Urban Studle.s. Vol. 42. No. 2. 257-270.

February 2005

i J Routledge

Social Labour, Employability and Social Exclusion:

Pre-employment Training for Call Centre Work
Vicki Belt and Ranald Richardson
I Paper first received. March 2004; in final form. June 20041

Summary. Recent years have seen the growth of pre-employment training initiative<i focasing 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 ea.se study research earried 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 tbe implications of economic restructuring for the nature of work, skills and
labour market disadvantage.

1.

Introduction

It is now widely acknowledged that the

marked growth of the service industries that
has taken place in Britain over the past three
decades has had important implications
in terms of skill requirements (see Korczynski, 2001; MacDonald and Sirianni,
1996; Nickson et al., 2003; Thompson et ai,
2000; Warhurst and Nickson. 2001). Several
recent studies have noted that the shift to a
service-based economy and the accompanying increased focus on customer service, has
led to a growth in demand for so-called
'generic skills' (or 'key skills") (Felstead
et ai, 2(K)2). These generic skills have been
defined to include communication, team
working, problem solving and IT skills (see
DfEE, 2000).

Several studies have reported, however,

that although they are in demand, generic
skills are currently one of the main areas
of skill shortage in Britain (DfEE. 2000;
Futureskills Scotland, 2002). It is often
stated (particularly by employers and policymakers), that this shortage is especially pronounced amongst long-term unemployed
people. This perceived problem of the 'gap'
between the skill levels within the labour
pool and those required by employers for the
jobs available is sometimes referred to as
'skills mismatch'. The UK govemment and
the European Union have emphasised the
need for aclion in plugging this skills gap in
order to tackle long-term unemployment and
social exclusion. In this context, several
policy initiatives have emerged over recenl
years targeted at improving the employability

Vicki Belt was fonnerly al ihe University ofNewcaslte and is now in the .Sector Skill.\ Dcvflopmeni Ajjcncv, J Ciillfie.x Business Park.
Golden Smithies Line. Wathupiin-Dearne. South Yorkshire. S63 7ER. UK. Fax: 0H70 000 2401. E-mail: Viiki.Belt(S^ssdti.or^.uk.
Ranald Richardson is in the Centre for Urban and Regional Developmeni Studies. University of Newcaslle. 4th Floor. Claremont
Bridf-e. Newastle upon Tyne. NEI 7RU. UK. Fax 0191 232 9259. E-mail: Ranctld.Richard.wn&nil.ac.uk. An earlier yersiiin of
this paper wiis pre'iented at the seminar serirx on emplayahiiity at Napier University and the Universiiv of Warwick, sponsored
hy the Regional Studies Association and the Regional Science Association (Brilish and Irish Section).
0042-0980 Print/13ftO-()63X Online/05/02257-14 ..C) 2005 The Editors of Urban Studies
EX31: IO.lO8O/(KM2O98O42O00316l37

258

VICKI BELT AND RANALD RICHARDSON

of long-term unemployed individuals. Within

the UK context., it has been noted that there
has been an emphasis on supply-side policies
and a 'shifting of responsibility to individuals
to ensure their employability' (Nickson et al..
2(M)3. p. 186). The UK government's New
Deal programme reflects this approach (see
McQuaid and Lindsay, 2002). Training providers are playing a key role within this shift
towards supply-side policies, with individuals
encouraged to develop their human capital
and as a consequence improve employability,
by embarking on training courses. In this
context, training providers across the UK
have developed a range of programmes that
aim to equip unemployed individuals with
the generic skills currently required by
employers, as well as providing practical
advice and assistance to participants with job
searches and interview techniques.
To date, there has been little academic
research that has examined such training
initiatives in detail. This article aims to
address this gap in knowledge. It is specifically concemed with pre-employment training
schemes designed to provide unemployed
people with a route into a specific form of
interactive service employment in which
generic skills are centrally important
namely, call centre work, [drawing upon original qualitative data gathered via case study
research carried out in the North East of
England, the article considers the extent to
which the pre-employmcnt training schemes
studied were successful in improving the
employability of the long-term unemployed
people involved. In doing so, it contributes
to current debates taking place in the academic and policy communities about the
implications of economic rcstmcturing for
the nature of work, skills and labour market
disadvantage.

