Validating a stage of change tool to predict employment outcomes

This study aims to determine a jobseeker's commitment to finding employment and measure jobseekers' subsequent success in entering the workforce. The University of Rhode Island Change Assessment for Vocational Counseling (URI-CA-VC) (JOR Vol 68 No.3) was adapted for use online, with unemployed adults in receipt of government welfare payments both with and without a disability, and with a large number of participants (1,213 vs 155). The 12-item assessment corresponds to the stage of change model and results supported that model's clusters (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation and action), with the addition of a significant new cluster termed unauthentic action. The assessment was highly accurate in predicting an individual's likelihood of entering full-time employment or education 6-9 months after the assessment. Jobseekers in the action stage were twice as likely (47%) as those in the precontemplation stage (23%). The measure could have application in guiding the timing of interventions to support the unemployed, which may help to maximize jobseeker engagement and effectiveness. The measure shows promise in enhancing government jobseeker assessment tools with an intrinsic, attitudinal weighting to add to current measures that generally only assess extrinsic barriers to employment.