Page 83 - Learning-while-working-Success-stories-on-workplace-learning-in-Europe

Adult learning in socially responsible restructuring 77

develop, this can leave employees trapped in a situation that exceeds the
company’s capacity, according to the Cedefop study on socially responsible
restructuring (Cedefop, 2010e).
Even in larger companies, which are better resourced to provide career
guidance-related support and training to affected employees, services
may be patchy and biased in favour of the most well-off employees in
terms of qualifications and job positions. Support services for learning
and work remain essentially reactive and not used to foster individuals’
abilities to manage their careers and work transitions, rarely going beyond
statutory requirements. Following redundancy, tensions may arise between
guidance emphasis to support skill development for employability and those
driven by rapid reintegration in the labour market, rather than empowering
individuals to manage their own careers and learning (Cedefop, Sultana,
2004; 2008). Initiatives rarely follow long-term goals, such as helping workers
develop enduring capacity to cope with change in the labour market and
the workplace.
The use of career guidance as a socially responsible measure in managing
restructuring remains discretionary; it is rarely included among workers’ legal
entitlements in restructuring situations. Statutory notification periods may even
impair personalised career guidance interventions, where redundancies are
announced within short notice. Further, narrowly conceived guidance sup-
port is usually provided in rapid response programmes, following short-term
goals, with limited customisation and aftercare once the worker has left the
company (Cedefop, 2010e). Where there is a formal requirement to provide
guidance, individuals are often referred to public employment services, which
tend not to be well-matched in their activities to the challenges of restructuring
situations; since differentiation of services in employment offices to address
workers re-employment prospect who are still in employment, but are soon
to be made redundant, is uncommon. Collaboration between enterprises
and public employment services is still insufficiently developed, possibly due
to the fact that public employment services are sometimes slow in respond-
ing to changing labour market demands and in adjusting their qualification
programmes accordingly. The career guidance needs of individuals at work
are not being met effectively and successfully, potentially leaving the most
vulnerable individuals poorly prepared to cope with labour changes (European
Commission, 2005b). Not surprisingly, the 2009 Joint employment report insists
on the need to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public employment
services, so they can provide a more personalised approach in pre-redundancy
job search assistance (Council of the European Union, 2010).