|
|
     |
||
 |
     |
 |
|
Using information from the case studies, this chapter outlines how each EBSM component is delivered in the three sites visited. The case studies were meant to explore how EBSM was implemented in different areas of the province. The case study, then, is directly tied to the primary purpose of the process evaluation: to determine how the program has been implemented and compare that to program design. Given the program's high degree of flexibility, it should come as no surprise to learn that there are a variety of procedures in place for delivering each EBSM component. The three Human Resources Centres of Canada (HRCCs) were selected to represent the range of models represented in Nova Scotia. Case studies were conducted at HRCCs in Antigonish, Sydney and Yarmouth. Yarmouth HRCC was chosen as one location because it makes extensive use of external service delivery agents in quest of capacity building. At the other end of the spectrum is Antigonish HRCC, which has chosen to stay with the traditional Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) client-centred approach, with very little reliance on external agencies. This HRCC did not suffer the loss of staff seen in other offices during the downsizing that took place in 1995. The staff here are experienced and established in the community and have chosen to keep the work in-house. Sydney HRCC was selected to represent a model of community capacity building in between the extremes. The chapter begins with a brief section to set the labour market context for the three sites. 6.1 Labour Market ContextThe Antigonish HRCC is responsible for the delivery of HRDC programs and services in the counties of Antigonish and Guysborough, a large, sparsely populated area in Northern Nova Scotia. Much of the area has traditionally relied on the fishery and forestry industries for employment. Loss of jobs in these industries has resulted in pockets of high unemployment - the town of Canso was particularly hard hit by job losses. The Guysborough Regional Development Authority describes the county as experiencing "chronic unemployment, seasonal employment and underemployment. The average taxable income is 75 percent of the Nova Scotia average while 55 percent of the workforce has an active Employment Insurance (EI) claim." Guysborough's unemployment rate is currently around 20 percent. Despite the current situation, the area is optimistic about the future because of the Sable development that is taking place which is hoped to offset some of the losses, particularly in the community of Guysborough. HRCC staff indicated that because of the influence of the university, hospital and service industry, the local rate of unemployment in Antigonish is currently about 10 percent. The Antigonish HRCC Operational Plan states the local priorities as tourism, information technology and the Sable Offshore Energy Project. The geographic area served by HRCC Sydney includes the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, which amalgamated eight former municipal units on August 1, 1995. The population served by HRCC Sydney is approximately 128,750 (1991 census). The annual average rate of unemployment for Cape Breton as a whole was 23.2 percent for 1996, which is significantly above the 1996 Nova Scotia annual average of 12.6 percent. Unofficial statistics put the unemployment rate of Industrial Cape Breton at 40 percent or higher. The recent announcements to close out DEVCO will drive these rates even higher. The Industrial Cape Breton area faces enormous labour market challenges. High unemployment has placed increased pressure on agencies responsible for delivering income support, including HRDC. In addition, pressure is increased on agencies mandated to deal with the social problems, which tend to accompany severe unemployment. Out-migration has been particularly common among the area's youth population. The Yarmouth area is predominantly rural. Fishing, and manufacturing are the primary economic sectors for the Yarmouth HRCC. Future areas for employment growth for the Zone as a whole are projected to be in aquaculture, recycling and home health care. The tourism industry also holds potential for an increased emphasis. The unemployment rate for the Southern Zone as whole has been steadily increasing over the past five years: Yarmouth's unemployment rate stood at 13.8 percent in April, 1999. In the area covered by the Yarmouth HRCC (Yarmouth and Shelburne counties), the downswing in the ground fishery has led to unemployment for large numbers of ground fish harvesters and processors. In addition other sectors of the fishery, including shellfish, have recently suffered displacement because of fleet restructuring. Mechanization will continue to put labourers out of work in the fishing and forestry industries. Many of the displaced workers have low levels of education and literacy, and a high proportion of these individuals are not "job ready" in the sense they lack a broad range of work skills/experience and have fairly narrow industry specific skills. Over the last decade jobs that have disappeared in primary resources and manufacturing occupations were replaced by jobs in sales and service. Restructuring has been a challenge given the disparity of wages between the two, and the higher levels of education required for the new jobs. 6.2 Employment Assistance ServicesHRCCs may contract with a local external service delivery agency to provide Employment Assistance Services — most of which involve job search assistance — or may provide such services in-house. In most cases, external agencies deliver the services. External agencies show clients how to do job searches, walk them through computer programs used for the search, and review application procedures, résumé writing, and interview techniques. Job postings and the job bank are also featured. At the discretion of the HRCC, external agencies may also offer full case management services on behalf of the HRCC. Employment Assistance Services may provide service to all Canadians, not just EI or reach back clients (e.g., self-service information on the labour market or job openings). Employment Assistance Services can open access to job search services to those who are otherwise ineligible for EBSM. Employment Assistance Services is also delivered through outreach services to some targeted groups (Visible minorities, women re-entering the labour market, persons with disabilities, and youth for example). In Antigonish, the HRCC takes care of Employment Assistance Services without external agencies. Yarmouth contracts out most Employment Assistance Services, even case management of some clients. Sydney also contracts out most such services (except case management) to a local agency. 