INVESTING IN PEOPLE: THE LABOUR MARKET IMPACT OF HUMAN RESOURCE INTERVENTIONS FUNDED UNDER THE 1994-1999 COMMUNITY SUPPORT FRAMEWORK IN IRELAND. THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, DUBLIN, 2000

Denny, Kevin and Harmon, Colm and O'Connell, Philip J. (2000) INVESTING IN PEOPLE: THE LABOUR MARKET IMPACT OF HUMAN RESOURCE INTERVENTIONS FUNDED UNDER THE 1994-1999 COMMUNITY SUPPORT FRAMEWORK IN IRELAND. THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE, DUBLIN, 2000. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

Expenditure on human resource development represents a very large and important component of public expenditure and represented about one-third of total European Union aid to Ireland under the 1994-1999 Community Support Framework (CSF). The main objectives of tile CSF expenditures were to boost human capital by enhancing education and skill levels and to enhance the employment prospects of unemployed people. Given the scale and importance of these investments in human resources it is imperative to take a rigorous look at their impact. Noting that much of the existing evaluation work had taken the form of stand-alone evaluations of individual measures or thematic reviews of groups of measures, and that the evaluations have tended to be qualitative in nature, the Irish Department of Finance and the European Commission decided in 1998 to commission a study of the labour market impact of the education and training provisions across the CSF. The main aim envisaged for the study was to produce, as far as possible, quantified estimates of the net impact of interventions funded under the CSF on the labour market outcomes of participants and target groups. This study is the product of that commission. The present study focuses exclusively on the labour market impact of human resource interventions and it should be acknowledged that such programmes may also serve other objectives in preparing citizens for full participation in the economy and society. Our review of developments in the labor market during the 1990s, presented in Chapter 2, shows clearly that labour market conditions were transformed over the course of the 1994-1999 Conlmunity Support Framework. Over that brief period the booming economy led to a shift from mass unemployment to labor shortages. In the new scenario human resource interventions continue to play a vital role in meeting skill needs. In initial education, continued investment is essential to prepare young people for labour market entry and to match the growing demand for skilled workers. In labour market policies targeted at the unemployed, effective progranmaes can both enhance the employment prospects of those experiencing difficulty in the labour market and ease skill and labour shortages in tile booming economy.

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