Projects

Step Up is a PLIAS Resettlement project designed to support 120 young people aged 16-24 in Brent and Harrow who are unemployed/NEET and involved in or on the cusp of the criminal justice system. The project aims to support positive education/training outcomes, progress into meaningful, sustainable employment and a reduction in re-offending. Our evaluation will establish a project Theory of Change and participant journeys through the project. These will then be tested using: a participant pre-post survey; qualitative research with PLIAS staff, volunteers, stakeholders, employers and young people taking part in the programme; and analysis of management information collected by PLIAS. The study will also assess the feasibility for a future impact evaluation. The study will contribute to the growing body of evidence on what works being generated by the Youth Futures Foundation.

Many studies of summer job programmes examine impact on employment and education but there is growing interest in their impact on the reduction of antisocial behaviours, including youth violence and criminal activity. The initial evidence base on summer employment programmes offers some promise in terms of improving young people’s outcomes on these dimensions as well as their life chances. However, given the lack of a systematic review that estimates the extent of this impact, we cannot yet fully assert this. This current review seeks to fill this evidence gap.

Youth Employment UK (YEUK) developed a Youth Friendly Employment Framework, which focusses on five key areas to address the barriers faced by young people entering and progressing in work, and make more high-quality opportunities available to young people. They now want to develop this into a Good Youth Employment Benchmark (with funding from YFF) – an online tool underpinned by high quality evidence. This will enable employers to self-assess and develop their practice. The key aim for the research is to provide evidence as to whether the existing standards in the framework speak to the needs of the youth employment system and, in addition, that employment outcomes for young people can be changed by the achievements of the standards. IES will conduct desk research into employer use of toolkits and benchmarks and review the YEUK framework. IES will conduct 15 employer interviews (a mix of focus groups and 1-2-1) to understand employers current practice around youth employment and youth employment frameworks.

Evaluation of ELATT’s Connected Youth programme as part of YFF’s What Works programme – Programme Concept Test category. Year 1 Scoping phase: scoping interviews with staff, development and refinement of participant journey(s) and Theories of Change, MI data review. Year 1 – 3 Process evaluation: interviews with staff, stakeholders, young people with SEND, EHCP, migrants, looked after children, care leavers and refugees. Year 3 Feasibility of further evaluation: recomendations to YFF for further impact evaluation of Connected Youth.

We are supprting SomersetWorks to evaluate the initial design of a pilot to support NEET young people with compelx barriers to EET to transition into positive destinations. We will be evaluating progress of the intervention against targets, delivery and management, outcomes and impact, value for money, and lessons learnt for future activity, as well as identifying the best routes for sharing and disseminating this information. In particular, we will focus on understanding whether the holistic, community partnership delivered programme that combines therapies, education and employment is an effective method to break down barriers for the most vulnerable NEET young people across Somerset.

The research will bring together and build upon CITB’s portfolio of research activity into careers in construction. It will draw upon key performance indicators (KPIs) that have been developed and tested across various projects to enable CITB to continuously monitor and evaluate their career’s activities with a broad range of stakeholders. Through multiple surveys and qualitative interviews, the research will explore attitudes and awareness of the construction industry, perceptions about entry and access to the sector, and engagement with construction careers information, advice and guidance.

IES has been contracted to evaluate the mentoring programme delivered in England by the ETF with DfE grant funding during 2021-22. The process evaluation includes analysis of MI, interviews with mentors grant leads and stakeholders, surveys with mentors and mentees. The programme includes a short online course introducing mentoring, a programme for those nwe to mentoring and an advanced course for experienced mentor. Alumni events are also planned for cohort 1.

In partnership with Ipsos Mori, IES is evaluating the extended and more flexible government Traineeships programme. The surge in youth unemployment makes Traineeships a key pre-employment pathway for young people and the new flexibilities are intended to encourage employers to provide high quality opportunities and secure employment for young people as the economy recovers. The process evaluation includes interviews with training providers, employers and trainees, and the use of digital ethnography.

The Skills Bootcamps were announced in September 2020 and provide a new, flexible training mechanism linked to robust employer engagement to ensure adult learners are prepared and fast-tracked to relevant vacancies/interviews. The W1 bootcamps are located in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester/Lancashire, Liverpool City Region, Leeds City Region, the South West, and Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire. IES has been commissioned by the Department for Education to lead the evaluation of the W1 bootcamps focusing on implementation and the difference made by the training to the learners involved. It will also design an evaluation model for the W2 Bootcamps that DfE has commissioned.

IES is supporting the Careers Research and Advisory Centre (CRAC) with an evaluation investigating the impact of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s research support programmes and developing a methodology for career tracking of participants. IES will design a methodology and create materials for tracking programme alumni and deliver an alumni survey, as well as supporting CRAC with interviews.