Activation Policies for the Poor in OIC Member States
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Obligations to increase job search is to address the probability that income support measures could
reduce job search because of the relative income levels between State welfare payments and wages
received in employment. Consequently, if there are adverse work incentives this may encourage
welfare dependency and undermine the objective of building economic resilience.
In fulfilling this ‘mutual obligation’ there are responsibilities for both the State and the individual.
The State needs to invest sufficiently in the capacity to:
 Identify and collate vacancies
 Provide caseworker support to jobseekers
 Monitor and regulate job seeking activities by claimants
The nature of job search support, where it is offered, can be categorised as:
 Caseworker support – Where claimants typically have fixed interviews of a short duration and
can serve a twin purpose of welfare payment administration and job search advice in some
countries and systems
 Employment and advice services – Where claimants can access (or required to access)
information on vacancies and other opportunities either through caseworkers or on-line
terminals
 Intensive job search support – Where people are given help to ‘present’ themselves more
effectively in the labour market, for example, through developing their CVs and interview skills
 Specialist services – Which provide job search support for people with specific disadvantages,
such as disabled people
In general, in countries with developed social safety net systems and PES, the amount of job search
support increases with the amount of time someone is unemployed. An initial period of ‘self-
directed’ job search is common, leading to ‘directed’ job search by a caseworker and then
progressing to participation on specific programmes (for example, training, temporary work, and
enterprise support) for the long-term unemployed or those that are identified as having
characteristics that will make moving into sustainable employment more challenging (for example
poor basic skills)
Finally, there are two key factors that influence the nature and extent of job search support. First,
there need to be good channels for information on vacancies and other opportunities. Increasing the
transparency of the labour market improves the job matching process for both employers and job
seekers and in enforcing job search requirements the PES needs access to the best possible vacancy
information to advise jobseekers. Individual jobseekers also need to be aware of the choices they
have in seeking work, undertaking training (or re-training), or pursuing other opportunities that
may increase their employability.
Second, there is a direct relationship between the capacity and capability of job search support
services and the extent of activation that can be required of welfare recipients. The establishment of
mutual responsibilities requires an investment in the administrative capacity to monitor and enforce
compliance. Support services need to maintain a high level of repute and legitimacy with users,
because if they do not then the costs of enforcement administration can increase. In general, the
extent of activation needs to be commensurate with the amount a country is prepared to invest in
high quality job search services.
1.2.2 Training programmes
These will include various forms of delivery to help the unemployed to improve their skill levels and
qualifications and hence increase their employability. The delivery of training programmes is either