Social work between Social Investment and New Public Management. The case of Labour Market Service Workers in the Veneto Region

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO
Author/s Maurizio Busacca, Barbara Da Roit
Publishing Year 2021 Issue 2021/159
Language Italian Pages 20 P. 197-216 File size 213 KB
DOI 10.3280/SL2021-159010
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Active Labour Market policies are a pillar of the Social Investment (SI) strategy. The article aims at analysing the transformations of social work following the in-troduction of PALs in a context where ideas, organization and practices inspired by New Public Management (NPM) - quasi-markets, planning and performance measurement - influence users’ activation, capacitation and empowerment. The analysis of the Labour Market Service Workers’ experience in the Veneto region suggests that the SI strategy adapted itself and reinforces NPM efficiency-driven ideas. The SI NPM perspectives therefore converge into a trust in the market as a regulation mechanism and contribute to the precariousness and pressure in terms of values, time, money and professional development.

Keywords: Social Investment, New Public Management, Active Labour Market Policies, Veneto, Social Work

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Maurizio Busacca, Barbara Da Roit, Lavoro sociale tra Social Investment e New Public Management. Il caso degli Operatori del Mercato del Lavoro in Veneto in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 159/2021, pp 197-216, DOI: 10.3280/SL2021-159010