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Social Audit... Research Findings - Jobs and Business |
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2.4. 2.5
Jobs and Business The
economic difficulties experienced by the South Wales Valleys since the
demise of the coal industry are well known and scarcely need reiterating
here. Suffice it to say that it is little surprise that the local economy
and labour market featured centrally in the residents’ accounts of what
was wrong in their area. For nearly three-quarters (71%) of the
respondents to the questionnaire survey local employment opportunities
were judged as being either “poor” or “very poor”. Equally the
condition of the local labour market ranked third in respondents views
about the biggest problems affecting their area (see Table 6). Data
derived from the qualitative aspects of the research enables a more
detailed analysis of respondents’ views about the nature of the local
labour market from which three core themes emerge: 2.
The prevalence of low skilled and low paid employment 3.
Lack of quality training
programmes Unemployment.
In
line with national trends there has been a sustained decrease in the
unemployment rate in the South Wales Valleys generally. This is reflected
in data from the 2001 census which shows an unemployment rate of just 3.6%
in Treorchy, a figure which is only 0.2% higher than that for England and
Wales. In 1991 the census recorded an unemployment rate of 16%
for the Rhondda district. However, at this stage it is difficult to
establish exactly how much of the decrease in unemployment can be
attributed to increased employment levels and how much can be attributed
to changes in counting methods and the benefit system. In any case there
was certainly a widespread view amongst respondents in this research that
unemployment is a continuing problem:
“the
pits shut ......there’s been no industry here for years and years” “one
big requirement for people is work” “job
prospects are very low in Ynyswen”
Moreover,
there is also wider evidence to show that the benefits to be had from
declining unemployment have not been evenly distributed and that
unemployment continues to be concentrated within particular ‘work
poor’ households (Jones & Adamson 2001). Further
evidence of this is provided by the 2001 census which found that 30% of
the unemployed in the ward of Treorchy were classed as long term
unemployed and that 12% had never been in employment. Certain of the
respondents picked up on this theme during the qualitative interviews and
expressed concern about the culturally corrosive effects of
intergenerational unemployment within the same family:
“there
is a fear of leaving the benefit system.....we need to reintroduce the
culture of work”
In
turn this was seen as being linked in with a wider pattern of polarisation
in the local society:
“there
are pockets of new wealth.....in this street everybody works and crime is
unheard of .... in other parts there are whole streets on benefits, there
is crime, housebreaking, car thefts and litter everywhere, dog fouling
...there is no future”
The
same interviewee commented that whilst wages available in the local labour
market acted as a push-factor to out-migration for the more mobile
(whether as daily commuters or on a more permanent basis) it was a source
of despair for those who remained:
“there
is a loss of hope ...despondency...... they see their parents in low paid
employment and they see no hope”
Finally,
although there has undoubtedly been some net increase in employment rates
in the Valleys generally this obscures a continual process of turnover in
the local employment base in which particular firms shed jobs or close
down even as new firms start operating in the area. The local perception
is that these losses have primarily occurred in the more
established (and better paying) factories, some of which have recently
shed jobs or moved out of the area altogether. Examples of this included
recent redundancies at the Burberrys factory and the closure of Harwins
components which it was claimed had provided employment for up to ninety
people. There are currently empty lots and disused premises on both the
Ynyswen and Treorchy industrial estates. Low Skilled and Low Paid Employment back return to top of page One
of the key trends identified by the PCR’s 2001 survey was the shift in
emphasis in residents concern from high levels of unemployment in the
1990s to the quality of the new jobs that were coming into the Valleys
by 2001. Here there was widespread concern about the perceived lack
of “good jobs”. Although issues such as skill levels and long term job
security were key elements of resident’s criteria about what constituted
a “good job”, the overriding concern was with net rates of pay. These
findings are equally evident in this research with the two major sources
of local employment (local shops and services and light manufacturing
industries in factories on the Ynyswen and Treorchy industrial estates)
both being criticised for rates of pay that there were set at or sometimes
below the minimum wage:
“A
lot of what is around now is very low money....it’s only offering
minimum wage. There are jobs but they are very badly paid.” “factories
around here take advantage” “we
need to attract businesses that employ people in good jobs”
There
was a general consensus that getting a good job meant travelling to
Cardiff or even further.
