Aging & Social Change: Ninth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

One of the most significant changes in the developed world over the past thirty years has been a quickening transition from a primarily industrial to an increasingly service-based economy. This rapid structural change have been disproportionately adverse for unqualified older workers who have lost their jobs as the skill content of blue-collar work increased due to skill-based technological changes. For these unqualified older unemployed people, there is low chance to find a suitable job via internet-based systems. They may have low education levels, less technological skills, and low self-esteem as a result of long-term unemployment; therefore, their relevant job opportunities diminish. This paper describes a successful pilot project among 108 chronically unemployed Jews and Arabs, in five employment centers in Israel. By sharing each other’s list of acquaintances under the guidance of professional consultants, 41% of them found a job. The results have strengthened our assumption that educating people to use expanded weak personal networks (non-internet) to find jobs is both effective and beneficial.