6.3 Local Labour Market PartnershipsLocal Labour Market Partnerships are generally handled by the project officers in the HRCCs. HRCCs with an emphasis on community capacity building, such as Yarmouth, go out in the community to identify potential partners for Local Labour Market Partnerships projects. In other places such as Antigonish and Sydney, HRCCs more often wait for community groups to come to the HRCC with proposals for partnering activity. HRCC staff in Antigonish do not go out and actively search out potential projects, but they do represent HRDC on a variety of community boards and committees where ideas for projects are often broached. Enough organizations seek HRDC assistance in Antigonish and Sydney to make community partnerships a significant element of EBSM in each area. During the study period of January 1997 to June 1998, there were 25 Labour Market Partnerships in Yarmouth, 17 in Antigonish and 14 in Sydney. Although Sydney had the least number of Local Labour Market Partnerships, they tended to be the largest in terms of numbers of participants and HRDC contribution.
Antigonish and Yarmouth have Regional Development Authorities (RDAs) that play important intermediary roles in the Local Labour Market Partnerships component. These organizations work with HRDC to identify the best approach and best program (from HRDC and others) for employers, community agencies and others who are looking for assistance with labour market programs. RDAs also have ongoing consultations with the community to identify economic development activities and appropriate partners. Local Labour Market Partnerships have been used to fund a wide variety of projects including: hiring coordinators for groups serving the EBSM target groups, financial support for career fairs, creating community economic development advertising materials, funding research to support community development, and financial support for other regional development activities. One project in Yarmouth combined Local Labour Market Partnerships and Job Creation Partnerships (although the partnership predated EBSM). A few years back, when Dominion Textiles decided to close their plant, approximately 300 employees were put out of work. The Yarmouth County Industrial Commission resolved to study the situation to determine if there was a way to make use of the facility. Enlisting the support of various government departments including HRDC, the Commission arranged for the building to be renovated so local employers could purchase or rent space. Three parts were sectioned off to be sold, and the money was reinvested to enable further renovation. Clients were hired under the job creation partnership to do the renovation work. At present, several employers operate there on a full time basis. Another example of a Local Labour Market Partnerships is the Yarmouth Learning Centre. It has four partners: HRDC; the Chamber of Commerce (initial sponsor); Community Services; and Burridge Community College. In addition to EI-eligible clients, the new Centre will take social assistance clients, youth and other people with no EI attachment. HRDC is bringing funding to the partnership through Local Labour Market Partnerships, Purchase of training and Employment Assistance Services. The Community College is providing the facility and overhead costs and access to its resources. Community Services is providing some funding for their clients. A completely different Local Labour Market Partnerships example comes from the HRCC Sydney case study. The Virtual Firm, a special project of the University College of Cape Breton in partnership with HRDC, is a learning model for the unemployed. It functions like a real business enterprise, interacting with other Virtual Firms in a closed network. In partnership with a sponsor company, the Virtual Firm sells a product in a "virtual" marketplace to meet the demands of other network participants. The key focus of the Virtual Firm is to help participants find employment and use hands-on training to enhance their professional knowledge and skills in a 15-week period. The Virtual Firm model allows individuals to develop and enhance their business skills and enables them to network, make business contacts and benefit from the business expertise of well-qualified supporters with a primary interest in helping individuals find meaningful employment. In Sydney's Virtual Firm, clients run the business on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays to improve their skills. Mondays and Wednesdays are spent job searching. Employers, were said to be beginning to buy into the concept, accepting the firm as real experience. The Antigonish County Adult Learning Association is another example of a Local Labour Market Partnerships, although the association was in existence prior to the establishment of EBSM. The organization was small and felt that a coordinator position was needed so it could better meet the needs of the community. There are now a number of partners involved: the HRCC and the National Literacy Secretariat jointly fund the coordinator position, the province funds instructor salaries, a small grant from the Provincial Literacy Coalition helps with learner related