2. The Growth of Social Labour and its

Implications
As Woodtield (2000) has argued, 'social
labour" (or work that centrally involves
contact with other people) has taken on

central importance in contemporary advanced

industrial economies as a consequence of the
growth of the service industries. Rather
than dealing with material artefacts, most
people's working lives now involve a high
degree of face-to-face or voice-to-voice interaction with others (customers, clients, work
colleagues). This shift in the nature of work
has important implications for employers'
skill requirements. Generic skills, and
especially communication skills, have taken
on central importance. In interactive service
jobs in particular, the worker becomes effectively a part of the 'product' that is 'sold' to
the customer (Lash and Urry. 1994). This
means that interpersonal skills, personality
and appearance take on crucial significance
in terms of the ability initially to access, and
then to maintain, employment (McDowell,
2000)i.e. to improve their employability.
As Warhurst and Nickson (2001) have
noted, employers are now placing central
importance on finding workers that both
'look good' and 'sound right". Furthermore,
these qualities are often valued over formal
academic qualifications (see also Felstead
etai, 2(H)2).
lt is not only in the most highly skilled,
professional jobs that image and social competencies are important. Even in the most
routine, low-paid areas of interactive service
work, employees are increasingly being seen
as 'marketable assets' (Warhurst and
Nickson, 2001). This development is connected with the tendency amongst employers
to view the quality of customer service as a
key source of competitive advantage. In this
context, many employers now emphasise the
importance of finding workers who 'fit' with
the culture of their organisation in terms of
their values, attitudes and personal outlook.
This increased emphasis on communication
skills, personality and appearance has important implications in terms nf who is. and
who is not, selected by employers. As Warhurst and Nickson (2001) observe, ironically,
it is those that are most in need of paid
workthe long-term unemployedthat are
least likely to possess the social and aesthetic
.skills being demanded in today's economic

SOCtAL LABOUR. EMPLOYABILITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

climate. As a consequence, this group will

generally find it harder to access, and may
even be excluded from, interactive service
work. Reflecting on this situation, some commentators have recognised that training provision needs to be much better designed, to
ensure that employers' skill demands are
met and that long-term unemployed people
have a chance of getting onto the jobs ladder
(Nickson et ai. 2(X)3). There is a clear need
for /;/r-employment training provision that
focuses specifically on developing the range
of generic skills needed to access the
growing range of jobs that involve social
labour in contemporary Britain. In fact, there
is evidence that several training providers
across the country are now beginning to
focus seriously on developing training programmes to provide these skills in an
attempt to close the 'employability gap'
(McQuaid and Lindsay, 2(H)2, 200.-5).
This article will nt^w consider the attempts
of four case study training providers who
have developed initiatives of this type, assessing the extent to which they have been
successful in improving the employability of
the long-term employed people taking part.
Tlie findings here highlight the range of
challenges faced by unemployed people
attempting to get a foothold on the jobs
ladder in the contemporary service economy
and the need for improved communication
between employers and training providers,
particularly on the issue of skills requirements. The need for an increased emphasis
on the provision of on-going support to
trainees when making the transition into paid
employment also emerges as a key issue.

3. A Focus on Call Centre Training

Initiatives
The research on which this article draws
involved case studies of pre-employment
training initiatives designed to prepare trainees for work in the call centre industry.'
Call centres are specialist, technologyintensive offices established by organisations
in order to deliver services to customers or

259

clients over the telephone (Richardson.

1994). They are now a familiar part of the
employment landscape in Britain and are
widely recognised as an important source of
new jobs, particularly in urban areas (see
Bristow et ai, 2000). There is no agreement
on the exact numbers empU>yed in call
CLMitres, as studies use differing definitions,
study methods and census dates and arrive at
different estimates of employment. For
example, recent studies by Contactbabel
(2003) and e-skills (2003) suggest respectively that 790 000 and 867 0(M) people are
employed in call centres in the UK." Although
there has been considerable media coverage of
the growth in the offshoring of call centre
work recently, and much speculation about
the impact on employment, almost all
reports show that the number o\' call centre
jobs has continued to grow over the past two
years and suggest that this growth will continue over the next two to three years, albeit
at a slower rate than in the past few years
(for example, Contactbabel. 2(K)3; Incomes
Data Services, 2003; Taylor and Bain. 2003:
Richardson etai, 2004).
Although call centre growth has occurred
in all regions of the UK a number of
regions have benefited disproportionately.
In particular, old industrial areas marked
by relatively high levels of unemployment
in the North East and North West of
England, Yorkshire and Humberside. Scotland and Wales have all attracted a large
number of call centres (Bristow et ai.
2000; Contactbabei, 2003). Bristow et al.
(2000) argue that such areas are attractive
locations to employers because call centre
operations require access to a large pool of
flexible, low-cost labour. Indeed, in many
cases, employers are offered incentives to
invest in areas of industrial decline via
regional development agencies with the
aim of providing new employment opportunities and cutting unemployment levels (see
Richardson ct ai. 2000; Richardson and
Belt, 2(M)1).
The North East of England, the locus of our
case study work, has benefited from the
growth of call centres, although again there

