What comes first: housing or employment? - Jeremy Swain
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The document discusses the relationship between housing and employment for service users, indicating that a significant percentage believe employment can lead to better outcomes. It outlines various UK initiatives aimed at improving employment opportunities for the homeless, while highlighting the barriers such as poor skill sets and weak employer links. The report notes an overall favorable job market in the UK but addresses the cultural and organizational challenges that prevent homeless individuals from finding and retaining jobs.
What comes first: housing or employment? - Jeremy Swain
- 1. What Comes First – Housing or Employment? Jeremy Swain October 2007
- 2. Why the change? Responding to needs of service users 21% want to work 5% working already not able to work 74%
- 3. Belief that employment can help in achieving other outcomes Housing Social networks Self–esteem and confidence
- 4. UK initiatives Hostel Capital Improvement Programme – a bed and a reason to get out of it Transitional Spaces Project – financial incentives to take up work and move into the private rented sector Working Futures – scheme to reduce the level of rent in expensive accommodation to bring it within reach of people in low paid work
- 5. What’s not the problem? There are jobs in the UK – more jobs than at any time since 1971 Retail 41 Hotel/catering 96 Professional/business services 238 Other services 74 Forecast for 2000-2010 by sector/occupation (000s)
- 6. Service users’ aspirations are not unreasonable Job preferences 9% 22% 14% Construction Administration Catering/porter Care work P&D 8% Others (includes retail/IT/security/electrical) Don’t know/did not specify 9% 32% 6% The most popular job choices are admin/office work followed by construction, care work and catering
- 7. Barriers Poor skills set 14% have skills need skills 50% don’t know 36%
- 8. Weak link with employers ‘The most successful labour market programmes appear to be those which actively involve or engage employers, both in delivery and design’ What works with tackling worklessness: review prepared for the London Development Agency – September 2006
- 9. Level of need amongst some homeless people Reasons for leaving last job 19% 27% I got ill Not kept on – problems Couldn’t cope with the work Skills no longer needed Made redundant 18% I went to prison Did not make economic sense 17% Other 2% 3% No answer 7% 1% 6% The length of time people had not worked varied widely: from 2 months to 30 years. The average time since last working was quite long — approximately 9 years.
- 10. Housing Costs Average rent in England £58 - £123 week Minimum wage - £5.35 an hour In-work benefits are still inflexible However…. People are still financially better off in work (by on average £46/week)
- 11. Cultural barriers within the homelessness sector Low expectations that homeless people can keep a job Priority around maximising ‘out of work’ benefits Few organisational outcomes around employment Homeless organisations don’t even employ homeless people themselves!