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ANNEX A: IN-WORK SUPPORT AND JOB SUSTAINABILITY: A BRIEF REVIEW

1 Introduction

This literature review was commissioned by the Scottish Executive as part of the evaluation of two job retention and employment sustainability programmes, one run by the Wise Group and the other by One Plus. The brief review was designed to provide relevant, up-to-date evidence from research as to 'what works?' with regard to the provision of pre and post-employment support, and the associated impact on job retention and advancement. The review was to include any relevant information, but with a specific focus on Scotland.

Context

Over £500 million is being invested every year to improve Scottish people's employability to help Scottish people pursue a lifestyle 'free of poverty' (one of the Closing the Opportunity Gap aims). The latest strategy document - Workforce Plus - outlines the Scottish Executive's approach to developing an employability strategy for Scotland, to ensure that people are able to pursue employment and move out of poverty and dependency. The strategy places a clear emphasis on the importance of job retention and sustainability, which is one of the six key themes identified:

• early interventions;
• client focused interventions;
• employer engagement;
• sustaining and progressing employment;
• joined up planning and delivery of services; and
• better outcomes.

The strategy also highlights the need for 'an improvement in the job retention and progression rates for those entering employment' (Scottish Executive, 2006, page 19). In order to do this, the Executive are placing a priority on examining progress to date, to determine the effectiveness and impact of different types of interventions, targeted at different client groups - of which the OnePlus retention programme and the Wise Group's Next Steps programme are two. There is also an increasing 'focus on providing support for people who need it after they have started in work' (op cit, p.30). However, despite an increasing number of job retention initiatives being developed, both here in the UK and overseas, relatively little is known about 'what works?', 'for whom?', 'how' and 'when'? The purpose of this review is to provide a brief overview about what is already known about job retention support. The review is not intended to be a comprehensive study of the entire field ¹ but to provide the 'scene setting' for the subsequent evaluation of the two job retention programmes in question.

Neither does the review set out the reasons why job retention can be particularly challenging for new entrants to work, or for those who have been away from the labour market for significant periods of time. However, it is useful to consider briefly the main types of barriers (usefully outlined in the Workforce Plus strategy document).

The report found that the many barriers to sustainable employment can be divided into three groups:

• Structural Barriers: Barriers such as the cost, availability or ease of access to services and benefits, as well as the state of the local labour market;
• Attitudinal Barriers: Including the attitudes and recruitment practices of employers, or of carers and support workers (institutional or family) whose low expectations may lead to low levels of support or inappropriate support; and
• Personal Barriers: The circumstances, skills and attitudes of the workless individual themselves, including fear of losing benefits, low self-esteem, an inability to self-motivate, a lack of skills, poor health, caring responsibilities, poor employment record and/or a lack of mobility/willingness to travel (Scottish Executive, 2006).

The remainder of this section outlines the method adopted for the review, and the report structure.

Review methodology and parameters

The review builds on previously conducted reviews of evidence in this policy area (Kellard et al 2002, and Johnson et al 2002), but includes evidence published up until early 2006. The review is brief in its form (being conducted in ten days), although full references are provided towards the end of the report.

The review parameters and terms of reference agreed with the Scottish Executive are as follows:

• to focus on evidence from 2000 onwards
• to include Scottish, UK and International data
• to avoid the use of strict systematic criteria.

The following search engines or search 'tools' were used:

• Google
• Google Scholar
• www.sosig.ac.uk
• www.bubl.ac.uk
• ASSI (search database)
• Yahoo
• Athens - journal/book/newspaper search

In addition, trawls were made of the websites of organisations which were known to have conducted or published labour market programme evaluations, including:

• Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• www.scotland.gov.uk
• Future Skills Scotland
• Abt Associates ( US)
• The Urban Institute ( US)
• Policy Studies Institute
• Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation ( US)
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion
• Jobcentre Plus
• NHS
• Institute for Employment Studies

In conducting the search, the following search terms were used:

• job or employment or in-work or help or support or post-employment and:
• retention
• advancement
• sustain*
• sustain
• advancement

A note on the findings of the evidence review

Most of the research evidence is drawn from UK literature. In the UK there has been increased emphasis on policies to support people not only to make the transition into work but to remain, and progress, in the labour market. Indeed, most of the New Deal family of labour market policies include some measure of job retention (albeit generally at a relatively crude 13 week measure). In addition, there have also been some pilot initiatives that have focused on retention, notably the Employment Retention and Advancement ( ERA) programme and the Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot ( JRRP) .

A proportion of the evidence uncovered for this review comes from the United States, where job retention policy is more advanced than in most other countries. One of the reasons for this is because receipt of the main means-tested income support for families - TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) - is time limited.

There is a limited amount of evidence from other countries such as Canada, but whilst it is known that other non-English speaking countries also have placed increased emphasis on encouraging sustained employment, it is difficult to both identify or retrieve evidence in this area.