expenses, the school board and municipality provide space, and other private sector partners offer technical support, accounting services and consulting. The Association's Board of Directors, which meets monthly, is made up of the partnership and community representatives. These examples, which seem to have no commonalties whatsoever, illustrate the range of activities supported through this measure. For the most part, use of the measure was considered to be beneficial by the partners. Some interviewees, though, attested that Local Labour Market Partnerships are used in a different manner from what was intended. They said the measure is used when staff want to support something in the community that doesn't fit anything else. This, however, does not seem inconsistent with policy - the HRCC handbook on EBSM is very broad in its definition of what types of projects might be acceptable. A broad interpretation of the handbook would be that any labour market initiative fits under Local Labour Market Partnerships as long as there is at least one community partner. 6.4 Job Creation PartnershipsThe Job Creation Partnerships benefit in practice is administered in a similar fashion to the Local Labour Market Partnerships. Project officers administer the contracts and are responsible for monitoring. Staff in HRCC Yarmouth, for example, go out into the community to identify and develop projects. The Regional Development Authority helps identify projects and works with HRDC and community groups to develop them. At the other extreme, Antigonish and Sydney are less proactive in this area. Community partners generally approach the HRCC to request funding for a Job Creation Partnerships. The approach to developing Job Creation Partnerships (proactive versus reactive) does not appear to affect the number of agreements signed. During the study period of January 1997 to June 1998, there were 27 Job Creation Partnerships in Yarmouth, 23 in Antigonish and 29 in Sydney. As with the Local Labour Market Partnerships, the Job Creation Partnerships projects tended to be the largest in Sydney.
Positions are most often short-term and tend to be used to help the community as well as provide the client with some valuable work experience. Typically the client is receiving EI and continues to receive benefits while working on projects under the Job Creation Partnerships. These benefits may be topped up by the employer or the HRCC. Antigonish staff indicated that the local policy is for the employer to top up the benefits if the partnership is within the private sector and for HRCC to top up the benefits if the partnership is with a non-profit organization, whose contribution to the partnership would be more "in kind." Job Creation Partnerships is supposed to create opportunities for employment and work experience leading to economic growth, long-term jobs and reduced reliance on EI benefits. Some informants said the component was supposed to create "sustainable employment." That phrase shows up in some HRDC descriptions of Job Creation Partnerships. These interviewees maintained that the intent was to move away from the former Section 25 make-work project to subsidizing sustainable jobs. However areas of high unemployment may pose a challenge to the requirement for job sustainability for approval of projects. Some staff say they had to take some decisions around what is sustainable. Other informants said there was no such requirement for job sustainability. The HRDC Handbook on EBSM states that "Job Creation Partnerships (JCP) can be used wherever there is a development need and an opportunity to give unemployed workers the chance to gain some work experience that can lead to long-term employment." The handbook seems to place no constraints whatever on the use of Job Creation Partnerships for creating permanent jobs: HRCCs may define for themselves how best to use the measure. In any case, HRCCs sometimes overlook job sustainability because they feel it is simply not realistic. Managers and project officers claim they are taking a broader view of job creation. They can fund a project based on the hope that new skills, enhanced experience, and a stronger resume will benefit the client in the long run, even if the current project does not lead to full time employment. As well, HRCCs are looking at the community development aspects of Job Creation Partnerships. A good example raised by HRCC staff in Sydney was a boardwalk funded through Job Creation Partnerships. HRCC staff knew the people involved in building the boardwalk would not be employed at it long-term, but several businesses — boutiques and a restaurant — followed, which did produce permanent jobs. In this case, the workers claimed the infrastructure construction lead indirectly to these new jobs. The Dominion Textiles project cited above was posited as a good example of the use of Job Creation Partnerships in Yarmouth. Clients were hired under Job Creation Partnerships to carry out the renovation work. They were not expected to get permanent jobs at the site, but the work they did was expected to facilitate the creation of other jobs at the facility. Another example of Job Creation Partnerships in the Sydney area is Two Rivers, which used to be a provincially run wildlife park. The park is now a not-for-profit organization. HRDC provided funds to hire about six persons. One of these was hired through Job Creation Partnerships to do the organization's books: she has since been brought on full-time by Two Rivers. Two or three others were carpenters hired to build pens for the animals, trails, and keep up the grounds. They have also been brought on full-time. HRCC staff and external service deliverers, however, were as one in condemning the non-insurable aspect of Job Creation Partnerships. 