260

VICKI BELT AND RANALD RICHARDSON

is no agreement on precise numbers employed

in the sector, with different inethodological
approaches
obtaining
different
results
(Bristow et ai, 2(M)0; Richardson et ai.
2000). A recent study carried out for the
DTI (2004) suggested that 4.3 per cent of
the North East's employed population (47
466 people) were employed in contact
centres, A recent telephone survey of 93 call
centres in the North East, employing more
than 20 people, carried out by the authors of
the present paper found that these organisations alone employed 3.*^ 000 people
(Richardson et ai. 2004). In some areas of
the region which have suffered both from
the decline of traditional male-dominated
industries and from the decline of 'replacement' industries, such as textiles, call centres
have been a key element in employment
generation. For example, in Eusington District, in County Durham, call centre jobs
now represent around 8 per cent o\' all jobs
(Richardson etai, 20O4).
The regeneration community has responded
to this rapid growth in call centres in several
ways (see Richardson and Beit, 2(K)I). From
the perspective of this paper, the most important development has been the creation of
training and education initiatives aimed at
producing workers who meet the requirements
of an expanding industry. Recent evidence
that call centre employers in some areas
are suffering from high staff tumover and
are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit
staff with the kinds of skills and experience
they require (see for example CCA, 2002)
has created additional pressure on the regeneration community to develop their call centre
labour forces. This pressure is likely to intensify if the trend to locate work in countries
such as India accelerates. The specialist
pre-employment call centre training programmes aimed at the long-term unemployed,
which we consider in this paper, can be
seen, on the one hand, as an attempt to
broaden the labour pool from which employers can select, thus improving regional and
local competitiveness, and, on the other
hand, as an opportunity for trainers to gain
'easy wins' in re.spect of meeting empioyment

targets, the perception being that call centres

are crying out for staff.
Pre-employment call centre training initiatives are ideal research sites for those interested in the relationship between economic
change, skills and exclusion from the labour
market. This is because call centres epitomise
many of the key characteristics of work in
the new service-based economy. Previous
research carried out by the authors has demonstrated that in terms of skill requirements, call
centre workers are expected to perform a type
of 'emotional labour' by 'smiling down the
phone' to customers and clients, and that
call centre employers place more emphasis
on the possession of generic social and communications skills rather than technical skills
when recruiting employees (see Belt. 2002).
In this context, the recruitment of 'the right
sort of stair is viewed as a critical issue by
call centre managers and one that considered
central to business success. Most call centres
have specialised recruitment and selection
procedures in place, designed in order to
identify people who possess the required
skills, attitudes and personal characteristics
for the job (Thompson et ai, 2000),
The research involved case studies of four
different pre employment call centre training
initiatives, all based within the North East of
England. Each of the case studies consisted
of four different elements. First, at the outset
of each case study, semi-structured, face-toface, in-depth interviews were conducted
with project managers and trainers. The overarching aim of these interviews was to collect
detailed information about the history, objectives, approach, development and outcomes
of the training initiatives. Secondly, nonparticipant observation was undertaken at
each of the case study sites for a period of
between five and seven days. The aims of
the observation were to capture the dynamic
and interactive nature of the training
process as it took place, to explore trainees'
responses and tt) gain a detailed picture of
the content and approach ot each of the programmes. Thirdly, face-to-face interviews
were conducted with a totai of 25 ofthe trainees themselves at the end of their training

SOCIAL LABOUR. EMPLOYABILITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

courses. These interviews were semistructured and informal, and questions were
designed to examine individuals" perceptions
of the training and their attitudes towards
call centre work. All interviews were taperecorded and transcribed. Finally, the fourth
element of research involved the collection
and analysis of available relevant documentationfor example, in the form of course
outlines, brochures, leaflets, fact-sheets,
annual reports and publicity materials.
In addition to the case studies, interviews
were undertaken with 16 policy-makers/
practitioners. These included representatives
from Learning and Skills Councils. Jobcentres, local employment action teams, regional
development agencies and local authority
economic development departments. In
addition, seven human resources professionals
responsible for recruitment were interviewed
in order to ensure that the views of local
employers were taken into account. Finally,
the authors also attended three local call
centre consortium meetings, at which employers discussed recruitment, training and
skills issues, and a workshop organised by
one of the regional Learning and Skills Councils on skills and learning in call centres,
attended by employers and policy-makers.

4.