Report structure

The remainder of this report provides an overview of evidence under the following headings:

• Combining pre and post-employment support (Section 2)
• Post-employment support service delivery (Section 3)
• Financial support and job retention (Section 4)
• Helping clients to find a good 'job match' (Section 5)
• Work preparation, training and skills development (Section 6)
• Workplace mentoring (Section 7)
• The role of employers in job retention and post-employment support (Section 8)
• 'Take-up of post-employment support (Section 9)
• Interventions targeted to those 'at risk' of losing a job (Section 10)

A final comment is provided in Section 11. References and further reading are provided at the end of the review.

2 Combining Pre and Post-employment Support

There is evidence to suggest that job retention is highest when pre-employment interventions dovetail with post-employment support:

Evidence from the United States clearly shows that 'programmes that have achieved the highest job retention rates have incorporated post-employment services into pre-employment programmes' (Johnson, 2002). Summarising the findings of Cancian and Meyer (2000 but using data from 1987 to 1992), Johnson highlights that job retention rates improved if;

• Welfare recipients are initially placed in the best jobs possible - 'the higher the initial job, the higher the wages are at a later stage' (Strawn and Martinson, 2001)
• 'Systematic support is provided in the first few months of a job to deal with crises and the transition to work'
• Welfare recipients are encouraged to 'move on to their next job (and better job) as soon as possible'

This study utilised data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth ( NLSY), which was a nationally representative survey of more than 5000 young women. Respondents were asked to provide information on jobs that they had held in the previous year, such as dates, titles, hours worked, earnings during the year etc. Cancian and Meyer gathered information regarding five years of economic status from 984 women that had left Aid to Families with Dependent Children ( AFDC) before they were 21 years old.

Lessons learnt from the Post Employment Service Demonstration (which failed to have anything other than very small effects on job retention, advancement or self-sufficiency) include the importance of seeing post-employment support as a continuum, and one that begins prior to job entry (Ranjaran, 2002)

Earlier evaluation of the One Plus Sustainable Employment pilot project (Scott et al, 2005) indicated that support that extended from pre to post employment was a positive feature of the programme to help to ease the transition into work and to provide an element of continuity of support.

However, other evidence, as a result of qualitative data gathered in two waves from key actors associated with NDDP Job Broker services operating in different areas across England, Scotland and Wales, also suggests that low take up of post-employment support can be related to clients' desire to disassociate themselves from any assistance they received whilst they were unemployed, because of concerns about stigma as well as simply wanting to 'move on' independently (Lewis et al, 2005).

3 Post-employment support service delivery

Research has consistently shown that clients value the 'personal adviser' model to the provision of support, whereby clients are allocated to a named adviser who they can then work with over time, developing rapport and building up knowledge of individual circumstances and support needs.

A 'case management' approach to the provision of job retention and in-work support services implies that advisers work with a 'caseload' of clients, so that the client may work directly with one named adviser who then co-ordinates various support needs and interventions as well as providing one-to-one support as needed. The evidence on the effectiveness of 'case management' as an approach (as opposed to, for example, intervention based approaches or blanket provision) is mixed, and appears to largely depend on the caseload size and degree of specialist knowledge needed by the adviser or case worker. For example:

• Good case management and communication between stakeholders are cornerstones of successful workplace-based job retention (Ambrosius et al., 1995; Nowland 1996 cited in Employability framework for Scotland, 2005).
• The post Employment Services Demonstration ( PESD) found that case managing welfare recipients, providing them with counselling and support, job search assistance, help with benefit issues, and referrals to agencies did not enable them to keep their jobs any longer, or increase wages (Strawn and Martinson, 2001), despite positive feedback from participants.
• However, although the PESD utilised a caseworker approach, it adopted a blanket approach to the interventions, whereby clients were given the same type and intensity of support (such as job search assistance, resolution of benefits issues and service referral), regardless of their needs (a 'one size fits all' model). Although the evaluation of the (random assignment) programme struggled to find any positive effects on job retention, advancement and self-sufficiency. (Holzer, 2005, Rangarajan, 2002), qualitative evidence from participants indicates that they were strongly in favour of a case worker approach and greatly valued the help they had received from their adviser.
• Case management seems to work best when: (Atkinson and Williams, 2003)

• supplemented with other tangible services to support retention;
• tailored to individual circumstances;
• mediation with employers is available, but moderated in the light of individuals' wishes for confidentiality regarding their former welfare status; and
• case managers can respond quickly to requests from employers to provide mediation and any subsequent necessary assistance.

• 'Providing a mix of services - including job search, education & training and case management - while maintaining pressure on most individuals to gain employment and produce the best results' (Hamilton, 2002. Cited in Holzer and Martinson, 2005. p8)
• People's employment and earnings increased whilst their receipts of welfare decreased as a result of NEWWS (Network Evaluation of Welfare-to-work Strategies), which took different approaches to helping welfare recipients find jobs, advance in labour markets, and leave public assistance, thus resulting in gains in peoples' self-sufficiency (Hamilton, 2002). Operating across seven sites in the U.S, several different welfare-to-work strategies took place (summarised in the table below) which varied 'along several important dimensions, including geographic location, labour market conditions, and welfare grant levels', but which served the ultimate goal of serving 'welfare populations with whom they previously had little contact and to experiment with new types of services, messages, and mandates'.

