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Do government training schemes for unemployed school leavers achieve their objectives? A psychological perspective
Do government training schemes for unemployed school leavers achieve their objectives? A psychological perspective MICHAEL
ODDY*,
ANDREW
DONOVAN”‘,
AND
RACHEL
PARDOE*“*
The increasing rates of youth unemployment have given rise to concern in academic and political circles as well as amongst the general public. So much so that successive governments have introduced employment schemes specifically for this age group. Although a variety of opinions have been expressed concerning the value of such schemes and much thought and planning has gone into the design of successive generations of schemes, there appears to be little hard evidence concerning the effects they have on the well-being of young people. In the course of a study of the wider aspects of unemployment amongst school leavers, the authors collected evidence which they believe bears directly on this question. In a prospective study, which began by assessing fifth formers before they left school, it was found that in general those who went on to YOP schemes occupied an intermediate position between those who obtained work and those who remained unemployed, on a variety of measures of psychological well-being. However, it was found that those on Schemes were less likely than those in either of the other two groups to believe that they had a measure of personal control over their lives. The findings are discussed in relation to the design of employment schemes and the longer term implications.
INTRODUCTION
As unemployment continues to rise, the overall rates disguise still greater rates amongst one particular section of society: the r6-year-old school leaver. This group is especially vulnerable not only to the worst rates of unemployment but also arguably to the worst effects of being unemployed. The government has shown some signs of recognizing their special position as demonstrated by the introduction of various employment schemes such as the variety of Youth Opportunities Programmes, and now the Youth Training Scheme. The effects of unemployment on these young people differ from the effects on older people in a number of ways. Clearly there is not the feeling of loss l
Department of Psychology, Leybourne
. Department **+ Department
l
OrJO-1)7’/84/040377
Grange Hospital, West Mailing, Kent of Psychology, Hellingly Hospital, Hailsham, East Sussex. of Psvchology, St Francis Hospital, Haywards Heath, Sussex. +
Gig $03.00’0
378
b1ICIl.J.~l.
()I)I)Y
1:‘T.u
that characterizes the reaction of those made redundant, nor are their financial responsibilities as great as those of older workers. \Vith those made redundant, unemploved school leavers share the loss of a structured social contacts and shared experiences environment, enforced activity, (Jahoda, 1982), which in their case were previously provided by school. Unlike older people however, unemployed school leavers are going through a period of transition, when identity and self-esteem are in state of rapid change (Erikson, 1956). Work is normally considered to play a major part in the establishment of a young person’s identity. Young people are particularly prone to feelings of personal failure and more likely than others to attribute their lack of a job to personal inadequacies (Jahoda, 1982). For all people work provides status, but for the young such status is essential to secure personal autonomy in relation to their family. Indeed the more they lack status and independence outside the family, the greater the likelihood of friction between them and their parents (Maitland-Edwards, McMullen, Welbers and Woolthuis, 1981). Although their financial situation may not be desperate they are likely to experience considerable difficulty in keeping pace with their peers. Finally, work is a new world of which the school leaver has little or no experience. A first job is a major opportunity for learning. Loss of this opportunity may quickly lead the young person to lose interest and the motivation to search for work. Resignation, it has been suggested, sets in much more quickly than amongst the older unemployed and leads to a gradual abandonment of personal aspiration (Maitland-Edwards et al., 1981). Marie Jahoda (1982), whose studies of the effects of unemployment span more than five decades, has recently made the following comments on youth unemployment: “The psychological situation of those sixteen to eighteen or nineteen year old people to whom the ordinary transition to adulthood is thus denied presents perhaps the socially most dangerous aspect of the current depression. This is the age group on whose skills, motivation to work and general outlook on the world in which they live the future of the country will depend in the next decades. Many of them are without hope, without plans and without ambition and are gradually abandoning the habits and aspirations that family and school had tried to instil in them.”
Such statements clearly express an alarm that is widespread amongst many sections of society. A concern about the implications of a generation, a large proportion of which, though born to parents in work, itself has none. The alarm has been sufficient to make the government act. But do employment schemes such as those introduced by the government help the situation?