6.5 Targeted Wage SubsidiesTargeted Wage Subsidies was intended as a tool to provide clients with direct work experience that can lead to long-term employment. In many HRCCs, including Yarmouth and Antigonish, counselors give letters to the clients indicating their eligibility for the program, so they can do their own marketing. Targeted Wage Subsidies is thus seen as a client oriented program. For those who are considered job-ready, the subsidy is seen as a means of gaining entry to what is hoped to be long-term employment. In some areas or in particular circumstances, however, Targeted Wage Subsidies is employer driven. Not only does the HRCC get calls from employers looking to hire an EI client with a wage subsidy but the employer may have a particular client in mind. This approach by employers, choosing an employee and asking HRDC to share the wages, does not appear to counter policy for program delivery. The HRDC Handbook on EBSM seems to give HRCCs this latitude, stating the following: An employer's proposal to use a targeted wage subsidy may be evaluated based on the value of the work experience it offers to participants, on the likelihood that the jobs will continue in the long term, or on both of these criteria. If an EI eligible client has taken the initiative to market himself with employers to generate his own opportunities and a wage subsidy agreement is what this client needs, then staff are to make a decision based on what makes the best sense for that client to achieve results. Staff feel the measures meet the needs of employers. In areas where the measure is client-centred, interviewees were less disposed to think that employer needs are met. For example, when an employer calls asking for a subsidized worker, staff in client-centred HRCCs are supposed to determine if the employer has had subsidized employees previously and what the outcome was. If past clients were laid off when or soon after the subsidy ended, staff are less disposed to sending another subsidized client to that employer. The wage subsidy is generally 50 percent of the hourly wage. The length of the placement is negotiated with the client. Usually the placement lasts for 16 to 26 weeks. During the interviews with employers, some positive examples of the use of Targeted Wage Subsidies for training and retaining EBSM clients were raised. A bakery in Sydney was about to lose a baker who was relocating. Before the baker left, the bakery hired an EI client under the Targeted Wage Subsidies program and had the original baker train the client. Targeted Wage Subsidies paid 50 percent of the salary and the client is now employed full-time with the bakery. Later they needed to bring on an additional employee and again looked to the Targeted Wage Subsidies to subsidize the wages (50 percent) while the second employee was in training. This client is also now employed full-time by the bakery. In Antigonish, an employer has used the program on several occasions to subsidize employees that require training on the job to carry out specific duties. Generally the positions that were being filled were said to be created by a growing industry. The employer stated that he does not submit a proposal to HRDC for a subsidy unless clients get full-time employment at the end. Local HRCC staff were praised for their follow up even after funding ends. One area for improvement, in this employer's opinion, is better screening of clients by HRCC staff. 6.6 Purchase of trainingAs mentioned already, most EBSM clients participated in a training intervention. In general, counselors have an interview with clients to assess the employment need and to develop a plan of action. In many instances, the client has made a career choice and comes to the counselling interview with a good idea of the training he or she desires. Counselors make sure all clients know about their labour market prospects for a chosen career. Career development and exploration workshops are offered through Employment Assistance Services for those who need assistance with career choice. Included in the development of the action plan is negotiation of financial assistance with the client - an assessment of what the client can contribute to the intervention. Nearly all staff interviewed felt that the client is much more committed to the action plan when it is not being entirely financed by HRDC. Also staff find that clients that are contributing into their plan do more preparatory work in terms of making sure it is the right career path for them. The extent of the contribution is very much influenced by the individual's situation, with some individual's contributing only their EI benefits while others are unable to contribute. Office vary in their approach to financial negotiations with clients. One local office stated the departure point on the negotiations is 60/40, i.e. it is assumed the client can cover 40 percent of the cost of training unless he or she proves otherwise. Few do prove otherwise: staff estimated that 75 to 80 percent of the people they deal with fit that 60/40 bracket. Although training in negotiating these financial agreements was available to staff and most had gone through such training, there is still considerable variation in the extent of the negotiations, with some offices expecting more from the client than other offices, and even some staff within the same office expecting more than others. 