Skriftlighed og skrivepraksis i jobkonsulenters arbejde med unge i en Supported Employment-indsats

Writing practices in Job Consultants’ Work with Youth in a Supported Employment Effort

Abstract

This article examines how job consultants interact with the logic of writing when implementing an IPS approach for unemployed youth in three job centres. IPS stands for “Individual Placement and Support” and is an evidence-based supported employment approach aimed at people with severe mental illnes ses. The article is based on data from a large intervention study in which the IPS approach is adapted for young people with less severe mental health issues. Focusing on the logic of writing, the article shows how different logics underpin the texts produced in the job centres’ digital systems and the templates used in the IPS approach. A legal-administrative logic contrasts with the recovery-oriented writing logic of the IPS templates. Based on repeated interviews with 13 consultants between 2020 and 2023, the article examines the job consultants’ interaction with the different logics of writing. The analysis shows that the consultants find the writing tasks dysfunctional due to differing underlying logics. However, they gradually find meaning in the written work by disconnecting their writing practices. Writing to meet legislative control and management requirements is compartmentalised from writing to support insight into and cooperation with unemployed youth. We discuss the different logics of writing’s impact on consultants’ writing practices.