Popularity of New Deal masks hidden discontent among young Asians

Citation

(2002), "Popularity of New Deal masks hidden discontent among young Asians", Education + Training, Vol. 44 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2002.00444aab.002

Popularity of New Deal masks hidden discontent among young Asians

Popularity of New Deal masks hidden discontent among young Asians

The New Deal has proved popular with participants from the Asian communities in Oldham, but this popularity masks widespread distrust of the initiative among the large number of young people who avoid participation. These are the central findings of new ESRC-funded research by Dr Edward Fieldhouse and Dr Virinder Kalra, of the University of Manchester. Their interviews with young Asian people in Oldham show that New Deal participants are enthusiastic about the new personalized approach to helping them into work, as well as the opportunity for gaining skills, work experience and education. In contrast, non-participants doubt the ability of the New Deal to help them into work and view it as a means of manipulating unemployment figures.

Seventy-five mainly Pakistani and Bangladeshi young people gave a total of 130 semi-structured interviews at various stages of the New Deal. These interviews reveal that:

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  There was a general high level of orientation towards work among young people on the New Deal and the priority of the majority was to find a job.

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  The New Deal was initially viewed with enthusiasm. In particular, the personalized approach of the New Deal was almost universally welcomed. But a common criticism was the lack of contact with personal advisers once the options began.

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  New Deal options were perceived much more favourably than the Gateway. Participants on subsidized employment options were the most satisfied with their placement. The value of subsidized employment was not solely in terms of having a job, but also in improvements in employability. Confidence, work experience and job-specific skills were the main positive aspects identified by the respondents.

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  Graduates were the least satisfied with their placements, arguing that they were not geared to the kind of employment they wanted.

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  The full-time education and training option presented a welcome opportunity for some young people to follow an educational path and still be eligible for benefit.

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  Voluntary-sector and environmental task-force options were the least well received.

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  Many young people actively avoided the New Deal by finding unsubsidized employment, which was often poorly paid, or informal work. Non-participants were much more disaffected with the labour market and negative about the New Deal.

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  Not all employment is good employment. Some of the young people who were interviewed felt that they had been forced into badly paid or unsuitable employment.

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  Many young people who gained employment through the New Deal felt they had obtained (and sustained) employment through their own efforts. Young people were concerned to emphasize their own initiative, discipline and willingness to work hard, with the New Deal providing the right opportunity at the right time.

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  Many young people, and especially women, left the New Deal because of external factors such as the need to look after home or family, without finding employment. Yet they gained from the New Deal in terms of employability.

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  Positive labour-market outcomes were less common than perceived improvements in employability. Work experience (on New Deal options) was viewed as one of the major positive outcomes from participation.

The researchers conclude: "There are many pathways through the New Deal with individuals having a huge range of needs, barriers and expectations. Given this complexity, it is not altogether surprising that the personalized approach offered by the New Deal is so popular with young people. There are also clear advantages to participants in terms of the experience offered by the options and the opportunities that the New Deal presents with respect to further education. In these terms, the New Deal clearly represents a departure from previous schemes (such as YTS, the Youth Training Scheme) and has had a generally positive reception from participants. Two major caveats are highlighted. First, New Deal participants are not necessarily typical of the overall target client base. Second, employability does not necessarily lead to employment, especially in towns such as Oldham, which has historically seen racial segregation in the labour market.

Further information is available from Dr Edward Fieldhouse, on +44 161 275 7439, or e-mail: e.fieldhouse@man.ac.uk