Active labour market policies aim at supporting people entering and, importantly, remaining in the labour market. Initiatives to this end have often been characterised by a mixture of ‘human capital’ and ‘work-first’ approaches, although both have had a relatively limited effect on achieving job sustainability for those most distant from the labour market. This paper explores a distinctive approach to supporting job entry and sustainable employment that we have called ‘career-first’. The career-first approach to labour activation draws on three separate traditions of thinking: labour market, career development, and the capability literatures. Common ground is found in these three perspectives so each complements the weaknesses of the others. A career-first approach may be able to help deliver benefits to the individual, their family, and the wider society.

积极的劳动力市场政策旨在支持人们进入劳动力市场，更重要的是留在劳动力市场。为此目的的举措通常以“人力资本”和“工作至上”的方式为特征，尽管这两种方式对于最远离劳动力市场的人们在实现工作可持续性方面的影响相对有限。本文探讨了一种独特的方法来支持工作进入和可持续就业，我们称之为“职业第一”。以职业为先的劳动力激励方法基于三种独立的思维传统：劳动力市场，职业发展和能力文献。在这三种观点中可以找到共同点，因此每种观点可以弥补其他观点的不足。以职业为先的方法可能能够帮助个人，家庭，