Understanding the motives, behaviors, and experiences of low wage and low skill individuals who have experienced job loss, on deciding whether to seek career services through the State of Illinois CareerOneStop in Champaign County

The purpose of this study is to understand the motives, behaviors, and experience of low wage and low skill individuals who have have experienced job loss, when deciding whether to seek career services from a community agency. In this case, the agency is the State of Illinois CareerOneStop in Champaign County. In general, much research has been conducted on the broad topic of individuals making career choices. However, a review of literature suggests limited research has been conducted on the specific situation in which individuals, mostly low wage and low skilled workers, might decide to seek help from others during their critical time of need. It is important to provide the client's perspective on their decision to engage in certain services that affect how successful they are in mitigating the issue of job loss. Seeking help from others acknowledges publicly the unfortunate situation in which they find themselves, which can be personally humiliating and disheartening. On the other hand, in spite of the personal cost, seeking help through career services has the potential of yielding a more successful outcome than if the individual engaged in the process alone. How individuals resolve the competing forces in making such a decision is the underlying focus of the study. The literature suggests that such consequential employment decisions can be understood through an individual's motives, behaviors, and experiences, constructs which provide the basis of the conceptual framework of the study. The study involved conducting in-depth, semi-structured, interviews with individuals who have engaged in the services provided by the CareerOneStop in Champaign County. In response to the research questions, respondents felt that they were motivated to participate in services to obtain a better life, and the behaviors demonstrated were problem-solving and self-awareness. However, many respondents could not associate any of the experiences to their current or future decisions. From the results, the study suggests development of more responsive human resource development strategies to better serve this often overlooked segment of the workforce.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2022

Author dc:creator

• Tate, Phyllis L

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jacobs, Ronald L
• Neville, Helen
• Oh, Eunjung G
• Gallaher, James

• Education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2021 Phyllis L. Tate

Language dc:language

de, eng

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113826

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F113826