The Case Study Traininf> Initiatives

As suggested above, call centres have played a

significant part in the growth of the service
industries in the North East of England and
the region is widely acknowledged to have
been particulariy successful in attracting call
centres via inward investment over the past
few years (Richardson and Belt, 2(H)I).
Several training providers have responded to
the growth in cal! centres and the reported
skills problems experienced by employers
within the region by developing specialist
pre-employment training programmes. This
training is provided by a variety of different
organisations and funded from a range of
sources. Figure f presents a map of the
region that illustrates the entry-level, preemployment call centre training initiatives

261

identified as active when the research was

being conducted."
The four case studies were located in
contrasting local urban labour markets. They
were funded from a range of different
sources of finance, but were all ultimately
government-supported. The initiatives differed from one another considerably in terms
of organisation, content, style and course
length, but all aimed to provide training in
the range of generic skills demanded by
employers, particularly in the areas of IT
and communication skills. To a varying
extent, all of the courses involved "hands-on'
practical work as well as classroom-based
teaching and training in job-search techniques. Although a detailed account of the
content of the training courses cannot be
included here, key practical activities were
keyboarding skills (involving typing speed/
accuracy te.sts), basic familiarisation with
computer software and telephone roleplaying scenarios. Classrcnmi activities
included tests in spelling and maths, as well
as modules in customer service, selling,
stress jnanagement and communications
skills.
The trainees were mixed in terms of
perstinal characteristics and circumstances.
There was a bias towards women (although
all of the training providers were keen to
emphasise that they attracted a large number
of male participants). Of the 25 trainees
interviewed. 17 were female and 8 were
male. Interviewees covered a wide range of
ages, the youngest being 16 and the oldest
5.*i years. The majority had left school at 16
and had qualifications to GCSE level or equivalent, although 4 said they had no academic or
v(K'ational qualifications at all. All ofthe trainees had been unemployed for 6 months or
more. Many had raiher disjointed career histories, previously working in a variety of
mainly insecure, low-grade service jobs. A
smaller number had backgrounds in unskilled
and skilled manual work. A minority had
never been in paid work botbre. The next
section considers the effectiveness of the
training schemes in enhancing the employability of these trainees.

262

VtCKl BELT AND RANALD RICHARDSON

TRAINING PROVIDERS

.Cramlington

191

17

Sunderland

Bishop Auckland College

Bishop Auckland College
City of Sunderland College
City of Sunderland Council
North East Chamber ol Comrrierce
Jobcenlre Plus
City of Sunderland College
East Durham and Houghall
Communilry CollegB
ETEC (Sunderland) Lid
Gateshead College
Galeshead Council Iniatives Team
Into Work (Longbenion)
Into Work (North Shields!
Morgan Burns Career Training
Middlesborough College
NETA Training Group
Newcastle College
North Tyneside College
Northern Training Trust
Pennywell Community
Business Ltd
Royal British Legion Industnes
South Tyneside College
New College Durham
urban areas

Bishop
Auckland

Middlesbrough

Figure 1. Map of entry-level pre-employment training courses in the North East of England.

5. Discussion: Pre-employment Training

and Employability
5.1

Perceptions ofthe Training Initiatives

The research found evidence of a strong

conviction amongst both local employers

and policy-makers of the need for preemployment call centre training courses.
Several employers stated that they felt that
skill levels were not high enough in the local
labour pool. Skills shortages were reported
in the following key areas: interpersonal and

SOCIAL LABOUR. EMPLOYABILITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

communication skills; customer service

experience; confidence and self-presentation;
basic literacy and numeracy: and, to a lesser
extent, basic computer skills. There was
evidence too that these skills shortages were
causing some employers a considerable
amount of concem. Not only were they
making recruitment more difficult, but some
were concemed about the potentially negative
effects on unemployed people and on
the general image of the call centre industry.
As one human resources manager noted, the
more that people get rejected after applying
for jobs, 'the more that this does damage in
the local community, making it seem impossible for people to get a call centre job", ln
this context, there was clear support for the
idea of pre-employment training to give unemployed people an opportunity to pick up the
sorts of skills employers are looking for.
The trainees themselves were also generally positive about the usefulness of the training they had received. Nearly all said that
they had enjoyed the courses and most felt
that they had leamt a good deal from them.
In particular, several trainees remarked that
they had found out that call centre work was
'more skilled" than they had originally
thought. As one male trainee put it. There's
a lot more to it than I was led to believe'.
The older trainees spoke enthusiastically in
particular about the new IT skills they had
developed. Trainees seemed also to gain a
strong awareness of the importance of social
skills in call centre jobs and of the centrality
of "emotional labour'. Most said that without
the training they would have found it ditirtcult
to find a eall centre job beeause they did not
possess the right levels of skills and selfconfidence, or have previous work experience.
As one trainee commented
I mean if this course wasn't here, I mean
how would people get the experience, you
know? I mean there's a lot of companies
where you go and if you haven't got experience then they don't want to take you on.
Even though you are not getting the full
experience you get off a job, you are
getting part of it, you are getting like the

263

know-how to do it, so it is a good course

that way (female trainee).
Related to this, there was evidence that some
trainees found the training empowering.
Many spoke of how they had become more
confident and aware of how to 'sell themselves' to prospective employers. There was,
therefore, strong support for the provision
of pre-employment training from policymakers, employers and trainees alike. But
how effective were the training programmes
that had been established?