GOVERNMENT TRAINING
SCHEMES: A PERSPECTIYE
379
They are certainly by no means universally popular amongst school leavers themselves. Remarks such as these of Paul, unemployed, and aged 16 years, are common : “1 wouldn’t do it. Don’t think it’s worth it. My mate worked in a shop, and he worked for six months at Ez5 a week and at the end of the six months they got rid of him. It’s just cheap labour for them, isn’t it? After six months they got someone else for six months.”
In general young people often feel exploited by such schemes, that they are wasting time that could be spent searching for a “proper” job, and that the scheme itself is most unlikely to result in a permanent job. Trades Unions, although broadly supporting the current Youth Training Scheme, have also had reservations about such schemes in the past. ‘The dangers they point to include the temptation put before employers to take young people on schemes, subsidised by the government and with a short term contract, rather than to commit themselves to offering permanent jobs with normal conditions of employment. The emphasis with the latest scheme is on training and certainly young people value the opportunity to train. For example, the case of Denise, aged 16 years: “I didn’t want to go on one in the first place, not one they do things like that-six months and then no chance at the end. gained something even if I didn’t get a job, because I was anyway, with my typing, which is what I wanted to do. It’s course, but I don’t think much of the others.”
in the shops and But this, I felt 1 bettering myself definitely a good
The Government and the Manpower Services Commission that there is a distinct difference between the aims of the YTS earlier youth employment schemes. However, the MSC’s stated YOP were that it should provide young people with full-time work experience in order to
would claim and those of aims for the training and
“help each young person to develop in maturity, confidence and independence and to acquire experience of work and a range of basic skills which together, la! a foundation for adult life” (Manpower Services Commission, 1982).
A great deal more planning and thought has undoubtedly gone into the YTS schemes but the overall aims remain much the same, though the methods by which they are to be achieved are (at least in theory) different. Perhaps the greatest difference lies in the fact that YTS is aimed more explicitly at providing flexible skills related to likely technological and market
MICHAEL
380
ODDY I:‘T &.
changes in the future. But the aims quoted above for YOP would also be Proapplicable to YTS. The question is, did the Youth Opportunities gramme achieve these aims and if not, is the Youth Training Scheme any more likely to do so? During the course of a study into wider aspects of the problems of Youth unemployment the authors have collected evidence which they believe has a direct bearing on these questions.
PROCEDURE Following prospective
a pilot study conducted in 1981 (Donovan and Oddy, study of the impact of unemployment on school leavers Table 1. Demographic Unempioyed
Number in sample Gender Male Female Mean age at time I (years) Parent Employed Unemployed Socioeconomic group II III N III M IV V Average number of qualifications* Trouble with police None Minor offence Supervision order/ cautioned Psychiatric record None Welfare officer Social worker/psychiatrist Average length of time unemployed since leaving school (weeks) * CSEs score
I point, O-levels 4 points.
1982) a in early
data YOPS
Employed
43
43
45
27 16 ‘5.89
29 ‘4 15.96
29 16
37 6
4’
I2
3 9 27 3 I
‘9 3 0
4.84
6.56
7’49
26
32 9
35 5
‘4
2
5
32 4 7
36 4 3
4’
26.07
11.98
6.89
3 25 2 I
3
2
75’94 42 3 ‘3 10
2 2
GOVERNMENT
TRAINING
SCHEMES:
A PERSPECTIVE
381
1982 was begun. The initial stage involved visiting local comprehensive schools to assess the emotional and social adjustment of fifth formers during the term prior to leaving school. Fifth formers in five comprehensive schools were seen during the Easter term. They were asked to complete the following questionnaires: the General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg, 1972)) the Leeds Depression and Anxiety Scales (Snaith, Bridges and Hamilton, 1976), the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965), the Present Life Satisfaction Scale (Warr, 1978) and the Social Adjustment Questionnaire (Weissman and Bothwell, 1976). Roughly half went on to further education for another year, in many cases purely because of the employment situation. Of those who left school 45 who were in employment, 43 on Government training schemes and 43 who were unemployed were interviewed. All interviews were conducted between 6 and IO months after leaving school. During these interviews, which took place in the subject’s home, the questionnaires were administered again and in addition details were sought of the person’s public examination results, their experience since leaving school, their family situation, their current perception of their situation and their aspirations for the future. A life events checklist was also administered at this stage. The initial assessment, made before the young people left school, allowed investigation of the possibility that those who later fail to find work are less well-adjusted psychologically and socially than those who find employment. The later assessment permits the influence of employment status to be directly gauged. The data was analysed by means of an analysis of covariance in which the initial (time I) scores were amongst the covariates. Other covariates included birth order, criminal record, life socio-economic group, qualifications, events and psychiatric history. Table I gives details of the subjects.