• However, an examination of the data indicates that, over a five year period, no one strategy worked more effectively than another. Each of the sites showed an increase of earnings throughout the five-year period, and each of them showed a decrease in welfare receipt.
• Most welfare leavers face a number of barriers with regards to managing their childcare needs. Adams et al (2006) note that whilst an increased focus on providing childcare for those leaving cash assistance to work is a step in the right direction, there is surprisingly low usage of this service than might be expected, citing a lack of focus on helping TANF leavers get access to childcare assistance/subsidies (although 'access' is not specifically defined in the report). A number of suggestions on helping these people get access to childcare are given, namely (p24):
• Specialised transitional childcare worker within the child care agency.
• Specialised transitional benefits worker within the TANF agency.
• Colocated child care staff at the TANF agency.
• A focus on proper and timely processing of TANF terminations.
• The importance of 'case workers' or 'employment support staff'' is highlighted (Strawn and Martison, 2001, cited in Johnson, 1998. p29), insofar as job retention appears to be improved if the staff:
• maintain frequent contact with welfare recipients to monitor problems as they arise;
• ensure individuals receive all income supplements and benefits to which they are entitled;
• ensure parents secure child-care support;
• develop a support strategy for workers which meets their needs (again highlighting the importance of tailor made support).
• Providing on-site case management and assistance on job-related issues to low-wage workers can increase job retention rates within the first 6 months of employment (Holzer, 2005), although these gains tend to decrease after this period (Hamilton, 2002).
• In the UK, clients constantly give excellent feedback about Personal Advisors ( PAs), especially the way in which they can spend time with these advisors and build relationships to provide a good base of support and advice when looking for employment (Millar, 2000; Employability framework for Scotland, 2005).
• However, although the New Deal for Lone Parents ( NDLP) programme 'dramatically increased the rate at which lone parents left Income Support', NDLP participants lasted the same amount of time off Income Support than non-participants (12% left work of over 16 hours a week within 6 months) (Lessof et al, 2003. p28), suggesting that there are other reasons for early job exits.

4 Financial support and job retention

New entrants to work are known to experience financial difficulties, especially during the early 'transition' period. This can be because of the loss of benefits (for example, Council Tax or Housing Benefit), the addition cost of working (for example, buying clothing or tools for work, or the cost of transport to work) and the additional cost of childcare as well as difficulties and delays in claiming in-work support (for example, through the tax credit system). Financial support can be in the way of transitional help (eg, loans or grants to assist in the transition), as well as longer term wage supplements such as tax credits. Key findings relating to the importance of financial support includes:

• Dependency on the benefit system causes problems when making the transition to work, especially disability benefits (Gillespie et al 2005).
• Payments made available through the tax system are designed to encourage people into work and hold them there, and payments made available on a one-off basis are designed to primarily deal with emergencies like childcare or transportation, or periods of hardship (Johnson, 2002. p23).
• Job searchers welcome financial assistance from support agencies if it is available, generally asking for the same amount they were receiving whilst on benefits (Woodland, Mandy and Millar, 2003). This finding suggests that new entrants are fairly modest in their financial expectations, but for it to be viable they need at least the equivalent to their benefit receipt when they were not in work.
• New Deal for 50+ analyses of administrative data on job retention (Grierson, 2002) found that compared to Jobcentre Plus 50+ clients who have a retention rate of 70 per cent, Employment Credit claimants have a much higher rate of 84 percent. 'While this is a very basic comparison, it suggests a positive impact on job retention of claiming the Employment Credit' (p20).
• In the Employment Zones evaluation, for 25 plus entrants to New Deal programmes, financial support rather than personal support and advice appeared to be more important (Griffiths and Jones, 2005).
• Wage supplements can increase employment and earnings (Strawn and Martinson, 2000).
• The Canadian SSP (Self-sufficiency Project) helped move people out of poverty through increased earnings and reduced income assistance receipt, unlike most other welfare-to-work initiatives (Michalopoulos and Berlin, 2001). However, over the longer term the effect of the programme declined. This suggests that the benefits of the programme relate to the acceleration of progression, which may have taken much longer to achieve without the programme intervention.
• Earned Income Tax Credit ( EITC) has successfully raised employment levels among low-income single mothers (Holzer, 2005), but was more more beneficial for parents with two or more children compared to those with one child (Hotz et al 2001). The evaluations show that financial incentives have a particularly powerful effect on single mothers' employment decisions (Meyer and Rosenbaum, 2001).
• Earnings Top-Up ( ETU) - a pilot UK initiative - had no significant impact on employment volumes, or flows, or durations and though there was possible impact on job retention among lowest-paid workers entering from Jobseeker's Allowance (Marsh).
• Working Families' Tax Credit ( WFTC) proved to be effective in getting lone parents and couples into work, and has been found to provide an invaluable source of funding to lone parents working 16-23 hours a week, a form of employment that would be difficult to sustain otherwise. However, awareness and understanding of the level of earnings that qualify for WFTC needs promoting (McKay, 2003).
• Holzer (2004. p4) also highlights that 'on average, earnings growth is higher among those who change jobs than among those who stay with the same employer over time' and also states that employees are better off for taking opportunities to improve their earnings with better employees. This highlights the importance of support to help clients move beyond the initial job.
• The cost of childcare is known to be a significant barrier to entering work, particularly for lone parents. Early evaluation of data from registrants of the Working for Families Fund in Scotland (which aims to assist disadvantaged parents by providing support to enable them to access childcare) indicates a positive impact on job entry although it is still too early to examine sustainability (McQuaid et al, 2006).
• Financial support in isolation is often not enough. An evaluation of New Deal for Lone Parents ( NDLP) highlighted the need for more support other then financial benefits, including mentoring type support (Miller and Evans, 2003, p18). Indeed the SSP evaluation in Canada (which was also aimed at lone parents) demonstrated larger effects when the payments were combined with services to help them find and keep a job ( http://209.217.127.67/english/projects/ssp.htm).
• The Minnesota Family Investment Programme in the US, which combined earnings supplements with employment related services, also had a greater impact on participants' employment than a variant of the programme which did not include employment services' (Bloom and Michalopoulos, 2001,cited by Kellard, 2002. p96).

