What works in youth employment partnerships

A guide to improve practice and case study collection

The ‘What Works in Youth Employment Partnerships’ guide and case study collection are the first outputs from a three-year Health Foundation-funded project led by IES on improving access to good quality work for young people, as part of the action phase of the Young people’s future health inquiry.

Young people’s journeys towards good quality work start with the support pathways that lead them to employment, which rely on coherent and coordinated partnership approaches to achieve successful outcomes. The ‘What Works’ resources aim to support stakeholders who are working or looking to work as part of a youth employment partnership. The resources were developed through an evidence review of over 60 high-quality national and international sources and through a sense-checking workshop with 27 stakeholders working in youth employment across England, Scotland and Wales.

The partnership guide provides in-depth and step-by-step insight into the principles and practical steps of the four key elements of youth employment partnerships: developing the partnership, managing the partnership, engaging young people, and engaging employers. The guide aims to build understanding of the practical steps to designing, developing, and implementing effective partnership practices to support young people’s transitions into good quality employment, education, and training opportunities.

The case study collection includes a critical review of major national youth employment support programmes across the four UK nations. Each case study includes an overview of the programme, the impact achieved, and in-depth discussion of partnership working, including elements that worked well, challenges, and key messages. The collection aims to support understanding of what works in youth employment partnership work, using evidence-based learning.

The resources provide practical and versatile tools, which can be can adapted to accommodate different types of partnerships and services, and  can be used by those starting on a partnership journey or those who are looking to improve current practices, build shared understanding, and improve interventions.

An IES webinar presenting the key findings and messages from the What Works research, is available to watch here.