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Youth‐focused active labour market programmes in a constraining welfare regime: A qualitative reading of programmes in Egypt
Author(s) -
Barsoum Ghada
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of social welfare
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1468-2397
pISSN - 1369-6866
DOI - 10.1111/ijsw.12228
Subject(s) - documentation , outreach , modalities , sustainability , welfare , public relations , institutionalisation , unemployment , politics , economic growth , business , political science , economics , sociology , social science , ecology , computer science , law , biology , programming language
Active labour market programmes (ALMPs) are at the core of welfare regimes in many countries across the world. This study addressed youth‐focused ALMPs in Egypt, a country with high youth unemployment and a plethora of programmes ostensibly addressing this issue. Building on interviews with implementers, programme documentation and a publically accessible inventory of programmes in Egypt, the analysis locates ALMPs within the country's overall welfare system and the politics of programme targeting, design, governance and implementation modalities. The legacy of state ‘protective’ policies and the fragmented multiplicity of players within the field constrain the effectiveness and outreach of these programmes. Analysis of implementation modalities also shows that there is a pervasive lack of programme coordination, activity documentation, management for results, and pathways to achieving sustainability and programme institutionalisation. Key Practitioner Message: • Egypt's fragmented ALMPs field must be integrated and coordinated within the country's broader welfare system • Programme documentation, management of results, rigorous evaluation and sustainability plans must be seriously addressed