5.2 Getting a Call Centre Job: Reported

Success Rates
At the end of their training, the majority ofthe
trainees stated that they were hoping to find a
call centre job. The statistics presented by the
case study training providers during the
research indicated, perhaps unsurprisingly,
that the initiatives had been very successful
here. In 3 of the initiatives, 75 per eent or
more of the trainees were said to have
moved into paid employment. The trainers
stated that these jobs were mainly in call
centres. However, these performance statistics
should be viewed with caution: they do not tell
the whole story. Specifically, the trainees
experienced a number of barriers in securing
jobs, in spite ofthe widespread availability of
job vacancies in local call centres at the time
of the research. These barriers are discussed
in later sections of this paper.
The findings here lend support to previous
research emphasising the complexity of the
concept of employability and the multiple
challenges facing the unemployed in contemporary economies (see Hillage and Pollard,
1998; McQuaid and Lindsay, 2002). Although
the provision of specialist pre-employment
training for service work undoubtedly has an
important role to play in overcoming these
barriers, the research findings show evidence
of a mismatch in understanding between training providers and call centre employers in
the area of skill requirements. Furthennore,
the findings show that additional factors relating to employer attitudes and practices also

264

VICKI BELT AND RANALD RICHARDSON

influence employability and need to be taken

account of in training policy. In addition, it
is argued that training providers need to he
eneouraged to focus on the long-term sustainabiiity of employment rather than playing the
'numbers game' of getting 'people into jobs'.
There are interesting parallels here with other
contributions to this Special Issue of Urban
Studies (see for example Devins and
Hogarth, 2005; Hartshorn and Sear, 2005).
5.3 Mismatch and Misunderstanding of Skill
Requirements
Perhaps the main barriers to work experienced
by the trainees related to the problem of
skills mismatch. As has already been discussed, from the outset, the provision of preemployment training was motivated by a
concem with addressing the reported
problem of skills shortages in the call centre
sector. However, in spite of this, at the end
of their courses, several trainees were still
unsure about whether they possessed skills
of the sort or standard employers were
looking for. The concerns of the trainees
were focused in two key areas. First, many
felt that their IT skills were not adequate,
with several worried specifically about their
typing speeds. This was especially apparent
amongst the older trainees. Secondly, several
trainees were concemed about their literacy
skills and were extremely worried about the
prospect of being tested on these during the
selection proeess. This continued to be a
source of concem even after trainees had
undertaken "mock'' spelling tests during the
training programmes.
The issue of skills mismatch was not just a
question of the perceptions of the trainees. It
also became evident during the fieldwork
that there were very real problems in terms
of skill levels. In particular, a significant proportion of trainees had visible problems with
basic skills, and especially with spelling.
Although the trainers at all of the case study
initiatives stressed that they aimed to deal
with any problems with basic skills, it was
clear that the needs of several individuals
were neglected. Further, one trainer openly

stated that, in most cases, it 'didn't matter" if

the trainees had a poor standard of basic
skills, as these skills were not central to the
work carried out in call centres. However,
during the research, several trainees failed to
get through selection processes as a consequence of literacy problems and employers
highlighted this issue as an area of coneem.
This points to an inconsistency between training providers and call centre employers on
the matter of skill requirements.
There was further evidence of mismatch
between the views of trainers (and as a consequence also of trainees themselves) and
employers on skills issues. The problem was
particularly noticeable in the area of IT
skills, for example, all ofthe case study initiatives placed a strong emphasis on the importance of IT skills and dedicated at least 50 per
cent of training time to this. Most trainers
specified targets in terms of minimum typing
speeds and accuracy levels, which they told
trainees that employers expected. This led to
a belief amongst trainees that the possession
of fast typing skills was of central importance
in securing a call centre job. However, as
noted above, previous research indicates that
call centre employers tend to place more
emphasis on social skills as opposed to
technical skills when recruiting employees.
There is a general view amongst call centre
employers that IT skills in particular can
easily be trained after recmitment (Belt,
2002; Belt et ai, 2002; Thompson et ai,
2000). This was supported by the interviews
conducted with employers, none of whom
specified a requirement in terms of typing
speed, instead only highlighting a preference
for "very basic' IT skills.
The emphasis plaeed on IT skills during
training clearly caused some confusion for
some trainees who could not understand why
it was the case that some of those trainees
who were regarded as 'good with computers'
were unable to get a call centre job. The
following extract illustrates this point
I mean there is people in this group. I mean
like Nina and Martin, they are really good,
and they have been for jobs, and they have