In summary, it appears as though financial support to raise people's earnings does have a positive impact on job retention. However, in the main the effect diminishes over time. Furthermore, in programmes that combine financial support with other post-employment support the effect appears to be greater, although evaluations have struggled to disentangle different effects of different interventions.

5 Helping clients to find a good 'job match'

A good job 'match', which matches individual skills and requirements with the requirements of the job, is likely to have a positive impact on job retention. However, initial jobs are often not ideal jobs, but can serve as a 'stepping stone' to enable subsequent progression in the labour market. New entrants to work often need help with making these transitions. Evidence suggests that:

• Assistance with achieving a good 'job match' and, if clients are placed initially into the 'best' jobs possible, encourages job retention (Johnson, 2002).
• Strawn and Martinson (2001, Cited in Johnson, 2002. p29) indicate that the better the initial job, the higher the wages later on.
• Holzer (2004) suggests that 'temp' agencies improve subsequent job placement opportunities for low earners-perhaps by helping them gain early work experience, or by improving their access to higher-wage employers, by virtue of being in the labour market.
• Research indicates that where welfare recipients are encouraged to develop a job advancement strategy to help them to move beyond the initial job (which can often be of poor quality), job retention is enhanced (Johnson, 2002). This highlights the need for extended support beyond the early weeks of job entry.
• In the New Deal for Young People, poor quality jobs were said to result in lower retention rates (Griffiths, Durkin and Mitchell, 2006).
• Evaluation of Employment Zones also highlights the importance of a good 'match' between the client's expectations and the job. Zones have identified that the best way of keeping someone in a job (for 13 weeks) is 'to ensure (as far as possible) that they want to be there, because the job is something the client has always wanted to do… it builds the client's experience and skills in preparation for getting their ideal job' ( MORI, nd).
• Implementing career advancement strategies within in-work support may achieve higher incomes (Strawn and Martinson, 2001: Johnson, 2002).

6 Work Preparation, Training and Skills Development

A major disadvantage for people entering work for the first time, or after a long period away from the labour market, is their lack of experience in dealing with, or understanding the 'world of work'. Work preparation takes a variety of forms, but most commonly combines some work experience (such as through an Intermediate Labour Market), basis skills development (literacy, numeracy, IT skills) and soft skills development (confidence building, employee relations, time management etc).

Training and skill development can be provided both pre- and post-employment. There s some evidence which highlights the importance of including both basic skill and job skill training, as well as linking training to local labour market demands. However, there is little evidence on post-employment training and development for new entrants. This may be related to the difficulty for new entrants to undertake training alongside their new job role, as well as difficulties in engaging employers to provide, or support, such training.

• In the US, 'programmes of unpaid work experience appeared to demonstrate little or no impact' on helping link ADFC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) parents with employment (Greenberg, 2003. p40).
• 'Programmes emphasising basic adult education, without close connections to employers or employment, cost more than those emphasising job search, and did not demonstrate better impacts' (Gueron and Pauly, 1991. Cited in Greenberg, 2003. p40). Therefore Gueron and Pauly are suggesting that it is more effective, in terms of cost and effort, to have a job search-focused approach to helping people back into work, rather than wasting resources on basic adult education in order to get the same or less of an impact.
• The Better Neighbourhood Services Fund ( BNSF) found, by providing 'workless residents with support and information on job vacancies, training/college courses, skills, confidence building, interview techniques and assistence with CV's and application forms', that North Ayrshire was able to achieve its main target and 'reduce the gap in unemployment rates between the BSNF areas and the average for North Ayrshire' (Shiel et al, 2006. p6). However, the impact on job retention is unknown.
• 'Providing welfare recipients who are 'hardest to serve' with transitional jobs, which are community service jobs that pay wages for welfare recipients who have not been able to find employment in the regular market', can help them sustain their employment in their next job for 6-9 months ( Philadelphia@work project. Greenwold, 2002)
• Evidence in the US indicates that programmes are more successful when they include basic skills development and other training and development such as work preparation and jobsearch skills (Hamilton, 2002. Cited in Holzer and Martinson, 2005)

Skill development appears to be most beneficial when it is linked to local labour market and employer requirements, and less beneficial when it is unrelated to specific jobs or employment sectors. Furthermore, when training is linked to qualifications that employers recognise, and want, it appears to pay off for participants in the longer term. This highlights the importance of providers developing a good knowledge of the local labour market as well as ensuring they understand the needs of the local employers.

