Integration into the Labor Market
Commissioned by the State of Salzburg, we are academically supervising a Salzburg-based project that develops a model to gradually develop work skills for people who have difficulties with participating in the labor market.
This project is financed by the European Social Fund:
![](https://www.ifz-salzburg.at/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/ifz-arbeitsmarkt_pexels-tiger-lily-4481534.jpg)
Salzburg Model to Gradually Develop Work Skills
About the Research
The project centers on recipients of means-tested minimal income, especially the long-term unemployed, single mothers, psychologically or physically disadvantaged people, as well as persons entitled to asylum. The aim is to guide unemployed persons gradually towards a (re-)integration into the labor market.
Such a (re-)integration into the labor market is usually not a straightforward process and some of the hurdles are not immediately apparent from the outside. Psychological stability or social skills are often left unconsidered in standard analyses – even though these conditions are necessary to succeed in both our society and the labor market. Accordingly, the researchers at the ifz focus predominantly on ‘soft’ factors of success, that is, factors that need to be adjusted in order to establish a basis for leading a self-determined life, for being (re-)integrated into the labor market, and for participating in society. This requires people to work towards stability in core dimensions of their lives, most significantly their psychological state (indicators include punctuality/reliability, appearance, stress resistance, realistic self-assessment, discipline, self-efficacy, problem-solving skills, relationship skills). Many long-term unemployed persons are facing difficulties in several of these dimensions at the same time.
Methodologies
The academic monitoring of this project is based on a mixed-methods design that combines quantitative and qualitative elements and integrates the perspectives of various stakeholders. It builds on the insights gained from the project “Brücken zur Arbeitswelt” (Bridges into the world of labor), where we have already conducted an extensive study on the integration of recipients of means-tested minimal income in the State of Salzburg.