“there
is nothing around here.....people have to work outside the area” (15
year old female, Treorchy) “if
you want good money you have to go to Cardiff” (18
year old male, Treorchy) “my
daughter is a junior school teacher...but there is no work. Professional
who has to travel to Cardiff”
An
informal interview with a group of young school leavers amply illustrated
the sorts of dilemmas that this could create. This group reported that the
rates of pay on offer by a major local employer ranged from £160 per week
for a 48 hour week (£100 for under 16 year olds) to £250 per week for
the night shift. This is in stark contrast to the labour market which
exists in Cardiff or on the M4 corridor.
Similarly another reported having earned £200 per week in Cardiff
but “good money” also meant long travelling times. He claimed that his
job in Cardiff entailed leaving Treorchy on the 7.00a.m train to return
home again at 7.30p.m - assuming that the trains were running on time,
which was by no means always the case. Whilst this individual eventually
decided to give up the job in Cardiff, there were fears expressed that
others simply chose to leave the area altogether. As one interviewee
commented:
“the
educated people don’t come back .....we are losing the brightest and the
best of the younger population”
Lack of good quality and relevant training back return to top of page An
integral component of what one interviewee described as the
“limited economy” which operates in the area is the perceived
scarcity of good quality training programmes. Nearly four out of
ten (38%) of survey respondents expressed the view that training
opportunities in their area were either “poor” or “very
poor”. Similarly, participants in the community visioning events
routinely commented about the demise of the apprenticeship system
and the opportunities to learn skilled trades.
“jobs
for young people leaving schools ….. there are no more
apprenticeships ……this is a main consideration”
As
with obtaining a “good job”, the likelihood of securing a good
quality training in skilled employment was believed by many to be
reliant on travelling outside or leaving the area. Thus one school
leaver reported applying for a four-year apprenticeship with BOSCH
at the end of which he expected to be earning at least £320 per
week.
Conclusion 8: The demise of the coal industry has
left a continuing legacy of structural problems and weaknesses
within the local economy. In the recent past these weaknesses have
been manifested by high rates of unemployment. Although
unemployment continues to be an issue, structural economic
problems appear to be currently manifested by the prevalence of
low paid employment in the local area and the lack of employment
with opportunities for long term skills development.
Recommendation 7: Although
the problems with the local economy are structural with origins in
wider processes beyond the control of the regeneration group,
there may well be instances where community regeneration can make
a positive, if incremental, contribution. Where possible the
regeneration group should seek to promote and develop indigenous
economic growth in the local area.
This
could possibly take place through the development of community
enterprises in some of the activities identified elsewhere in this
report and by the promotion of related small businesses. Such
enterprises could also include Intermediate Labour Market
activities for young people. Elsewhere, Intermediate Labour Market
activities have provided some solution to these problems by using
locally derived employment and training structures to (re)introduce
residents to the labour market. In such schemes the emphasis is on
building ‘soft skills’ and confidence within ‘safe’
learning and training environments. For
example, Community Regeneration Trust North East employs local
residents on a decorating team to refresh houses for new
tenancies. They develop soft skills as well as decorating skills
and leave the programme with a Certificate of Employability.
Participants are not allowed to remain on the scheme for more than
one year and are subject to standard work discipline procedures
while they participate. The scheme introduces long –term
unemployed people to the world of work within the safe environment
of their own community. This enables an eventual transfer into the
external Labour market. Similar schemes have been promoted in
local building activities where local labour clauses are inserted
prior to the letting of contracts. The Regeneration Group should
seek to establish such principles for any work it commissions in
the community and encourage the development of service level
agreements with statutory services which promote local employment
patterns. *
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