Background
to the
Research
- The evaluation was carried
out in order to assess how New Deal was working, in terms of its impact,
practice and delivery.
Research
Approach
- 145 participants in the New Deal programme
were interviewed (50 twice) in eight case study areas.
Main Findings
Impact of New Deal
- The effectiveness of New Deal depends largely
on the individual participant. Those who have had few problems with
the labour market before benefited greatly from the programme, while
those with a poor history derived little from it. Those who profited
most from New Deal were younger people.
- Another factor that affects the impact
of New Deal is the condition of the local labour market. Where the market
was in a good condition, the participants were more positive about the
programme and their subsequent employability. However, the reverse is
true about areas where the market was not as buoyant.
- Those participants who had previously
encountered multiple barriers to finding employment, such as health
or mental problems, had limited success with New Deal.
- Issues such as gender and religion were
found to have had little impact on participant's experiences of the
scheme.
- The qualitative research found that participants
have gained valuable skills through New Deal, broadly identifiable as
interpersonal skills, generic vocational skills and specific work-related
skills.
- Many participants were concerned by the
fact that there were not enough employers involved in the programmes,
and that those who were involved were not always the best ones in the
areas. In addition, some participants felt that they were put into jobs
which did not match their chosen preferences.
Good Practice
- When participants had the same PA throughout
the programme they had a more positive experience. Best results where
achieved when the PA gave individually tailored advice to participants.
PAs improved their service to the participants when they met PAs from
other areas and pooled their knowledge.
- The introduction of Core Gateway as opposed
to the previous system of 2-3 weekly interviews with the PAs had a positive
effect on the programme overall.
- Those participants who faced multiple
barriers to employment gained more from New Deal when they met both
with their PA and other agencies, such as Social Services, and where
a joint approach towards helping the participant was worked out.
- The qualitative research indicated that
subsidising employment was the most effective method of allowing participants
to work after the New Deal programme ended, although there were some
concerns expressed about continuing employment after the subsidy ended,
and in the quality and number of employers involved.
- The IAP was too short, according to some
participants and training providers.
Delivery Arrangements
- Training achieved best results when it
was in line with the participants' capabilities, although the research
found that this was infrequent and that some participants also felt
that the type of qualification offered did not match their requirements.
- New Deal had the greatest effect on participants
when they could see the link between their training and the type of
work they could do when the programme finished.
- The Consortia based approach was, on the
whole, the most suitable for the programme, although there were troubles
experienced within some individual Consortia.
- Concerns where expressed about the role
of the Lead Partner. As all participants passed through them to the
other New Deal providers, there was a belief that they were retaining
the most able participants for themselves.
- The results of the research suggest that
when the T&EA and SSA were in the same building, client care improved
in relation to the monitoring and referral systems.
Recommendations
- The T&EA should reassess its training providers
portfolio in terms of size and sector, prioritise groups of employers
and encourage more providers in areas where the local labour market
is not very buoyant.
- The report recommends that the T&EA should
in future try to tailor the programme so that individual needs are met.
It suggests that three separate groups should be established; those
with multiple barriers to employment, those who are extremely motivated
and those who are enthusiastic but require more skills/qualifications.
It also suggests that the trainer provider companies that are chosen
should be those flexible enough to meet these individual requirements.
- PAs require further training in order
to be able to provide the best service to participants, including explaining
the fact that the programme can be flexible. Their workload should also
be reduced to enable them to provide a better standard of care.
- The programme should focus more on employment
after New Deal, and use the output-related funding mechanism to encourage
trainer providers to continue employment after the subsidised employment
ends, and to improve their training, especially in areas such as IT.
- Data concerning participants' passage
through the New Deal programme should be gathered and perhaps published
in order to address the concerns raised by training providers relating
to the vested interests of Core Gateway providers and the Lead Partner.
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