RESULTS Even when all confounding variables were taken into account there were very clear effects of employment status on the psychological well-being of the young people. Those who were employed were now more emotionally stable than they had been when assessed prior to leaving school. On the other hand, the unemployed leavers were distinctly more likely to be depressed, anxious and generally in a poorer emotional state. Those on a government scheme tended to take an intermediate position between these two groups. In terms of mean scores, those on Youth Opportunities Programmes fell midway between the employed and unemployed on most measures (Donovan, Oddy, Pardoe and Ades, 1984).
382
ILIICH.lEL
ODDE’ f:T.U
One interesting finding which showed a different relationship between the employed, the unemployed and those on schemes concerned a measure known as Locus of Control (Rotter, 1966). This is an attempt to assess the extent to which a person believes they have a measure of personal control over their lives. The unemployed, hardly surprisingly, felt a little less in control of their destiny than the employed, but this difference was small compared to that between those on YOP and the other two groups. Young people on schemes felt markedly less in control of their lives than either the employed or even the unemployed! Nor was this a chance personality difference, since prior to leaving school those who later joined schemes felt more in control than those who were to become employed. Two-thirds of the unemployed and the YOPs groups attributed their unemployed status to economic factors; most of the rest attributed it to their lack of qualifications or their bIore than half the employed however, youth and lack of experience. attributed the status of their unemployed peers primarily to a lack of effort in seeking work. This, despite the fact that many of the employed obtained jobs through the direct intervention of their families. There were some negative findings which may be just as important as the positive. No differences were found between the groups on the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale, although the scale may not have been particularly sensitive. There was no evidence of any particular effect on the social life of those who fell into the three different groups, except that the unemployed reported less opportunity to confide in their friends. ,411 had a similar frequency of contact with friends and spent comparable periods of time in the company of friends. There was a slightly increased likelihood that those in work or on schemes would have made new friends whilst those without work tended to have kept up with friends from school. The proportion with girlfriends or boyfriends was similar in each of the three groups and had changed little in the 8 months since leaving school.
DISCUSSION The findings reported here raise a number of questions about the chances of the Youth Training Scheme attaining the goals which the Government and the Manpower Services Commission have set for these schemes. The results suggest that previous schemes did have value in alleviating the worst effects of unemployment, but did not provide an adequate substitute for “real” work. It must be emphasised here that the young people were all interviewed during the Youth Opportunities Programme and not after. One may only speculate on the picture one would obtain by interviewing after completion of the scheme, but many young people certainly were apprehensive about their prospects when the scheme ended. Much of course, depends
GOVERNMENT
TRAINING
SCHEMES:
A PERSPECTIVE
383
on the proportion who do find jobs, but since this has recently dropped below 40 per cent (Short and Taylor, 1982) it seems unlikely that the majority will find work following their year on a Youth Training Scheme. For those who do not find work after completing the scheme the question is, has the scheme furnished them with sufficient skills and confidence to ensure that the positive psychlological benefits are maintained? Breakwell, Harrison and Propper (1982) interpreted similar findings as indicating that despite the reservations of the young people, YOP schemes were clearly beneficial. However, as in this study the youngsters were not reassessed after they had left the YOPs scheme. It was found that to a limited degree, the YOP schemes did “help each young person to develop in maturity, confidence and independence” but they were still left at a disadvantage compared to the employed. Perhaps the most alarming finding is the one concerning the young person’s perception of personal control over their lives. That a youth employment scheme should have the effect of diminishing this sense of control is certainly cause for concern. However, it seems possible that E’TS may avoid this pitfall. The emphasis upon training, and the fact that a considerable proportion of time is spent in formal training, may enable the “trainee” to feel that he or she is in control, that they are benefiting from the scheme and that they are choosing to do it. Attempts to compel young people to take part in such schemes could lead to the opposite reaction with detrimental long-term results. In certain respects the YOP group resembled the unemployed more than the employed. For example, they were more muted in their aspirations for the future than the employed. Fewer expected to eventually own their own home, to be able to afford a car or to holiday abroad. There was also the indication of a division into those with permanent jobs and those without in the explanations the youngsters gave for unemployment. That such divisions should appear so rapidly is perhaps surprising, and seems to be a crucial issue in Youth Employment. If, as appears to be the case, even those employed on schemes rapidly become demarcated and write themselves off as far as future employment is concerned, then such schemes are certainly not achieving what is expected of them. Once again the YTS may succeed where YOP has failed but organizers must ensure that the trainee is left with the impression that he or she has definite tangible skills by the end of the course. The ideals of instilling “core skills”, which will enable the young person to be sufficiently flexible and adaptable to work in a variety of settings, could turn out to be too vague to convince the sceptical youngsters that they have acquired anything worth having. Although there were wide individual differences within each of the groups and clearly employment status was not the only influence on their lives, there can be no doubt that it was a major one taking its place alongside family life and social relationships.
