Re-engaging young people NEET: lessons from research and evaluation

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Re-engaging young people NEET lessons from
research and evaluation

• Becci Newton, Senior Research Fellow

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Coverage

• Young people NEET at 16 and 17
• Activity Agreement Pilot evaluation findings
• Other youth transitions research
• Youth volunteering in supporting personal and
  professional development
• Towards an inclusive apprenticeship programme
• Some possible lessons

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What we know about young people NEET

• Diverse group many multiple reasons for NEET
• low socio-economic status of families
• low qualification levels themselves and in
  families
• disadvantages and vulnerabilities
• also a grey group slipping from view
• Lifetime risks attach to NEET status at young age
• NEET status is not a destination of choice

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Activity Agreements their evaluation
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Did AA work? impact assessment

• Positive impact on take-up of EET activities
• 13ppt additional effect on training/learning
  outcomes
• Positive impact on attitudes to jobs and learning
• Positive impact on skills and confidence
• Nature of impact varied by prior attainment (PA)
• those with higher PA more likely to move into
  work-based training
• those with lower PA more likely to re-engage with
  learning and work towards a qualification

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How AA worked programme theory
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How AA worked programme theory
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Flexible approaches and pathways

• Incremental pathways among those who had a work
  or learning focus at the start of their AA.
• Scattergun with the young people trying out
  different activities to form a clearer goal idea.
  
• Started with a burst of activities which tailed
  off into adviser meetings and jobsearch. Common
  among young people set on finding work.
• Several weeks to get started common for those
  with severe problems, low self-confidence and
  -esteem, and/or facing multiple barriers to
  progression.

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Tailoring AA to meet diverse needs
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Confidence at the core in AA narratives
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Researching youth volunteering

• Comparing volunteers (v) and FJF workers (w)
• Sample diverse age, qualifications,
  disadvantage, NEET
• v w shared instrumental motivations skills,
  CV, qualifications, experience
• v altruistically motivated make a difference,
  give something back
• v w expectations of experience, skills were
  exceeded but v also
• allowed yp to make a contribution and through
  this feel empowered
• take control, gain confidence/agency through
  being trusted
• Mentors (key workers?) highly important in v w
  but v also offered
• broader/wider support, to develop aspirations and
  assistance to make transitions

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Theorising an inclusive apprenticeship programme
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Lessons..?

• Research and measuring impact large-scale impact
  assessment valuable, but complex and resource
  intensive
• small, intermediate and/or self-declared impacts
  are complementary and record small steps
• getting underneath why an approach works is
  valuable alongside measurement of impacts
• Key worker support is effective
• how best to deliver/organise
• how to ensure the right support, is available at
  the right time to all young people

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thank you
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