SOCIAL LABOUR. EMPLOYABILITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

been refused . . . I mean Martin is brilliant

on the computers, and he's been refused
jobs . . . you think well if he cannot get a
job, what chance have I got, you know
what I mean? (female trainee).
The case study initiatives on the whole followed a rather traditional approach to preemploymcnt training, focusing primarily on
technical, and specifically
IT, skills.
However, all of the schemes did include
some training in 'soft' skills; although the
findings raise doubts about the appropriateness and effectiveness of this training.
Whilst trainees were enthusiastic about their
abilities in this area, crucially employers did
not share the same confidence. During interviews, several employers stated that social
skillsand particularly the way in which trainees presented these during interview and
selection processeswere the main area of
skills deficit. As the following quotations
from employers stated
I'm not sure if they are concentrating more
on PC skills than on the actual communication skills side of it, but not many of
them tend to get through the telephone
screening stage really (human resources
manager).
Confidence is a big issue, and communications skills. A lot of the people we've
picked up off New Deal programmes, they
still don't communicate eftectively at interview. They lack confidence, and they are
the key things that stand out straight
away, before you've even looked at their
skills and ability, you know they are not
confident at all in interviews (human
resources manager).
I remember at the time looking at Ithe trainees that came to interview from one of the
case study initiatives], and it was an
average performance, and I was quite eoncemed at their lack of preparation. Particularly, [my coUeaguel mentioned that a lot of
candidates aren't used to the whole behavioural interview side of it. I'd expect that
as a part of the work preparation that,
because most organisations do either

265

behavioural or competence-based interviews now, that that would form part of

that. I mean one candidate explicitly said
that that part of it had thrown them, so
they certainly weren't prepared for it. 1
think the emphasis had been on the practical elements of it, and not to get through
the [interview] process as such (human
resources officer).
Hillage and Pollard (1998) note that a key
component of an individual's employability
is their ability to present, use and deploy
their employment assets, and it is here where
the problem seemed to lie. Trainees were
aware of the importance of self-presentation
in securing employment. Nevertheless, when
it came to job interviews, many trainees confessed to having difficulties expressing themselves effectively. In addition, some trainees
did not visua]ly present themse]ves in the
manner expected by call centre employers.
Several attended job interviews wearing
inappropriately casual clothing. The findings
indicate that far more emphasis needs to be
placed during training on the ways in which
individuals present themselves to prospective
employers. The general modules on communications skills and interview techniques
provided at the case study initiatives were
inadequate in this respect.
Poor communication with call centre
employers lies at the root of the problems
relating to misunderstandings about skills
requirements discussed above. An unexpected
finding ofthe research was the general lack of
engagement between trainers and employers.
In fact, in one of the case study training
programmes, none of the trainers had even
set foot inside a call centre. Meaningful and
on-going dialogue between trainers and
employers on skills issues was infrequent or
non-existent in all but one of the case studies.
Unsurprisingly, this situation seriously restricted
the ability of the initiatives to meet employers-"
skill needs.
5.4

Employer Attitudes and Practices

A further set of barriers faced by trainees in

finding employment in call centres was

266

VtCKI BELT AND RANALD RtCHARDSON

related to the inflexible nature of employer

attitudes and practices, particularly during
the recmitment process.
A key problem was that some employers
.stated that they would not usually consider
taking on candidates from pre-employment
training courses. These employers talked
about the "risks' involved in recruiting unemployed people, specifically highlighting
doubts about their reliability and Ihe Hkeiiho{xl of them remaining in employment in
the long temi. One employer noted that her
organisation was reluctant to recruit people
from pre-employment training programmes
because they could not be certain that the individuals completing the courses would be of a
high enough standard to bc able to make it
through the employers' induction training
programme, explaining that
Beeause we invest a lot of money in training, initially if they join us for customer
service full-time they will go through a
four-week training course. And they need
to pass that training eourse. If they fail
the\ will have to do re-sits on the tests,
but at the end of the day they have to get
through that training course, and it is very
intense I would say. there are a tot of tests
in there. So we need to make sure that the
way that the money that we spend on training these people isn't wa.sted. that we've
.selected the wrong people (human
resources manager).
Most employers interviewed said that they
would prefer trainees to have experience of
call centre work at another company before
they would take them on. A.s the following
employer explained
Although we have had some applications
from people who have been on the course,
it is very rare that we've actually shortlisted them straight away until they've had
experience elsewhere . . . I mean I've been
down to [one of the case study initiatives]
a few times and I've looked around the
system and I know [the trainer| reasonably
well . . . But I know it i.s not aimed at the
level that we are recmiting at, so it isn't