384
MICHAEL
ODDY fCT.Uz.
The fact that so far the young people have been interviewed only 8 months after leaving school means that it is not yet possible to comment on the longer For example, this study throws little light on questions term implications. regarding the process of adjustment to unemployment, its relationship to the adult pattern and the influence of employment schemes on this process. The fact that there were significant differences between those on schemes and those who were unemployed is presumably due to the fact that the scheme fulfilled at least some of what Jahoda (1982) has called the latent functions of work. It is perhaps harder to explain why there were significant differences between those on YOPs and those in permanent employment. The most obvious difference is the fact that those in work were normally being paid about double the wage earned by those on YOPs. This must have meant that certain social activities were beyond the means of one group but not the other. In fact, the young people we interviewed alluded to this rather rarely but this may have been because already they were tending to restrict their social circle to those who had the same employment status. Not only were there direct restrictions on them as a result of financial circumstances, but also they may have missed the boost to morale that those who were employed with relatively high wages probably experienced. All those on YOPs were very much aware that they had not succeeded in obtaining a “proper” job and it is likely that they lacked the sense of achievement that the employed group experienced. In addition to the lack of status and sense of failure, they were in what must be an extremely insecure and anxiety-arousing situation. They had the certain knowledge that their present job would expire in a few months time with no certainty of obtaining another. As has been reported, they were much less optimistic about the future than those with permanent jobs. It must be stressed that the findings cited above are not presented as absolute truths. Employment is not necessarily beneficial for one’s well-being and nor is lack of employment necessarily bad. These findings relate to I6-year-old school leavers with few qualifications and in a particular context. In the wider sense the context is a world in recession from virtually full employment; a world in the process of transition to a situation where it appears unlikely that, given the present manner in which work is structured, there will ever be a return to full employment. In a narrower sense the subjects of the study live in an area where in almost every case they were the first in their family to experience unemployment and where more of their peers were in work than out of it. Clearly the context colours their response, although exactly how remains obscure. This research was supported by a grant from the South West Thames Regional Health Authority Local Research Fund. Our thanks are due to the teachers and
GOVERNMENT
TRAINING
SCHEMES:
A PERSPECTIVE
385
career officers and especially to the young people who took part. We are also grateful to Dr Tony Ades for statistical advice and to Mrs Jean Westgate for secretarial assistance.
