The Making Service Pathways of Unemployed People Visible project aims to improve the quality, effectiveness and coordination of social and health care services and other services supporting work ability for people who face difficulties in entering employment. The objective is to accelerate the re-employment of individuals who become unemployed by strengthening their work ability and functional capacity through service pathways tailored to individual needs.
The project co-develops service pathways together with professionals, from the health examination of unemployed persons to social, health care, rehabilitation and employment-supporting services. Particular attention is given to client participation and continuity of services.
The project strengthens professionals’ competencies through workshops, webinars and an open online training course. It also identifies and disseminates good practices for assessing work ability and functional capacity. The development work is based on register data and research evidence, as well as on the experiences of clients and professionals. In addition, the project examines the possibilities of digital and remote services and develops indicators for monitoring service effectiveness in wellbeing services counties.
The professional network for health services for unemployed persons supports the project.
Goals
- Improve the identification of the service needs of people with difficulties entering employment. Participants in health examinations for people outside education and employment will receive timely, appropriate and smooth access to services, promoting their health, functional capacity, work ability and employment prospects.
- Strengthen research-based knowledge on the service needs of people participating in health examinations for unemployed persons, their referral to further services, and the effectiveness of services supporting work ability and employment. This knowledge will help target services more effectively to individuals with significant unmet service needs who are currently outside the service system.
- Support the employment prospects of people with difficulties entering employment by promoting and maintaining their work ability through service pathways tailored to individual needs. The project aims to accelerate re-employment after becoming unemployed.
- Strengthen professionals' competencies in identifying multidisciplinary service needs, assessing work ability and functional capacity, and providing service guidance. This will improve client work and promote client participation. In addition, employers’ capabilities and tools for employing people with partial work ability will be strengthened.
- Create a situational overview and solutions related to transition phases between occupational health care and student health care services and the services of wellbeing services counties, including work ability support services in social and health centres, and vice versa.
- Strengthen cooperation between the social and health services of wellbeing services counties, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), occupational health services and employment services in order to ensure need-based service processes and service chains.
- Contribute to broader participation of people with difficulties entering employment in working life, thereby strengthening the long-term social and economic sustainability of society.
Implementation
The project is implemented as a joint project of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (TTL). THL acts as the project coordinator and is responsible for the register monitoring work package. The work package on developing health examinations for unemployed persons and related service pathways is implemented jointly by THL and TTL.
Within the project, THL contributes expertise in social and health services of wellbeing services counties as well as services and service pathways supporting work ability and employment. TTL is responsible for the work packages Professionals’ Competence and Cooperation in Transition Phases, bringing expertise on work ability, working careers and occupational health collaboration.
The implementation consists of several work packages:
- Register monitoring work package produces an up-to-date overview of the targeting of health examinations for unemployed persons, service use, impacts and regional differences.
- Development of health examinations and service pathways combines register data with qualitative experiential knowledge (previous and supplementary interviews) in co-development workshops and webinars, where bottlenecks are identified, practices are harmonised and monitoring of effectiveness is developed.
- Professionals' competence work package develops an online training course on health examinations for unemployed persons.
- Cooperation in transition phases work package strengthens cooperation in transition situations, particularly at the interfaces between occupational health care, primary health care and employment services.
The project is guided by steering and project groups. Results will be published in reports and other outputs and disseminated through networks, webinars and national events.
Funding
European Social Fund (ESF), THL
Partners
THL (main implementer), Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (TTL).
Contact details
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