New Insight is currently participating in a project concerning the development and evaluation of the efforts aimed at persons in match groups 4 and 5 (there are five categories in which the unemployed are placed according to their ability to match the demands on the labour market; with match group 1 consisting of those whose qualifications match the demands). The aim of the project is to ensure quality in the employment efforts aimed at persons who have problems other than unemployment. This will take place by developing and testing a tool to measure the effect and evaluate the efforts received by persons in match groups 4 and 5.

The common methods to measure effects such as degree of self-sufficiency and employment and education effect cannot capture the improvements that take place in the person's situation during many of the programmes that they participate in.

The measuring system must be able to capture the "intermediate stops" that the person makes in various types of activation programmes on his/her way to the labour market. Focus is on the progression that the person experiences by participating in various programmes. The ambition of the project is thus to develop new and quantifiable targets for the development taking place on the way.

The outcome of the project will be a system to measure effects that is close to practice and can capture the individuals' progression in relation to the labour market. The system will also develop indicators and methods of measuring that are close to practice and meaningful and that can capture the "small steps" that these persons are characterised by on their way to the labour market.

An important side effect of this work is that it may be used to qualify the dialogue between job centres and suppliers in the employment efforts in relation to the results that the job centres may expect from a given effort.

The project will also identify types of activation programmes and elements that further the person's way to the labour market in the form of upgrading or examining elements.

Finally, suppliers will be able to use the project to focus on whether the services, methods and initiatives started for persons in match group 4 and 5 in fact deliver the effects intended.

The project period runs from 2008 to 2010 and six suppliers in activation of persons in match group 4 and 5 participate in the development and test work. These are Væksthuset, Center for Beskæftigelse og Revalidering (in Randers), Integro, Dag- og Døgncentret, Center for Afklaring og Beskæftigelse in Copenhagen and Reva Trollesbro.

You can read more about the project (in Danish) on its website: www.jobeffekt.net

If you wish further information, please contact senior analyst Charlotte Hansen or analyst Martin Grønbæk Jensen.

Disse borgere er nemlig kendetegnet ved at tage små skridt på deres vej mod arbejdsmarkedet. Ambitionen er derfor at udvikle nye og kvantificerbare mål for udviklingen, der indfanger de mange ”mellemstationer”, som borgeren gennemløber i forskellige typer af aktiveringsprojekter.

Der er derfor fokus på den progression, som borgeren gennemgår. Resultatet bliver et praksisnært effektmålingssystem, der kan indfange alle de forskellige elementer i denne gradvise vej mod arbejdsmarkedet.

Samtidig har udviklingsarbejdet også en vigtig sideeffekt. Resultaterne kan nemlig anvendes til at kvalificere dialogen mellem jobcentre og aktører og leverandører inden for beskæftigelsesindsatsen om hvilke resultater, som jobcentrene kan forvente af en given indsats.

Projektet vil samtidig pege på typer af aktiveringsprojekter og elementer, der fremmer borgerens vej til arbejdsmarkedet i form af opkvalificerende eller afklarende elementer.

Endelig vil projektet kunne anvendes af leverandører til at fokusere på, hvorvidt de ydelser, metoder og tiltag, der iværksættes for borgerne i den ny matchgruppe 2, også leverer de tiltænkte effekter.