especially comparative research aimed at exploring the social policies in the Central European countries.

    Henk Spies is currently director of +Confidence, a SME involved in research, consultancy and training in the social sector, both domestically and internationally. He was a consultant on the reorganisation and development of new client approaches in social services in the Netherlands and Norway.

    'The book goes far beyond known facts when giving insights on innovative practice of activating labour market policies for young unemployed. The analysis of social projects to combat inequalities in different European cities provides a most inspiring view on success and failure. It infally underlines that policy intervention should not treat young people as a problem but as potentials.'  -  Irene Dingeldey, University of Bremen

     

    'Based on a critical review of mainstream activation approaches and building on debates about tailor-made, personalized activation services, this book elaborates the argument that the match between people’s needs/ambitions and the characteristics of interventions constitutes the core mechanism in making activation policies effective. By analyzing the theoretical principles underlying this mechanism, providing data from casestudies and discussing policy implications, the book offers stimulating reading for a broad audience.' -  Rik van Berkel, Utrecht University