Med bakgrund i hur normer om genus och arbete kan orsaka ojämlikhet på arbetsmarknaden fördjupar sig denna studie i Norrbotten som plats. Syftet är att undersöka hur kommunala arbetsmarknadsenheter i Norrbotten utmanar eller återskapar strukturell ojämlikhet på arbetsmarknaden. Med teoretiska perspektiv på klass, arbete, genus och spatialitet tar begrepp som den ideala arbetaren, könande och ojämlikhetsregimer fasta på hur ojämlikhetkan utmanas eller reproduceras inom dessa organisationer. För att svara på syftet har en fallstudie bestående av tre kommunala arbetsmarknadsenheter i Norrbotten undersökts genom åtta enskilda, semistrukturerade intervjuer med chefer och personal. Kommunerna benämns i studien utifrån deras lokala förutsättningar som Gränskommun, Kustkommun och Inlandskommun. Resultatet visar att de kommunala arbetsmarknadsenheterna har möjlighet att utmana strukturella ojämlikheter på arbetsmarknaden. Exempelvis har personalen möjlighet att se individen bortom sociala kategoriseringar, vilket gör att de kan erbjuda insatser som inte bygger på stereotypa normer utan i stället vad individen säger sig vilja arbeta med. Det visar sig även att arbetsmarknadsenheterna förhåller sig till lokala arbetsmarknadsförutsättningar eftersom verksamheternas mål handlar om att ge deltagarna progression mot arbete. Därmed beskrivs i vissa fall en svår balansgång mellan individens och arbetsmarknadens behov, där för mycket fokus på arbetsmarknadens behov riskerar att reproducera ojämlikhet på arbetsmarknaden. Vidare forskning om aktiveringspolitik föreslås därför fokusera på fler sociala kategorier utöver kön och klass, exempelvis etnicitet. Detta skulle kunna synliggöra på vilket sätt ojämlikhet riskerar att reproduceras i samtidens gröna samhällsutveckling. / Based on how norms about gender and work can cause inequality in the labor market, this study delves into Norrbotten as a place. The aim is to investigate how municipal labour market units in Norrbotten challenge or contribute to structural inequality in the labour market. With theoretical perspectives on class, work, gender and spatiality, concepts such as the ideal worker, gendering and inequality regimes address how inequality can be challenged or reproduced within these organizations. To answer the purpose, a case study consisting of three municipal labour market units in Norrbotten has been investigated through eight individual, semi-structured interviews with managers and staff. The municipalities are named in the study based on their local conditions as Border Municipality, Coastal Municipality and Inland Municipality. The results show that the municipal labour market units have the opportunity to challenge structural inequalities in the labour market. For example, the staff have the opportunity to see the individual beyond social categorizations, which means that they can offer interventions based on what the individual wants to work with, and not stereotypical norms. It also turns out that the labour market units relate to local labour market conditions because the goal of the activities is to give the participants progression towards work. In some cases, this describes a difficult balancing act between the needs of the individual and the needs of the labour market, where too much focus on the needs of the labour market risks reproducing inequality in the labour market. Further research on activation policies is therefore proposed to focus on more social categories in addition to gender and class, such as ethnicity. This could highlight the way in which inequality risks being reproduced in today's green transition. / <p>2024-05-30</p>

The local labour market policy in Sweden offers activities to unemployed people who need more competence to get self-sufficient. To get hired the unemployed people need employers who want to hire them. Employers’ perception of the activities from the local labour market policy is therefor crucial for the unemployed who take part in the activities. This master’s thesis aims to interview employers from low-skilled work and take part of their perception of the local labour market policy and their descriptions of their recruitment. This study is conducted via short telephone interviews with 277 employers in a county of Sweden. With a theoretical framework of institutional logics the result shows that there is a gap between the local labour market policy and the employers. The gap is visible mainly through the employers expression that the participants from the local labour market policy do not meet the employers requirements to be able to get hired. The employers seem to be governed by institutional logics such as market, individualization and to some extent also democratic logics.

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine advantages and barriers that can appear when the municipal employment service and daily activity center work together in close collaboration. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with managers and employees in three municipalities in Värmland. The questions were:  How does the municipal employment service and the daily activity center work together?  Are the respondents experiencing any barriers in the collaboration processes between the municipal employment service and daily activity center?  Are the respondents experiencing any advantages when the municipal employment service and daily activity center work close together? If so, are the advantages primarily economical, professional or individual?  Does the collaboration processes in the three municipalities reflect the factors that supports as well as impedes collaboration that Danemark and Kullberg´s identified in their report (1999)? The results are analyzed from the new-institutional theory by Grapes (2006) and the factors that support and impede collaboration by Danemark &amp; Kullberg (1999). The study shows three completely different ways of collaboration. In Hagfors the two sectors collaborate primarily in daily job tasks, in Grums there are no collaboration at all and in Kristinehamn they collaborate at some extent regarding external work training sites. Furthermore, the results show some of the barriers the municipalities experience such as inadequate information, differences in knowledge as well as economy. The respondents could see great advantages for the individual in enhanced quality, teamwork among staff and in work performance. The summary that compiles factors who supports and impedes collaboration shows that in comparison, Hagfors is best prepared when it comes to collaboration between the two sectors and Grums is least equipped for working together.