7 Workplace mentoring

Workplace mentoring is designed to help new entrants to work with the transition into the workplace, and to encourage the development of the skills needed to enable them to remain and progress in work. It involves the 'matching' of a suitable existing employee to act as a mentor to the new worker. Mentors should undertake training to help them to provide the necessary support to the new worker should they need it. Mentoring can also take the form of support groups of similar new workers who can meet together to share experiences and provide support and encouragement. Although there are examples of mentoring programmes in the UK (mostly for different client groups rather than a focus on workplace mentoring), there is little evidence to establish their success with regard to job retention. Research finding indicate that:

• Mentoring schemes are generally considered to be invaluable to those who benefit from them, although there are often problems with matching suitable mentors and mentees (Yeandle and Pearson, 2001).
• There is some evidence (from 1999) to suggest that mentoring programmes can improve job retention, reduce absenteeism, and increase productivity. A 1999 survey by the Welfare to Work Partnership indicated that among companies using mentors:
• 75% reported improved work performance;
• 67% reported higher job retention;
• 63% reported reduced absenteeism; and
• 52% reported that it resulted in cost savings for the company. ( http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/wtw/resources/bs1/mentoring_program.cfm)
• Mentors have also been used for workplace learners, and the evidence here suggests that retention levels for learners are higher when they have a mentor than when they do not (85 per cent compared to 70 per cent) (Adult Learning Inspectorate, 2006 ).
• Mentors also appear to be particularly effective for young people. Evidence suggests that key workers provide essential support to young disadvantaged clients, although their roles need clear definition and more effort is needed to identify 'appropriately skilled people' that are suited to the job (Employability Framework for Scotland, 2005, p11).
• The Mentoring Plus scheme also successfully recruited and engaged with young people who were considered at risk of social exclusion and managed to encourage them to (re)engage with education and work. Mentoring Plus was based on the award winning Dalston Youth Project ( DYP) model which successfully 'targeted disaffected young people and sought to build their basic education, employment skills and confidence through a one-to-one mentoring relationship with an adult volunteer drawn from the local community and a structured education and careers program' (Shiner et al, 2004. p5).

8 The role of employers in job retention and post-employment support?

Employers play an important part in whether someone remains in a job, or progresses in employment. Attitudes and behaviour towards new entrants to work, especially those who have been away from the labour market for some time, can impact on whether someone is able to remain in a job. Employers' willingness or ability to provide post-employment support, or to facilitate its provision through a third party is also important.

The work place environment can also impact on job retention. For example, a new entrant may find it difficult to adjust to the new environment or job, or may face hostility from co-workers.

Key findings relating to the engagement of employers in job retention and sustainability include:

• Offering financial incentives to colleges through new or existing sources to serve and provide educational options to working parents could help job advancement (Biswas et al, 2005)
• An evaluation of the New Deal for Disabled People Innovative Schemes pilots found that early intervention with clients starting work and co-operation from both employers and employees was essential to making progress (Hills et al. 2001)
• US evidence suggests that intermediaries or 'job developers' can provide a useful link between job seekers and employers, by helping them to be flexible in their approach, and to develop their retention strategies. However, this model is only effective if the intermediary is seen as a 'balanced broker' and not an advocate for any individual. (Holzer and Martinson, 2005)
• Working for a higher wage employer who provide on-the-job training and/or career ladders is most likely to result in the employee advancing in the labour market (Holzer, 2004)
• An evaluation of The National Employer Training Programme ( NETP), which ran in England only, found that compensating employers if they gave their staff paid time off work to be trained found that employers were as a result more likely to train their staff (76% of employers overall) (Scottish executive, 2005. p18)
• There has been some success with sectoral based approaches. This involves employers operating in similar sectors in local areas to work together to match up opportunities with supply. A recent example of this is in the Employability project run by Leeds NHS Trust, whereby over 450 local 'inactive' people (including young unemployed and disabled people) have been recruited to the health service to meet demand (with a retention rate of over 80 per cent). Participants have undertaken work experience and personalised job specific training prior to securing jobs, which have also helped the trust to meet its staff shortages (see http://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/news/ ).

9 'Take-up' of post-employment support

In the UK, Research has consistently found that the take-up of post-employment support is lower than expected. This is for a variety of reasons, including lack of awareness, lack of time from providers (particularly if they have high caseloads), stigma of continuing to receive support from an employment service, and difficulty in accessing support alongside full-time work.

• The New Deal for Disabled People pilots included provision to provide job retention support. Outcome payments were paid to Job Brokers who were able to 'sustain' their clients in work for at least 13 weeks. Take-up of such support from clients was low, partly because of lack of awareness, poor marketing and limited resources, as well as clients' reluctance to remain involved in an employment service once they had returned to work. Post-employment support tended to be limited to financial help (eg, help with claiming tax credits). (Lewis et al, 2005).
• Adams et al ( US, 2006) suggests that there is a general low awareness of the availability of post-employment support - both among clients and advisers. Adams et al highlight 'low subsidy use and potential policy solutions' in the US and cite lack of awareness of subsidies as one of the main reasons (p25). Indeed, Adams argues that there is less of a need for innovation than a need for greater awareness of various strategies that programmes could use.

