This project focusses on low-skilled persons with a vulnerable position on the labor market, i.e. 1 million persons in the Netherlands. These persons may be unemployed due to various reasons, or work in precarious jobs in the lower end of our labor market. For these persons, the current work context in which skills quickly become outdated is an additional challenge to achieve sustainable careers.
Given the relatively low and stable proportion of organizations offering sustainable employment to vulnerable workers, the present PhD study will take the employer as the starting point. The PhD researcher will investigate how the interests and needs of employers can be linked to the inclusion of vulnerable workers in their organizations (e.g. from intentions to actual inclusion), and the further development of these workers’ skills and knowledge. Furthermore, in this project we will investigate to what extent a strengths-based approach, building on the unique qualities of both the vulnerable workers and their employers, can promote the inclusion and professional development of these workers.
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