Discuss the rationale behind recent changes in the design and delivery Essay

Discuss the rationale behind recent changes in the design and delivery of labour market programmes in the UK. Consider a range of theory and international experience in your answer - Essay Example The major economic downfall of 2007 to 2009 led to scarcity of jobs for new people in the labor market. Ten years before the major economic crisis, that is, early 2000s many developed countries had steady achievement in terms of economic growth including large growth in job opportunities, but due to the economic crisis all these achievements have stalled. Millions of people have no place to work in the current tough economy. The crises have severely affected the public financial gains. The financial crisis has created many challenges to the European countries in the labor market and especially the issue of unemployment. Another challenge brought by the economic crisis include attempts to meet the European Union targets of economic growth, which may require the countries to retrench people to cope with the economic recession (Pattison, 2012, p. 466). The discussion paper involves the use of existing academic materials to determine the effects of the 2007/2009 financial crisis. It explains the actions that the governments in some countries such as USA, Australia and the UK have taken to reduce the effects of the financial crisis on the labor market. The strategies adopted and their rationales to assist the unemployed population are also discussed in the paper. Performance based contracting, which is a method same as payment by results, was used in the United States. The strategy led to development of new policies that decentralized funding and purchasing power to network of private companies. The policies emphasized on performance outcomes through financial incentives that motivated the staff of the agencies. The Department of Labor set the performance targets to achieve annually and the outcomes determined the funds saved from the investment. The outcomes also included delivery of employment services with contract periods of more than six months. It also emphasized on training the employees on work skills, which helped