really a relationship as such (human

resources officer).
Even in those organisations that are prepared
to consider recruiting people from preemployment training initiatives, the rigidity
of recruitment criteria and practices ean be
obstmctive. An issue that emerged especially
strtjngly in the research was the insistence
on the part of some call centre employers
that applicants must have previous experience
in customer service, usually for a minimum of
six months, in order to be considered for a job.
This was an obstacle for the trainees, particularly for those who had employment histories
solely in manual oeeupations. As one female
trainee summarised: 'They want to know
where you've worked, but I've been in a
factory for six years . . . it makes it a lot
more difficult'. Another trainee similarly
commented
On the last application form I had it asked
what customer service experience have
you had, and by rights you have got to put
none, hut you try to answer it in a way . . .
but to tell you the tmth I have none whatsoever. 1 have always done manufacturing,
mining, .shipbuilding (male trainee).
Some trainees were understandably frustrated
by the fact that they had decided to undertake
pre-training in the belief that that it would
provide them with the skills, knowledge and
experience .sought by employers, but because
they had not had work experience in customer
service, they still would find it very difficult to
get a job.
Connected with this, the .selection techniques used by call centre employers are
also problematic. The widespread use of competency-based interviews, where the focus is
placed on candidates talking about relevant
competencie.s and abilities in customer
service, drawing direetly on examples from
previous work experience, was a particular
area of concem. Such an approach clearly disadvantages those who have been out of work
for some time and those with little or no previous experience in employment involving
interaction with customers.

SOCIAL LABOUR. EMPLOYABILITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

There were also problems relating to the

treatment of trainees by employers after job
interviews. Individuals generally received
little feedback from employers about their
performance during selection processes.
Some were left upset and bewildered about
the reasons why they had not been offered a
job. Several trainees commented that they
did not feel that they had had a full explanation of the reasons why they had not been
successful at interviews they had attended.
This lack of feedback from employers had
the effect of creating an air of mystery
around the whole recruitment process, which
led trainees to become increasingly uncertain
and suspicious about employers. Again, this
raises the issue of the poor relationship
between employers and training providers.
There was little evidence of any ofthe training
providers attempting to gather detailed information about the reasons why their trainees
were unsuccessful in the interview process
and how their problems may be addressed in
the future. This research indicates that it is
important that training providers are encouraged to change their practices in this area.
Finally, there was a further element relating
to the inflexibility of employers that acted as a
significant barrier to some trainees: the expectations and requirements in terms of working
hours (see for instance Adams et ai, 2000,
on the role of employers' job contracts).
Although popular representations have portrayed call centres as providing mainly parttime work, studies have shown that around
70 per cent of jobs in the industry are fulltime (see Incomes Data Services, 2001).
Further, most call centres have shift-working
systems in place. In many organisations,
staff do not work set shifts, but are allotted
varying shifts by managers, which often fall
outside traditional office hours. Some employers specify at the recruitment stage that applicants must be available for work whenever the
call centre is open (in some organisations this
can be for 7 days a week, up to 24 hours a
day). This obviously requires a good deal of
flexibility on the part of the employee, who
will often be required to work outside standard
hours. Not surprisingly, this situation was

267

regarded as a significant barrier to work

by those (mainly female) trainees with
caring responsibilities, and single mothers in
particular.
The findings discussed in this section relating to the attitudes and practices of employers
reflect the lack of appreciation amongst many
about the distinctive situation of long-term
unemployed people and a general unwillingness to modify recruitment and selection processes for this group. It is vital that these
attitudes, in addition to those relating to
working time, are addressed if long-term
unemployed people are to have a fair chance
of getting a job in the "new economy".
6.

Conclusions

This article has been concerned with the

development of pre-employment training
designed to meet increased demands from
employers for generic skills with the growth
of the serviee economy. It has done this by
focusing on the specific example of training
initiatives targeted at preparing unemployed
people for work in the call centre industry in
the North East of England.
The article has argued that there is evidence
of a strong view amongst training providers,
policy-makers, employers and unemployed
people alike of the need for some form of
pre-employment training provision if unemployed people are to be able to secure access
to the job opportunities that currently exist
in call centres. However, although the case
study initiatives that fomied the focus of this
research reported good records in terms of
getting people into jobs, trainees nevertheless
faced a range of barriers in securing themselves work in a call centre. These barriers
fall into two main areas. First, the problem
of skills mismatch persisted, even when trainees had completed training courses, with evidence of misunderstanding between training
providers and employers about the type and
standard of skills required for call centre
work, particularly in terms of basic skills, IT
and communications or interpersonal skills.
Secondly, the attitudes and practices of
employers also created barriers for trainees

