1DELIVERING JOB SEARCH SERVICES FOR UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE IN RURAL AREAS: THE ROLE OF ICT

The geographical remoteness of many rural communities affects the accessibility of public services. As a result, policy makers are increasingly turning to Internet and other Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)-based approaches to delivering services in these areas. This paper discusses the potential uses of ICT as a tool for delivering information services for unemployed people, comparing the experiences and attitudes of job seekers in peri-urban and remote rural labour markets. The analysis is based upon research carried out in two areas of Scotland: the first combining a remote rural town with a much larger, more sparsely populated, rural ‘travel-to-work-area’; the second, a centrally-located peri-urban labour market. Survey research undertaken in the study areas gathered responses from 490 unemployed job seekers. Emerging issues were then followed up during twelve focus groups. The study found that the use of ICT for job seeking remained a marginal activity for most unemployed people, but was much more important in remote rural communities where there were no public employment service (PES) ‘Jobcentre ’ facilities. In these areas job seekers were more likely to use the Internet as a search tool and wer