EEPIC: Enhancing employability through positive interventions for increasing career potential. A high support career guidance intervention to improve the well-being and employability of the long term unemployed in Ireland

INTERVENTION: Participants in this study will be randomly selected from a pool of jobseekers, referred by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) Intreo office to a Non‐Governmental Organisation (NGO) for activation, on a weekly basis. The 120 participants will be randomly assigned over a four month period to the intervention or control group at a ratio of 1:1. The duration of the intervention will vary according to client needs (intervention group), and according to their ‘Probability of Exit’ (PEX) score (control group) as used by the DSP at the point of registration with the maximum duration of either intervention not exceeding six months. This is due to the timeframe of this study which will measure outcomes post intervention and again at a six‐ month follow up in order to ascertain to what extent outcomes from either intervention are maintained, improved or have deteriorated over time. Participants will be invited, as part of the RCT, to complete a range of assessments at key points (at baseline and after completion of their participation in the intervention/ control group) in order to measure the impact of the service or intervention on key dimensions including well‐being, self‐esteem and career identity. The EEPIC Intervention A high support therapeutic guidance intervention will be delivered to 60 long term unemployed job seekers. This focuses on the development of a career plan and strengthening the human, social and psychological capital required to implement this plan. Many long‐term unemployed job seekers experience decreased well‐being, high levels of psychological stress, and low self‐esteem and job search self‐efficacy which can act as barriers to returning to work due to low levels of motivation and attendant ineffective job seeking strategies. The intervention consists of a four stage process which aims to support the job seeker in developing the skills necessary for labour market access while building self‐efficacy and esteem and improving psychologi CONDITION: Psychological well‐being ; Not Applicable INCLUSION CRITERIA: Participants are unemployed job seekers who: 1. Must be clients of the public employment services (DSP/Intreo) and in receipt of a job seekers payment 2. Are referred by the DSP/Intreo office to Pathways to Work (Activation) 3. Have a duration of unemployment > 12months 4. Are aged 18‐60 years 5. Are male/female 6. Have attended a Group Information Session (GIS) Participants must provide written, informed consent before engaging in either intervention (EEPIC Informed Consent Form) PRIMARY OUTCOME: 1. Increased well‐being: This will be assessed using two measures, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12) and the Satisfaction with Life scale:; 1.1. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12) is a 12‐item self‐report questionnaire most widely used to assess levels of psychological distress and to screen for minor psychological disorders. The GHQ has been widely validated and shown to be highly reliable, with a reported Crombach’s ranging from 0.82 to 0.90; 1.2. The Satisfaction with Life Scale is a five‐item self‐report questionnaire developed to measure global cognitive judgemental aspects of life satisfaction. Life satisfaction has been identified as the cognitive judgemental component of subjective well‐being where judgements of satisfaction are dependent on a comparison with a person’s own standard as opposed to a criterion set within the scale, or in a particular domain; ; Participants subjective well‐being will be assessed prior to the intervention or normal service, post intervention and again at 6 month follow up. SECONDARY OUTCOME: 1. Self Esteem, measured by the Rosenberg Self‐ Esteem Questionnaire, a 10‐item scale designed to measure global self‐esteem; 2. Career Self‐efficacy will be measured by the Career Self Efficacy Questionnaire which was adapted by Kossek, Roberts & Demarr (1998) from Sherer and Adam’s (1983) General Self Efficacy Scale to measure a context‐specific form of self‐efficacy. This is an 11‐item self‐report questionnaire which measures an individual’s belief in his or her ability to manage their own career; 3. Resilience will be measured by the Brief Resilience Scale, a six‐item self‐report questionnaire designed to assess the ability to bounce back or recover from stress ; 4. Hopefulness will be measured by the Sate Hope Scale, a six‐item self‐report scale which assesses goal directed thinking in a given moment; 5. Perceived progress towards the labour market will be measured by Cantril’s Self Anchoring Ladder, a 10‐step ladder where the top of the ladder represents the best possible situation for an individual and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible situation. The Scale has been used in research as a type of well‐being assessment, and measures well‐being as defined by judgments of life or life evaluation. However, this scale has been adjusted so that the focus is on career goals and the best and worst possible situation for the individual in relation to their career; 6. Re‐employment or labour market participation will be assessed by rates of progression into employment post intervention at T2, and at six‐month follow up. This will be measured by a single item which asks individuals to indicate whether they are currently unemployed (coded as 0) or currently employed (coded as 1). ; 7. A measure of re‐employment quality will be measured by using the following dimensions:; 7.1. Job satisfaction will be assessed by a single item (answered on a 4 point scale) "All in all, how satisfied would you say you are with your new job?"; 7.2. Job Sustainability will be assessed by a single item answered on a 7‐point scale ("How likely is it that you will actively look for another job in the next year?" ; 7.3. Satisfaction with level of earnings will be rated on a 5‐point scale with 1 indicating 'very unsatisfied' and 5 indicating 'very satisfied'; 8. Access to education / vocational training will be assessed by rates of progression into education and /or training and its relevance to the individual’s career plan post intervention at T2 and at six‐ month follow‐up. This will be measured by a single item which asks individuals to indicate whether they are currently registered on an education or training course relevant to their career plan (coded as 2), are waiting to start an education or training course relevant to their career plan (coded at 1) or are not participating in education or training (coded as 0); 9. Participant's self esteem, career self‐efficacy, resilience, hopefulness and perceived progress towards the labour market will be assessed prior to the intervention or normal service, post intervention and again at 6 month follow up. Re‐employment or labour market participation, re‐employment quality (job satisfaction, job sustainability, satisfaction with levels of earnings) and access to education/vocational training will be assessed post intervention and at six month follow up