Unemployment remains a major social problem in Australia. Successive governments have attempted to address the problem, in part, by funding occupational skills-based training programs for the unemployed. This paper reviews the general area of occupational skills/personal effectiveness training for unemployed people, and reports on outcomes for individuals attending “typical” courses in Australia. Also reported are outcomes for unemployed people who attended specially devised training, based on the cognitive-behavioural (e.g., Beck, 1976) and learned optimism (Seligman, 1990) intervention approaches. This training aimed to improve well-being, confidence and coping abilities. Variables assessed included individual well-being (e.g. psychological distress), confidence (e.g. self-efficacy), attitude-to-work (e.g. work commitment), training climate and labour market outcomes such as return-to-work. More positive outcomes were identified for unemployed people attending the specially devised programs. The authors argue that training targeted at unemployed people must be based on sound theoretical principles to produce measurable long-term benefits. Future applications of personal development programs are discussed in relation to occupational skills-based training and as stand-alone programs.

中文翻译：

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失业人员的个人效能培训：现在去哪里？

失业仍然是澳大利亚的一个主要社会问题。历届政府都试图通过为失业者提供基于职业技能的培训计划来部分解决这个问题。本文回顾了失业人员职业技能/个人效能培训的一般领域，并报告了在澳大利亚参加“典型”课程的个人的结果。还报告了参加专门设计培训的失业人员的结果，这些培训基于认知行为（例如，Beck，1976）和学习乐观（Seligman，1990）干预方法。本次培训旨在提高幸福感、信心和应对能力。评估的变量包括个人幸福感（例如心理困扰）、信心（例如自我效能）、工作态度（例如工作承诺）、培训环境和劳动力市场成果，例如重返工作岗位。对于参加专门设计的计划的失业人员，发现了更积极的结果。作者认为，针对失业人员的培训必须基于合理的理论原则，才能产生可​​衡量的长期收益。个人发展计划的未来应用将与基于职业技能的培训和作为独立计划进行讨论。