Editorial Comment:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• Social exclusion is a problem of which the main victims are the socially excluded themselves. The main result of social exclusion is poverty, and a major cause of poverty is disadvantage on the labour market.
• Many adults are at risk of social exclusion in the contemporary labour market, including those who are currently employed, and especially those in low-paid, unskilled or dangerous jobs. Older men have an extremely high risk of permanent unemployment if made redundant.
• The groups we have chosen to focus on are people living in rural areas or in areas of deprivation; people with physical, sychological or learning disabilities; those whose employment status is insecure and/or who are in low-paid unskilled jobs,
  with a particular focus on women; homeless people; ex-offenders; ethnic minorities, migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers and Travellers; older workers; and the long-term unemployed.
• All of these groups might benefit from adult vocational information, advice or guidance, whether the outcomes are education/training, employment or a restoration of confidence and self-esteem.
• There is, however, a paucity of such guidance in the countries surveyed.
• Even where good guidance services exist, there are often access problems: those who could most benefit from the service are the least likely to use it.
• Nevertheless there are guidance agencies which exemplify good practice and creative ideas in enhancing access to their services. We present 44 case studies of such services.
• We conclude that the following are the most important ways of enhancing access:

marketing, both of specific services and of guidance

active collaboration with other relevant agencies

taking the service to where the people are

preparing people to join the mainstream

creating a user-friendly environment

delivering a high-quality service

• We recommend to guidance services that they incorporate into their normal practice proactive methods of enhancing access.
• We recommend to policy-makers that they:

ensure adequate provision of adult vocational guidance

ensure that services are properly funded, so that they can enhance access,

raise the skills and qualifications of their staff and collect systematic feedback from clients in order to evaluate the quality of the service

provide the appropriate support services, most notably affordable, goodquality childcare