10 Interventions targeted to those 'at risk' of losing a job

Whilst there is a general lack of information about what works with regard to job retention and advancement, there is some information about job retention among people who are already in work but who become 'at risk' of leaving their job, primarily because of a spell of poor health. There has been a number of initiatives that have been designed to prevent periods of ill-health resulting in individuals 'falling out' of the labour market:

• The Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot (funded by the Department for Work and Pensions) has been evaluated. The evaluation found that their services were 'not successful in improving return-to-work rates' for those off sick for six weeks or more with regards to their primary outcome (returning to work within 13 weeks) (Purdon et al, 2006. p45). The high withdrawal/no intervention rates, along with the possibility that a 13 week period 'was simply too difficult a target for the population group', are cited as possible causes for this.
• Counselling interventions have found to be more effective with those on short-term absences, whilst 'where there has been loss of psychological and/or physical functional capacity' vocational interventions are more beneficial (Employability framework for Scotland, 2005).
• Vocational rehabilitation, as shown in countries that have utilised this approach for a longer period than the UK (eg, Australia and Canada), has significantly lowered the level of long-term sickness absence and disability ( CIPD 2004. Cited in Employability framework for Scotland, 2005).
• It is suggested that Employee Assistance Programs ( EAPs) in the NHS, 'which specifically address mental health issues in relation to individual support', produces return-to-work rates of between 75%-95% in the UK (Nowland 2005. P51). This success rate applies to both long and short term absences where the major absence factor is a mental health issue' (cited by Employability framework for Scotland, 2005), and highlights the importance of early intervention to prevent job exits.
• Thomas, Secker and Grove (2003) state that 'job retention service is a valuable addition to the other services available to people experiencing mental health problems while in employment, particularly in view of the need for early intervention'. GPs, clients and case managers also confirmed this.
• Research also indicates that the longer one has time off from work, the least likely they are to ever return (British Society Rehabilitation Medicine, 2000. Cited by Employability Framework for Scotland, 2005), thus highlighting the need for intervention or support whilst the individual is still employed - both for them and for their employer. Job developers or intermediaries may help here.

There has been some small scale activity, notably in the US, in providing advancement support to new workers, to help them to move on from their first entry level job. One initiative in Illinois targeted TANF recipients in low wage drops to help them to find a better job and the evaluation has shown early effects on earnings. However, another in South Carolina has shown no effects as yet (D Bloom et al, 2005, cited in Holzer and Martinson, 2005).

11 Final Comment

At the time of this brief review, it is apparent that there remains a relative dearth of information about what works for job retention and advancement. Many studies that have attempted to test different approaches are relatively small-scale, and have limited evaluation evidence. Others are larger scale and longer term - some of these have already been evaluated and provide limited evidence of success, or demonstrate difficulties in disentangling the impact of different interventions. Others, notably the Employment Retention and Advancement demonstration project in the UK (which includes a pilot area in Scotland) have yet to produce impact evidence. Recent Employment Retention Advancement ( ERA) projects in the US have generated a decrease in TANF receipt (Chicago) and increases in employment, although again it is too early to draw conclusions from any of the projects yet (Bloom et al, 2005). Similarly, the ongoing evaluation of the Working for Families Fund will include data on sustainability as the programme and client base develops.

What is apparent, and further substantiated in other fuller reviews (see Kellard et al, 2002) is that post-employment support is most effective when it is tailor-made, takes a 'whole person' approach, is long-term and when advisers are able to work with relatively small case loads at any one time. Of particular interest, not least in fiscal terms, is the cost of providing post-employment support, and the extent to which this balances with the benefits of increased employability, raised income and reduced risk of repeated spells of inactivity. In the UK, few evaluations have attempted to assess this (although it is expected that the ERA demonstration project will include cost benefit analysis). The evaluation of the Self-sufficiency Programme in Canada, found that the total cost of SSP for welfare recipients (including supplement payments and operating costs) was almost completely offset by increased tax revenue and decreased welfare benefits.

The focus on job retention in the UK has been historically relatively short term (typically three months, occasionally six months, rarely beyond that), although it is apparent that some clients may require additional support beyond the early months, or to help them to negotiate the next transition. Adams and Smart (2005) suggest that the short term nature of funding for employability support services 'weakens the development of the local area infrastructure, promoting 'innovation' above sustained support for effective interventions'. However, it seems likely that many of returners to work will face difficulties that affect their ability to remain in work over a much longer timer period than six months - indeed some groups may require some form of post-employment support almost indefinitely. Initiatives such as the Next Steps project and the One Plus project, which have the capacity to be both innovative and flexible in their design, as well as to provide support over a longer time period than is the norm, provide a positive way forward.