REFERENCES Breakwell, G., Harrison, B. and Propper, C. (1982). The psychological benefitsof YOPs. .Vezc Soc.iet_v pp. 494-495 (22 September 1982). Donovan, A. and Oddy, M. (1982). Psychological aspects of unemployment: an investigation into the emotional and social adjustment of school leavers. Jozrmal o! rldolescence 5, 15-30. Donovan, A., Oddy, M., Pat-doe, R. and Xdes. A. (1~84). f~~~~plo~rnrnt st~rttrs uttti psychological well-being: a prospectk~e sturiy of In-yeat--old school leavers. Submitted for publication. Erikson, E. H. (1956). The problem of ego Identity. .~oi,u~~al of the AAmeticun Psychoanalytic Association 4, +I 2 I. Goldberg, D. P. (1972). The Detection of Psychiatric. Illness by Questiontzaiw. London: Oxford University Press. Jahoda, M. (1982). E~mpioyment and Lkemploymcvrt: A Sot-ial-psvcholoRicctl .-Analysis. London: Cambridge University Press. Manpower Services Commission (1982). Youth Task Group Report, April 1982. Maitland-Edwards, J., McMullen, T., Welbers, G and Woolthuis, T. (198 I). Transition from education to working life: pointers from the European Communities i\ction programme. Journal of .4dolescence 4, 27-46. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Societ?’ and the Adolescent Self-i-rma,ee. Prmceton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalised expectancies for internal v external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs 80. Short, C. and Taylor, D. (1982). Unemployment: causes and palliatives. limth and Poliqv l(z), 26-32. Snaith, R. P., Bridges, W. K. and Hamilton, Rl. (1976). The Leeds Scale for the self assessment of anxiety and depression. British journal ofPsychiaty 128, 156-165. U’arr, P. (1978). A study of psychological well-being. British .7ournal qf Psychology 69, 111-121. \Veissman, M. M. and Bothwell, S. (1976). Assessment of social adjustment by patient self-report. Archives of General Psychiatyv 33, I I I I-I I 15.
ODDY*,
ANDREW
DONOVAN”‘,
AND
RACHEL
PARDOE*“*
The increasing rates of youth unemployment have given rise to concern in academic and political circles as well as amongst the general public. So much so that successive governments have introduced employment schemes specifically for this age group. Although a variety of opinions have been expressed concerning the value of such schemes and much thought and planning has gone into the design of successive generations of schemes, there appears to be little hard evidence concerning the effects they have on the well-being of young people. In the course of a study of the wider aspects of unemployment amongst school leavers, the authors collected evidence which they believe bears directly on this question. In a prospective study, which began by assessing fifth formers before they left school, it was found that in general those who went on to YOP schemes occupied an intermediate position between those who obtained work and those who remained unemployed, on a variety of measures of psychological well-being. However, it was found that those on Schemes were less likely than those in either of the other two groups to believe that they had a measure of personal control over their lives. The findings are discussed in relation to the design of employment schemes and the longer term implications.
INTRODUCTION
As unemployment continues to rise, the overall rates disguise still greater rates amongst one particular section of society: the r6-year-old school leaver. This group is especially vulnerable not only to the worst rates of unemployment but also arguably to the worst effects of being unemployed. The government has shown some signs of recognizing their special position as demonstrated by the introduction of various employment schemes such as the variety of Youth Opportunities Programmes, and now the Youth Training Scheme. The effects of unemployment on these young people differ from the effects on older people in a number of ways. Clearly there is not the feeling of loss l
Department of Psychology, Leybourne
. Department **+ Department
l
OrJO-1)7’/84/040377
Grange Hospital, West Mailing, Kent of Psychology, Hellingly Hospital, Hailsham, East Sussex. of Psvchology, St Francis Hospital, Haywards Heath, Sussex. +
Gig $03.00’0
378
b1ICIl.J.~l.
()I)I)Y
1:‘T.u
that characterizes the reaction of those made redundant, nor are their financial responsibilities as great as those of older workers. \Vith those made redundant, unemploved school leavers share the loss of a structured social contacts and shared experiences environment, enforced activity, (Jahoda, 1982), which in their case were previously provided by school. Unlike older people however, unemployed school leavers are going through a period of transition, when identity and self-esteem are in state of rapid change (Erikson, 1956). Work is normally considered to play a major part in the establishment of a young person’s identity. Young people are particularly prone to feelings of personal failure and more likely than others to attribute their lack of a job to personal inadequacies (Jahoda, 1982). For all people work provides status, but for the young such status is essential to secure personal autonomy in relation to their family. Indeed the more they lack status and independence outside the family, the greater the likelihood of friction between them and their parents (Maitland-Edwards, McMullen, Welbers and Woolthuis, 1981). Although their financial situation may not be desperate they are likely to experience considerable difficulty in keeping pace with their peers. Finally, work is a new world of which the school leaver has little or no experience. A first job is a major opportunity for learning. Loss of this opportunity may quickly lead the young person to lose interest and the motivation to search for work. Resignation, it has been suggested, sets in much more quickly than amongst the older unemployed and leads to a gradual abandonment of personal aspiration (Maitland-Edwards et al., 1981). Marie Jahoda (1982), whose studies of the effects of unemployment span more than five decades, has recently made the following comments on youth unemployment: “The psychological situation of those sixteen to eighteen or nineteen year old people to whom the ordinary transition to adulthood is thus denied presents perhaps the socially most dangerous aspect of the current depression. This is the age group on whose skills, motivation to work and general outlook on the world in which they live the future of the country will depend in the next decades. Many of them are without hope, without plans and without ambition and are gradually abandoning the habits and aspirations that family and school had tried to instil in them.”
