The PhD thesis of Antonia Caro-Gonzalez studies the inclusion processes of immigrant workers in Basque WISEs. Starting from the idea that genuine social development is based on human development, a theoretical and methodological framework has been produced with the intention of:
- Analysing inclusion processes from three key elements: the conditioning factors, the enabling conditions, and the functioning and achievements attained by immigrant workers, and
- Assessing the actions and processes according to the impact they have on the aforementioned workers’ capabilities in the areas of life in which WISEs concentrate their endeavours. Thus, this study provides an alternative approach to traditional analyses of the role of labour and employment on welfare in general, and on social inclusion in particular.
This focus shift allows an emphasis on the multi-dimensionality of people and inclusion processes, and on the importance of inter-sectoral support and coordination of policies, strategies, and instruments within which Basque WISEs operate. The framework that regulates Basque WISEs is, to a high degree, the enabling environment for the human development and social inclusion of immigrant workers.
With a mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology, the analysis is organised around the assessment of the inclusion processes in the voice of the different actors involved (i.e. promoting entities staff; WISEs staff from managers to production managers and personal coaches; and the foreign workers themselves). Finally, by underscoring the importance of personal characteristics, this study deepens on relevant subjective aspects of the process; namely, motivation, performance, and achievements.
PhD Thesis: Work Insertion Social Enterprises (WISEs) and their role in the inclusion process of immigrant population in the Basque Country By: Antonia Caro-Gonzalez
