New research led by Dr Phuc Nguyen has examined why employment services often fall short for jobseekers with complex needs.
“Supporting jobseekers with complex needs is an ongoing challenge for governments,” Dr Nguyen says. “Our study drew on service supply chain theory to examine what works, and what doesn’t, across a range of public service employment services.”
The research team found that most employment services operate within a complex service supply chain, and they often underperform because providers are caught between competing demands from the government purchaser, employers and jobseekers.
Dr Nguyen says this “customer multiplicity” creates tension and an inherent power imbalance among customers.
“Because providers prioritise government and other stakeholders, they more than often treat jobseekers as a way to hit targets and secure payments, rather than as the primary focus of support,” she says.
“The lack of close working relationships between providers and suppliers also represents a supply chain breakage, which further limits the extent to which services can be tailored to jobseekers’ needs.”
By highlighting this tension, the findings underscore the need to bring jobseekers back to the centre of the service system.
“Our next step will be to work with government and industry partners to inform policy and practices for employment services.”