Such statements clearly express an alarm that is widespread amongst many sections of society. A concern about the implications of a generation, a large proportion of which, though born to parents in work, itself has none. The alarm has been sufficient to make the government act. But do employment schemes such as those introduced by the government help the situation?
GOVERNMENT TRAINING
SCHEMES: A PERSPECTIYE
379
They are certainly by no means universally popular amongst school leavers themselves. Remarks such as these of Paul, unemployed, and aged 16 years, are common : “1 wouldn’t do it. Don’t think it’s worth it. My mate worked in a shop, and he worked for six months at Ez5 a week and at the end of the six months they got rid of him. It’s just cheap labour for them, isn’t it? After six months they got someone else for six months.”
In general young people often feel exploited by such schemes, that they are wasting time that could be spent searching for a “proper” job, and that the scheme itself is most unlikely to result in a permanent job. Trades Unions, although broadly supporting the current Youth Training Scheme, have also had reservations about such schemes in the past. ‘The dangers they point to include the temptation put before employers to take young people on schemes, subsidised by the government and with a short term contract, rather than to commit themselves to offering permanent jobs with normal conditions of employment. The emphasis with the latest scheme is on training and certainly young people value the opportunity to train. For example, the case of Denise, aged 16 years: “I didn’t want to go on one in the first place, not one they do things like that-six months and then no chance at the end. gained something even if I didn’t get a job, because I was anyway, with my typing, which is what I wanted to do. It’s course, but I don’t think much of the others.”
in the shops and But this, I felt 1 bettering myself definitely a good
The Government and the Manpower Services Commission that there is a distinct difference between the aims of the YTS earlier youth employment schemes. However, the MSC’s stated YOP were that it should provide young people with full-time work experience in order to
would claim and those of aims for the training and
“help each young person to develop in maturity, confidence and independence and to acquire experience of work and a range of basic skills which together, la! a foundation for adult life” (Manpower Services Commission, 1982).
A great deal more planning and thought has undoubtedly gone into the YTS schemes but the overall aims remain much the same, though the methods by which they are to be achieved are (at least in theory) different. Perhaps the greatest difference lies in the fact that YTS is aimed more explicitly at providing flexible skills related to likely technological and market
MICHAEL
380
ODDY I:‘T &.
changes in the future. But the aims quoted above for YOP would also be Proapplicable to YTS. The question is, did the Youth Opportunities gramme achieve these aims and if not, is the Youth Training Scheme any more likely to do so? During the course of a study into wider aspects of the problems of Youth unemployment the authors have collected evidence which they believe has a direct bearing on these questions.
PROCEDURE Following prospective
a pilot study conducted in 1981 (Donovan and Oddy, study of the impact of unemployment on school leavers Table 1. Demographic Unempioyed
Number in sample Gender Male Female Mean age at time I (years) Parent Employed Unemployed Socioeconomic group II III N III M IV V Average number of qualifications* Trouble with police None Minor offence Supervision order/ cautioned Psychiatric record None Welfare officer Social worker/psychiatrist Average length of time unemployed since leaving school (weeks) * CSEs score
I point, O-levels 4 points.
