Social labour, employability and social exclusion: Pre-employment training for call centre work

Recent years have seen the growth of pre-employment training initiatives focusing on developing generic skills amongst the long-term unemployed in an attempt to ensure their access to jobs in the service economy. This article is concerned with the effectiveness of such training, focusing specifically on initiatives designed to equip trainees with the generic skills required for call centre work. Drawing upon data gathered via case study research carried out in the North East of England, the article considers the extent to which the training schemes studied were successful in improving the employability of participants. In doing so, it contributes to current debates about the implications of economic restructuring for the nature of work, skills and labour market disadvantage.