12 References

Adams, E and Smart, D (2006) Mapping employability and Support services for disengaged young people. Social Research: Enterprise and Lifelong learning
Adams, G., Koralek, R. and Martinson, K (2006) Childcare Subsidies and Leaving Welfare. The Urban Institute.
Adult Learning Inspectorate, 2006 http://www.ali.gov.uk/Quality+improvement/Excalibur/Products/GPDB/topic/employerinvolvement/typeofprovision/apprenticeships/rwptraining3.htm
Atkinson, J and Williams, M (2003) Employer perspectives on the recruitment, retention and advancement of low-pay, low status employees, Institute of Employment Studies
Biswas, R. R., Mills, J. & Prince, H. (2005) Building skills, increasing economic vitality: Innovative state policies. Boston: Jobs for the future.
Bloom, D., Hendra, R., Martinson, K. and Scrivener, S. (2005) The employment retention and advancement project: Early results from four sites. New York: MDRC.
Employability Framework for Scotland (2005) Report of the interventions Workstream: Final Report.
Gillespie, M., Mulvey, G. and Scott, G (2005) Transitions to Employment: Advising Disadvantaged Groups - Research Findings. Scottish Poverty Information Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University
Greenberg, D (2003) "The Us: Rising employment, explanations, implications, and future trajectories", in Millar, J and Evans, M (2003) Lone parents and employment: International comparisons of what works. Centre for the analysis of Social Policy.
Greenwald, R (2002) "Transitional jobs: The Philadelphia story". Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.
Grierson, K (2002) News Deal 50 Plus Quantitative analysis of job retention. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 151.
Griffiths, R., Durkin, S and Mitchell, A (2005) Evaluation of the single provider Employment Zone extension. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 312
Griffiths, R. and Jones, G (2005) Evaluation of single provider Employment Zone extensions to young people, lone parents and early entrants: Interim report. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 228
Hamilton, G (2002) Moving people from welfare-to-work: Lesson from the national evaluation of welfare-to-work strategies.http://www.mdrc.org/publications/52/summary.html. Washington, DC: US department of health and human services.
Hills, D., Child, C., Blackburn, V and Youll, P (2001) Evaluation of the new deal for disabled people innovative schemes pilots. Department of Social Security, research report 143.
Holzer, H. J. and Martinson, K (2005) Can we improve job retention and advancement among low-income working parents? The Urban Institute: Washington.
Holzer, H. J (2004) Encouraging Job Advancement Among Low-wage Workers: A New Approach. The Brookings Institute.
Johnson, A (2002) Job retention and advancement in employment: Review of research evidence. Department for Work and Pensions.
Johnson, A (1998) Job retention and advancement: A review of research evidence. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. H98
Kellard, K (2002) Job retention and advancement in the UK: A developing agenda. Benefits, vol 10, no 2.
Kellard, K., Adelman, L., Cebulla, A., and Heaver, C (2002) From job seekers to job keepers: job retention, advancement and the role of in-work support programmes. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 170
Lewis, J, Corden, A, Dillon, L, Hill, K, Kellard, K, Sainsbury, R, Thornton, P (2005). New Deal for Disabled People:An in-depth study of Job Broker service delivery. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 246
Lessof et al (2003) "Estimating the impact of NDLP" in Millar, J and Evans, M (2003) Lone parents and employment: International comparisons of what works. Centre for the analysis of Social Policy.
Marsh, A (nd) Evaluating labour market policy experiments: ETU, ONE and ERA.http://www.ccsr.ac.uk/methods/events/Mixed/documents/marsh.ppt. Policy Studies Institute.
McKay, S (2003) Working families tax credit in 2001. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 181
McQuaid, R, Bond, S and Fuertes, V (2006). Working for Families Evaluation: summary report of client data to 31 ^st December 2005. Employment Research Institute, Glasgow.
Meyer, B. D. and Rosenbaum, D. T. (2001) Welfare, the earned income tax credit, and the labour supply of single mothers. Quarterly Journal of Economics. 116(3): 1063 - 1113
Michalopoulos, C and Berlin, G (2001) "Financial incentives for low-wage workers". In The youth labour market problem, edited by Rebecca Blank and Ron Haskins (270-86). Washington, DC: Brookings institution press.
Millar, J (2000). Keeping Track of Welfare Reform: the New Deal programmes. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
MORI (nd). Qualitative Evaluation of Employment Zones: A Study of Local Delivery Agents and Area Case Studies.
Purdon, S., Stratford, N., Taylor, R., Natarajan, L., Bell, S and Wittenburg, D. (2006) Impacts of the Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 342.
Rangarajan, A (2002) The road to sustained employment: lessons from a US job retention initiative. Benefits, vol 10, no 2, pp 99-104(6).
Scottish Executive (2006). Workforce Plus: an employability framework for Scotland.
Scott, G, Lindsay, K and Dobbie, L (2005). Supporting Lone Parents towards Sustainable Employment Evaluation. Glasgow University.
Scottish Executive (2005) Employability framework: low paid low skilled work workstream.
Scottish Executive (2005) Employability framework for Scotland: report of the NEET workstream.
Scottish Executive (2005) Employability framework for Scotland: workstream A: workless client groups
Scottish Executive (2005) Mapping employability and support services for disengaged young people. Enterprise and lifelong learning.
Scottish Executive (2005) Mapping employability and support services for disengaged young people: Research findings. Enterprise and lifelong learning.
Scottish Executive (2005) Social Justice: a Scotland where everyone matters. Indicators of progress 2003.
Scottish Executive (2005) T ransitions to employment: advising disadvantaged groups, Scottish Poverty Information Unit
Shiel, L., Clark, I and Richards F (2006) Employability initiatives in the better neighbourhoods services fund. Scottish Executive Social Research.
Shiner, M., Young, T., Newburn, T. and Groben, S. (2004). Mentoring Disaffected Young People: An Evaluation of Mentoring Plus. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
SRDC (Social Research and Demonstration Corporation) The Self-Sufficiency Project. http://209.217.127.67/english/projects/ssp.htm.
Strawn, J and Martinson, K (2000) Steady work and better jobs: How to help low-income parents sustain employment and advance in thw workforce. New York: MDRC
Thomas, T., Secker, J and Grove, B (2003) 'Getting back before Christmas…'. Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust: Job Retention Pilot Evaluation.
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Yeandle, S and Pearson, S (2001) New Deal for Lone Parents: An evaluation of the innovative Pilots. Report 98 - Department for Work and Pensions.