1982) a in early
data YOPS
Employed
43
43
45
27 16 ‘5.89
29 ‘4 15.96
29 16
37 6
4’
I2
3 9 27 3 I
‘9 3 0
4.84
6.56
7’49
26
32 9
35 5
‘4
2
5
32 4 7
36 4 3
4’
26.07
11.98
6.89
3 25 2 I
3
2
75’94 42 3 ‘3 10
2 2
GOVERNMENT
TRAINING
SCHEMES:
A PERSPECTIVE
381
1982 was begun. The initial stage involved visiting local comprehensive schools to assess the emotional and social adjustment of fifth formers during the term prior to leaving school. Fifth formers in five comprehensive schools were seen during the Easter term. They were asked to complete the following questionnaires: the General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg, 1972)) the Leeds Depression and Anxiety Scales (Snaith, Bridges and Hamilton, 1976), the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965), the Present Life Satisfaction Scale (Warr, 1978) and the Social Adjustment Questionnaire (Weissman and Bothwell, 1976). Roughly half went on to further education for another year, in many cases purely because of the employment situation. Of those who left school 45 who were in employment, 43 on Government training schemes and 43 who were unemployed were interviewed. All interviews were conducted between 6 and IO months after leaving school. During these interviews, which took place in the subject’s home, the questionnaires were administered again and in addition details were sought of the person’s public examination results, their experience since leaving school, their family situation, their current perception of their situation and their aspirations for the future. A life events checklist was also administered at this stage. The initial assessment, made before the young people left school, allowed investigation of the possibility that those who later fail to find work are less well-adjusted psychologically and socially than those who find employment. The later assessment permits the influence of employment status to be directly gauged. The data was analysed by means of an analysis of covariance in which the initial (time I) scores were amongst the covariates. Other covariates included birth order, criminal record, life socio-economic group, qualifications, events and psychiatric history. Table I gives details of the subjects.
RESULTS Even when all confounding variables were taken into account there were very clear effects of employment status on the psychological well-being of the young people. Those who were employed were now more emotionally stable than they had been when assessed prior to leaving school. On the other hand, the unemployed leavers were distinctly more likely to be depressed, anxious and generally in a poorer emotional state. Those on a government scheme tended to take an intermediate position between these two groups. In terms of mean scores, those on Youth Opportunities Programmes fell midway between the employed and unemployed on most measures (Donovan, Oddy, Pardoe and Ades, 1984).
382
ILIICH.lEL
ODDE’ f:T.U
One interesting finding which showed a different relationship between the employed, the unemployed and those on schemes concerned a measure known as Locus of Control (Rotter, 1966). This is an attempt to assess the extent to which a person believes they have a measure of personal control over their lives. The unemployed, hardly surprisingly, felt a little less in control of their destiny than the employed, but this difference was small compared to that between those on YOP and the other two groups. Young people on schemes felt markedly less in control of their lives than either the employed or even the unemployed! Nor was this a chance personality difference, since prior to leaving school those who later joined schemes felt more in control than those who were to become employed. Two-thirds of the unemployed and the YOPs groups attributed their unemployed status to economic factors; most of the rest attributed it to their lack of qualifications or their bIore than half the employed however, youth and lack of experience. attributed the status of their unemployed peers primarily to a lack of effort in seeking work. This, despite the fact that many of the employed obtained jobs through the direct intervention of their families. There were some negative findings which may be just as important as the positive. No differences were found between the groups on the Rosenberg Self-esteem scale, although the scale may not have been particularly sensitive. There was no evidence of any particular effect on the social life of those who fell into the three different groups, except that the unemployed reported less opportunity to confide in their friends. ,411 had a similar frequency of contact with friends and spent comparable periods of time in the company of friends. There was a slightly increased likelihood that those in work or on schemes would have made new friends whilst those without work tended to have kept up with friends from school. The proportion with girlfriends or boyfriends was similar in each of the three groups and had changed little in the 8 months since leaving school.
