Skills and employability in the limelight: exploring the public presentation of the new deal

Abstract

The New Deal is one of New Labour's leading flagship initiatives. Its stated aim is to help clients in the target groups – the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, lone parents and the long-term sick – to find work and improve their prospects of remaining in sustained employment. It has been developed and presented as part of a wider welfare-to-work package, running alongside related supply-side measures such as benefits reform and increased labour flexibility (but not, so far, demand-side initiatives to increase the number of jobs). Given its central place in Government strategy, it is little surprise that it has also attracted widespread comment in the media. This article is concerned with examining the ways in which Government press officers have sought to shape media attention, and thus to frame wider perceptions of the welfare reform of which the New Deal is an important part