1 Kamil Zawadzki, Monika Wojdyło – Preisner Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management Nicolas Copernicus University in Toru, Poland The Applicability of Transitional Labour Market Concept to the Polish Conditions Introduction The conventional active labour market policy (ALMP) focuses on the unemployment reduction through: shifting the unemployed to the subsidized employment, making the artificial jobs in a form of public works or schooling that is to improve their employability. One can, however, understand the ALMP larger as the harmonised measures that realize two broad bunches of aims. Firstly, leading to the integration with the labour market independently of the current position of its participant (integrative transitions), secondly, the defence against the social exclusion that follows frequently long-term unemployment (preventive transitions) 1 . Taking such definition implies that referring ALMP to all fields of Transitional Labour Market concept interest appears legitimate. Links between the main areas of the TLM in consideration of measures functions are shown in Picture 1. Transitional labour markets on joints of these spheres fulfil the following tasks: 1) integrating transitions - transitions to the “typical“ employment from education or unemployment; transitions form non-paid work, from schooling or unemployment to atypical work better the integration to the labour market; 2) quasi-integrating transitions do not protect against the social exclusion, because they do not deliver means for living; they increase, however, the level of employability of labour market participants. Transitions from school or unemployment to non-paid work (e.g.: household activities, care, voluntary work, other social activities) are the examples of them; 3) preventive transitions should defend against the substantial deterioration in one’s position on the labour market and – in consequence – social exclusion. They consist of education-to-work transitions, from the subordinate employment to self-employment, from standard employment to atypical one, etc. 4) preventive-integrating transitions – transitions which make stronger connections with the labour market on the one hand, on the other, under some circumstances may be a protection against the social exclusion, e.g.: taking an atypical work as the first employment in life to acquire any 1 G. Schmid, Transitional Labour Markets and the European Social Model: Towards a New Employment Contract, [w:] G. Schmid, B. Gazier, The dynamics of full employment. Social integration through Transitional Labour Markets, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham 2002, s. 393-435.