DISCUSSION The findings reported here raise a number of questions about the chances of the Youth Training Scheme attaining the goals which the Government and the Manpower Services Commission have set for these schemes. The results suggest that previous schemes did have value in alleviating the worst effects of unemployment, but did not provide an adequate substitute for “real” work. It must be emphasised here that the young people were all interviewed during the Youth Opportunities Programme and not after. One may only speculate on the picture one would obtain by interviewing after completion of the scheme, but many young people certainly were apprehensive about their prospects when the scheme ended. Much of course, depends
GOVERNMENT
TRAINING
SCHEMES:
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383
on the proportion who do find jobs, but since this has recently dropped below 40 per cent (Short and Taylor, 1982) it seems unlikely that the majority will find work following their year on a Youth Training Scheme. For those who do not find work after completing the scheme the question is, has the scheme furnished them with sufficient skills and confidence to ensure that the positive psychlological benefits are maintained? Breakwell, Harrison and Propper (1982) interpreted similar findings as indicating that despite the reservations of the young people, YOP schemes were clearly beneficial. However, as in this study the youngsters were not reassessed after they had left the YOPs scheme. It was found that to a limited degree, the YOP schemes did “help each young person to develop in maturity, confidence and independence” but they were still left at a disadvantage compared to the employed. Perhaps the most alarming finding is the one concerning the young person’s perception of personal control over their lives. That a youth employment scheme should have the effect of diminishing this sense of control is certainly cause for concern. However, it seems possible that E’TS may avoid this pitfall. The emphasis upon training, and the fact that a considerable proportion of time is spent in formal training, may enable the “trainee” to feel that he or she is in control, that they are benefiting from the scheme and that they are choosing to do it. Attempts to compel young people to take part in such schemes could lead to the opposite reaction with detrimental long-term results. In certain respects the YOP group resembled the unemployed more than the employed. For example, they were more muted in their aspirations for the future than the employed. Fewer expected to eventually own their own home, to be able to afford a car or to holiday abroad. There was also the indication of a division into those with permanent jobs and those without in the explanations the youngsters gave for unemployment. That such divisions should appear so rapidly is perhaps surprising, and seems to be a crucial issue in Youth Employment. If, as appears to be the case, even those employed on schemes rapidly become demarcated and write themselves off as far as future employment is concerned, then such schemes are certainly not achieving what is expected of them. Once again the YTS may succeed where YOP has failed but organizers must ensure that the trainee is left with the impression that he or she has definite tangible skills by the end of the course. The ideals of instilling “core skills”, which will enable the young person to be sufficiently flexible and adaptable to work in a variety of settings, could turn out to be too vague to convince the sceptical youngsters that they have acquired anything worth having. Although there were wide individual differences within each of the groups and clearly employment status was not the only influence on their lives, there can be no doubt that it was a major one taking its place alongside family life and social relationships.
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ODDY fCT.Uz.
The fact that so far the young people have been interviewed only 8 months after leaving school means that it is not yet possible to comment on the longer For example, this study throws little light on questions term implications. regarding the process of adjustment to unemployment, its relationship to the adult pattern and the influence of employment schemes on this process. The fact that there were significant differences between those on schemes and those who were unemployed is presumably due to the fact that the scheme fulfilled at least some of what Jahoda (1982) has called the latent functions of work. It is perhaps harder to explain why there were significant differences between those on YOPs and those in permanent employment. The most obvious difference is the fact that those in work were normally being paid about double the wage earned by those on YOPs. This must have meant that certain social activities were beyond the means of one group but not the other. In fact, the young people we interviewed alluded to this rather rarely but this may have been because already they were tending to restrict their social circle to those who had the same employment status. Not only were there direct restrictions on them as a result of financial circumstances, but also they may have missed the boost to morale that those who were employed with relatively high wages probably experienced. All those on YOPs were very much aware that they had not succeeded in obtaining a “proper” job and it is likely that they lacked the sense of achievement that the employed group experienced. In addition to the lack of status and sense of failure, they were in what must be an extremely insecure and anxiety-arousing situation. They had the certain knowledge that their present job would expire in a few months time with no certainty of obtaining another. As has been reported, they were much less optimistic about the future than those with permanent jobs. It must be stressed that the findings cited above are not presented as absolute truths. Employment is not necessarily beneficial for one’s well-being and nor is lack of employment necessarily bad. These findings relate to I6-year-old school leavers with few qualifications and in a particular context. In the wider sense the context is a world in recession from virtually full employment; a world in the process of transition to a situation where it appears unlikely that, given the present manner in which work is structured, there will ever be a return to full employment. In a narrower sense the subjects of the study live in an area where in almost every case they were the first in their family to experience unemployment and where more of their peers were in work than out of it. Clearly the context colours their response, although exactly how remains obscure. This research was supported by a grant from the South West Thames Regional Health Authority Local Research Fund. Our thanks are due to the teachers and
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career officers and especially to the young people who took part. We are also grateful to Dr Tony Ades for statistical advice and to Mrs Jean Westgate for secretarial assistance.
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