Research and analysis

Summary: Youth Offer process evaluation

Published 7 October 2024

The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) “Youth Offer” aims to mitigate the unemployment impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on 16 to 24 year-old Universal Credit customers in the Intensive Work Search conditionality regime. The Youth Offer was initially for Universal Credit customers aged 18 to 24, in the Intensive Work Search Regime and extended to customers aged 16 and 17 from 1 December 2021. The Youth Offer comprises three strands: Youth Employment Programme, Youth Hubs, and Youth Employability Coaches. This report presents findings from the evaluation of the Youth Offer.

The evaluation employed a mixed methodology, incorporating a cross-sectional and longitudinal survey, along with qualitative interviews and observations. The sample, provided by DWP, consisted of customers who had started to receive Youth Offer support between August 2022 and January 2023. Fieldwork was carried out in waves between April and December 2023. The qualitative research involved 37 in-depth interviews with professionals and 60 with customers, along with two two-day visits to Youth Hub sites for on-site observations.

The survey of Youth Offer customers found that just over half were male and a third were aged 18 to 19 (34%). Almost half of customers reported having a long-term health condition or disability. Between wave 1 and 2 of the study customers reported an increase in low life satisfaction and high anxiety levels.

In line with the policy design, Youth Employability Coaches (YECs) primarily delivered employment support to customers with complex needs, who were often younger, from a white ethnic background, and had higher instances of health conditions.

Overall, nearly seven in ten (67%) customers agreed that the support they had received was tailored to their needs and circumstances. Youth Hub customers were most likely to have found the support tailored in this way. Customers were most likely to have found support useful in helping them feel more confident about looking for work (57% at wave 2). Youth Hub customers were most likely to agree.

The qualitative research found that Youth Employment Programme customers viewed it as a light-touch scheme and those who achieved an employment outcome attributed this primarily to their personal efforts, although some felt that regular appointments with their Work Coach helped them to stay motivated in their job-search. The Youth Hubs were praised for their personalised support and welcoming environments, although stronger partnership with local Jobcentres and more housing support were suggested improvements.

YECs were found to be highly experienced in working with vulnerable, young customers such as care leavers. However, capacity pressures in Jobcentre offices resulted in some YECs taking on non-YEC customers to reduce pressure, diluting the YEC role. Customers appreciated their relationship with their Work Coaches, however, some felt the relationship could be transactional due to short appointment times and the formal nature of Jobcentres. This differed from the policy design of the YEC role, which intended for YECs to have greater flexibility in how they met with customers and was perhaps due to challenges reported by YECs of a lack of time to meet with customers with complex needs. Other challenges identified by YECs that may have contributed to customer experiences included limited knowledge and understanding of specific mental health conditions or forms of neurodiversity.

One-third (34%) of customers were employed. Although some customers gained work during the evaluation period, other customers moved out of employment. The overall employment level remained at 34% by the end of the evaluation. At wave 2, over one in five (21%) customers said that they had got a new job or were waiting to start a new job as a result of taking part in the Youth Offer. There was a reduction in the number of barriers identified by customers between waves, suggesting that customers were moving closer to the labour market. A proportion of customers also reported achieving intermediate outcomes which were likely to bring them closer to the labour market such as feeling more confident looking for work (35%) or more confident about their ability to work ten (31%). In contrast, customers’ confidence in job-searching declined, indicating a need for ongoing support and direction. The YEC customers remained furthest from the labour market, highlighting a need for long-term support for this group.