6.7 Self-EmploymentThe delivery of Self-Employment was common in the three HRCCs visited for the case studies. Self-Employment is delivered by external service providers, mostly Business Development Agencies. Clients who express an interest in self-employment are referred to the responsible Agency. Some agencies offer an information session on what is involved in starting and running a business, what is required in a business plan, what the program eligibility requirements are, and what other sources of financing are available for clients. Others begin with an in-depth interview covering applicant background and present status. After the initial meeting, the external agency determines client eligibility through HRCC staff. EI eligibility (or reach back status) is a necessary but insufficient condition. The decision to approve a client for Self-Employment is based on a viable business plan. After an orientation session, some preliminary training and planning, clients are asked to do some research on their business and develop a business plan. On the basis of the viability of the plan, the external delivery agent makes a recommendation to HRCC. By and large, the HRCCs follow the recommendation. According to case study informants, the most important benefit for clients is the ability to collect EI benefits — income to rely on while getting the business under way (this was confirmed by clients in the survey). Another important benefit is business related courses, taught by outside experts, in key areas such as taxation, bookkeeping, and understanding financial statements. Self-Employment clients can stay on the program for up to 52 weeks. It is up to the delivery agent to recommend the length of the intervention. In Antigonish, the full 52 weeks is only available to certain target groups such as the disabled, visible minorities and youth. Other areas grant 52 weeks of benefits to all clients. Also negotiated with the client is a personal investment in the business. The Self-Employment component requires that clients have 25 percent equity in the business (20 percent in Antigonish), which can be cash or in-kind. The external agencies monitor the performance of the new business through site visits and by looking at the monthly statement of income and expenses that has to be submitted. If any problems are evident, assistance is offered. All three agencies involved in the case study sites had done surveys of former clients and all maintained the Self-Employment option was highly successful. The uniformity of their findings increases confidence in the results: Yarmouth and Antigonish found that 76 percent of the clients they had contracted with since 1992/93 are still in business; Sydney's success rate was reported at 77 percent. Survey results suggest the success rate for Self-Employment is close to 70 percent. Types of businesses started include: service, retail, tourism, forestry, agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing children's clothing, electrical business, video distribution, photography, manufacture of heavy equipment, carpet cleaning, a barter service, pet grooming, graphic works, tool sales, furniture refinishing, fast food restaurant, dessert parlours, property maintenance, accountants, daycare, trucking, massage therapy, prosthetics, hair salon, shuttle service, second hand clothing shop, crafts, aquaculture, restaurants, interior decorator, shoe store, specialized printing services, automobile diagnostic services, floor installation, greenhouse and a sawmill. Several of these businesses have resulted in the creation of new jobs for additional employees, however, support of some sort (possibly EBSM) is often sought for these positions. 6.8 ConclusionIt is clear from the three case studies that there are wide variances between HRCCs in how they have chosen to deliver EBSM. Is any one delivery model better? One measure is the clients' perceptions. Survey data can be used to compare the mean grades given by clients to EBSM overall, and to various services by case study area. Overall, clients gave Antigonish and Yarmouth a B +, and Sydney a B-, a significant difference.6 Table 6.3 shows satisfaction levels with key aspects of EBSM.
For the most part Antigonish gets the highest grades, which one might predict based on its client-centred approach. In one area, educational upgrading, Sydney clients gave the highest marks, corresponding to Sydney's focus on training and youth upgrading. Survey data can also be used to provide some preliminary outcomes by case study area. Please note, however, that these outcomes are not necessarily the result of the program: clients in the different areas could have been very different and have different labour market conditions. Clients in the HRCC Yarmouth area were most likely to be working at the time of the survey: nearly three-quarters were employed, as opposed to just over half in Sydney and Antigonish. But, the same outcomes were experienced for individuals from the same areas who did not participate in the program. In terms of earnings improvement in each area for participants and non-participants, there were no significant differences across the three offices in earnings improvement pre- and post-program (using 1996 and 1998 earnings). Neither were there significant differences in earnings gains between participants and non-participants in any region. Clients in Antigonish and Sydney received slightly less EI benefits in 1998 than did non-participants in those areas, though the differences were not significant (Table 6.4). In Yarmouth, however, participants relied on EI benefits to a significantly lesser extent than did non-participants in 1998 (at the 10 percent level of significance). Again, though, this does not necessarily connote negative or positive impacts of the program: the groups may have been very different before the program.
Without a sophisticated econometric analysis, no definitive verdict can be rendered on the impact of EBSM in each individual region. In any case, it is not apparent that the type of model used in the HRCCs has affected the impact of the program to any great extent. The local labour market is probably a much more important factor.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![[To Top]](/web/20060127000300im_/http://www11.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/edd-img/top.gif){kind=small}
![[Previous Page]](/web/20060127000300im_/http://www11.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/edd-img/back.gif){kind=small}
![[Table of Contents]](/web/20060127000300im_/http://www11.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/edd-img/content.gif)
![[Next Page]](/web/20060127000300im_/http://www11.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/edd-img/next.gif){kind=small}