13 Further reading

Backett-Milburn, K., Cunningham-Burley, S and Kemmer, D (2001) Caring and providing: Lone and partnered working mothers in Scotland. The Foundation by the Family Policy Studies Centre
Barnes, H and Hudson, M (2006) Pathways to Work: Qualitative research on the condition management programme. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 346
Branosky, N (2004) Retention and advancement: from work first to 'work first and stay' in Working Brief, No 155, June 2004, pp20-21
Brown, D., Dickens, R., Gregg, P., Machin, S. and Manning, A. (2001) Recruiting and retaining employees in low-paid labour markets. Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Dean, H (2001) Working parenthood and parental obligation. Critical social policy, Vol 21(3): 267 - 286
Department for Work and Pensions (2005) The employment retention and advancement scheme: the early months of implementation
Department for Work and Pensions (2005) Pathways to work boost for lone parents. Press release - 2 February 2005
Department for Work and Pensions (2004) £220 million expansion of successful scheme helping people on incapacity benefits get back to work. Press release - 2 ^nd December 2004.
Farrell, C., Nice, K., Lewis, J. and Sainsbury, A (2006) Experiences of the job retention and rehabilitation pilot. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 339
Furlong, A and Cartmel, F (2004) Vulnerable young men in fragile labour markets: employment, unemployment and the search for long-term security, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Hall Aitken (2005) Workforce aspirations and attitudes in the south of Scotland
Hayton, K and Myron, M (2004) Working for Families: Lessons from the Pilot Projects (stage 1). Scottish Executive Social Research.
Hayton, K., Myron, M. and Gray, L (2004) Working for Families: Lessons from the Pilot Projects (stage 2). Scottish Executive Social Research.
Hirst, A., Tarling, R., Lefaucheux, M., Short, C., Rinne, S., McGregor, A., Glass, A., Evans, M. and Simm, C (2006) Evaluation of multiple provider employment zones: Early implementation issues. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 310
Hurley, N (2004) A sign of confusion (employability), in Regeneration and Renewal, 8 October 2004, pp23-24
New Deal for unemployed people in Scotland: Statistics to end October 2001.
NHS in Scotland, Partnership Information Network ( PIN) Board Guideline Development Group: Family Friendly Policies
One Plus (2003) Lone parents in Scotland fact file.
Palmer, G., Carr, J. and Kenway, P. (2004) Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in Scotland. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Policy Studies Institute, MDRC, IFS and ONS (nd): Employment retention and advancement
Purdon, S., Stratford, N., Taylor, R., Natarajan, L., Bell, S and Wittenburg, D. (2006) Impacts of the Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot. Department for Work and Pensions. Research report no. 342.
Roulstone, A and Barnes, C (2005) Working futures? Disabled people, policy and social inclusion, Policy Press
Scottish Executive (2003) A Scotland where everyone matters
Scottish Executive (2004) New deal for unemployed people and new deal for lone parents in Scotland: Statistics to end June 2004.
Scottish Executive (2004) New deal for unemployed people and new deal for lone parents in Scotland: Statistics to end March 2004.
Scottish Executive (2004) New deal for unemployed people and new deal for lone parents in Scotland: Statistics to end September 2004.
Scottish Executive (2004) Working for families: Lessons from the pilot projects (Stage 1)
Scottish Executive (2004) Working for families: Lessons from the pilot projects (Stage 2)
Snyder, K., Bernstein, S and Koralek, R (2006) Parents' perspectives on child care subsidies and moving from welfare to work. The Urban Institute.
South of Scotland European Partnership (2005) Workforce aspirations & attitudes in the South of Scotland. Hall Aitken: Social and economic regeneration consultants.
Walker, R., Hoggart, L and Hamilton, G with Blank, S (2006) Making random assignment happen: Evidence from the UK Employment retention and advancement ( ERA) demonstration. Department for Work and Pensions - Report no. 330.

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