268

VICKI BELT AND RANALD RICHARDSON

seeking work, especially the reluctance of

some 10 employ unemployed people from
training programmes, the insistence of sotne
on prior experience in customer .service and
the inflexible nature of requiretiients in terms
of working hours. The findings support those
found in other studies that have emphasised
the multifaceted or 'relational' nature of
employahility and the need to focus on
demand- as well as supply-side issues and
actors when developing policy re.sponses to
long-term unemployment (sec. for example,
the paper by Gore in this Special issue; also
McQuaid and Lindsay. 2(){)2). In fact, the
case study initiatives examined here could
be said to have attempted to adopt a
'demand-led* approach (see Gore, this
issue), but in practice the links between the
employers and training organisations were
not well developed.
The generally poor links between training
organisations and employers ure also
apparent when we turn to the question of
post-employment support. According to the
definition provided by Hillage and Pollard
(1998), employability is not only about
having the ability to gain initial employment,
but also to maintain that employment. Our
research revealed some important findings
here. It was noticeable that the case study
initiatives paid far more attention to the
fomier rather than the latter issue: they were
primarily geared towards getting people into
jobs and neglected the question of the sustainahility of these jobs. This was reflected in the
fact that the training providers appeared to
carry out little (if any) comprehensive
research tracking the fortunes of their ex-trainees. However, there were some signs of
potentially worrying problems here. At two
of the case study initiatives, there were indications that large numbers of trainees were
leaving their johs only a short tiitie after .securing them. Whilst this in itself is not necessarily problematic (because it is possible that
individuals may be moving on to better job
opportunities elsewhere) and there is a clear
need for further research here, there is. nevertheless, cause for concem. It was not possible
to find oul the precise reasons why ex-trainees

were not staying in call centre jobs, but there

were indications from employers that at least
some of those graduating frt>m training
courses had experienced ditTiculties making
the transition to work and were not fully prepared for the call centre environment. This
problem wa.s also openly acknowledged by
some of the trainers. One trainer admitted
that, for some trainees, the process of
moving into call centre work is 'like being
thrown to the dogs', because of the intense
nature of the work environment. Another
referred to entering a call centre job is a
"culture shock', stating that: "most people
have a false idea about what it is like to
work in a call centre, and they can't handle
the reality of dealing with difficult customers
or the stress of the job". This point raises
important questions, not only aboul ihe standard of the training provided, bui also about
the quality of some of the jobs thai cx-lrainees
arc moving into. The diflicullics in making the
transition into work experienced by some
individuals also indicate that training providers should he encouraged to consider providing support to ex-trainees in the early days of
employment. Connected with this, the extent
to which trainees are able to maintain their
employment should al.so be explicitly laken
into account in any performance measurement
of training providers.
The findings reported in this article obviously
also have other important implications for the
design of future training policies and initiatives
aimed at improving the cmpk)yability of longterm unemployed people in a changing
economy. Perhaps most important is the need
Ibr improved comtnunication between training
providers and employers to ensure that the
training being provided is relevant to both
employers and employees, and that it provides
unemployed people with the means to access
and.
importantly,
sustain
employment.
Clearly, a 'quick fix" or short-term approach
to training is insufficient, either from the perspective of the employer or the trainee. Better
communication belween business and training
providers is also needed in order to challenge
some of the attitudes and practices of
employers. In panicular. a key task is to

SOCIAL LABOUR, EMPLOYABILITY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

address the problems created by employers'

continued emphasis on the possession of
previous relevant work exp)erience and their
attitudes towards employing long-term unempioyed people. It is vital that policy-makers
address these issues. If they do not do so. they
are at risk of maintaining, rather than challenging, existing pattems of social exclusion.
Notes
1.
2.

'Industrial decline, skill and the service

economy: training for cal! centre work".
ESRC grant number R(X)0223834.
Otticial figures do not help to clarify the position. Prior to the revision of the Standard
Occupational Classification (SOCf in the
year 2{}()t), the Oflice of National Statistics
did not attempt to identify call centre employment separately. Under the 2{)()() classification
a Customer Service Occupations minor group
(721) was created
Workers in this minor group receive and
respond lo lelephone and other enquiries
regarding the products and services oifered
by an organisation, deal with customer complaint.s. and provide further services lo customers after the point of sale (Office of National
Statistics. 2000. p. 231; italics added).

3.

4.

5.

269

centre announced at the end of 2(X}3 wiil

result in the loss of 960 jobs in the North
East of England.
These 25 interviewees consisted of all of the
trainees from three different training cohorts
across three of the case study sites. Unfortunately, one of the training providers went
into liquidation in early 2003 during the
time of the research and, as a consequence,
il was not possible to interview trainees at
one site.
It is worth noting that the picture in terms of
pre-empioyment training was fragmented
and unstable, and therefore difficult to
research, lt became evident that several training courses had stopped running for a variety
of reasons such as lack of interest and funding
problems. Also, there was evidence of a small
number of pilot call centre training projects
emerging tfial are not included in Ihe map.
There are also several providers offering
work-based learning via placements in call
centres operating in the region.

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