Several JFF projects have
helped the United Kingdom develop strategies for advancing low-wage workers. In
1999, JFF worked with the New Deal Task Force to develop strategies for
revamping the British welfare-to-work system. This project culminated in
Business Participation in Welfare-to-Work: Lessons from the
United
States, along with several case
studies. That same year, JFF produced Improving Low Income Job Seekers'
Employment Prospects: The Role of Labor Market Intermediaries, a background
paper for the U.K./U.S. Seminar on Labor Market Intermediaries
In 2004, to inform the Fair
Cities Initiative, JFF undertook an international study of employer-led
initiatives that take full account of the recruitment and skill needs of
employers, while helping ethnic minority job seekers to overcome specific
barriers, such as language skills and discrimination. On average, ethnic
minorities in the
United Kingdom experience higher
unemployment, lower pay, and fewer opportunities for advancement than whites.
At the same time, half of the growth in the
U.K.’s working-age population
over the next five years will come from ethnic minority groups even though they
make up only 8 percent of the population. Thus, failure to address the
employment barriers that ethnic minorities face will have severe economic and
social costs. Through the Fair Cities Initiative, the National Employment
Panel, which provides advice on the design, delivery, and performance of the
U.K. government’s labor market
policies and programs, explored ways to engage employers in addressing this
challenge.
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Business Participation in Welfare-to-Work: Lessons from the United States 
