Supporting ‘good work’ in active labour market policies

Rapid review of what has worked in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia

This paper sets out evidence on what has worked in supporting ‘good work’ in employment programmes. Employment support in the UK is often characterised by a focus on encouraging unemployed people to take up ‘any job’, even where that might be low paid or insecure, but there has been a growing focus in recent years (in the UK and overseas) on how programmes can help people access better paid jobs and progress in work.

This paper summarises findings from more successful initiatives in this space, drawing on a rapid review of research reports and evaluations from the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. 

This research is part of a wider research project – ‘Activating Employers’ – which is being led by the University of Brighton and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and is exploring how public policy on the ‘demand’ side can support improvements in job quality.