Interim Evaluation of the Pathways to Apprenticeship Programme

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Interim Evaluation of the Pathways to Apprenticeship Programme Ymchwil gymdeithasol Social research Rhif/Number: 25/2014 Interim Evaluation of the Pathways to Apprenticeship programme Sdf Interim Evaluation of the Pathways to Apprenticeship programme BMG Research Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the WG. For further information please contact: Alison Spence Knowledge and Analytical Services - KAS Welsh Government Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NQ Tel: 02920 821636 Email: [email protected] Welsh Government Social Research, 2014 ISBN 978-1-4734-1175-3 © Crown Copyright Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the support and advice provided during the course of the project by the Welsh Government. Especially, we would also like to thank all the employers, young people, and staff of Colleges, Sector Skills Councils, and from other organisations who gave their valuable time to take part in surveys and discussion groups. Table of contents Glossary of acronyms ................................................................................... 3 Executive Summary ....................................................................................... 4 Introduction ................................................................................................... 4 Context of the PtA programme ..................................................................... 4 Origins and design of the PtA programme.................................................... 5 The evaluation process ................................................................................ 6 The effectiveness of delivery of the PtA programme .................................... 7 Outputs of the PtA programme ................................................................... 10 Outcomes of the PtA programme ............................................................... 11 Conclusions: achievement of targets .......................................................... 14 1 Introduction to the evaluation .............................................................. 17 Introduction ................................................................................................. 17 Background to the PtA programme ............................................................ 18 Pre-Apprenticeship training: the wider context ........................................... 22 Summary: context for the evaluation .......................................................... 32 2 PtA: programme characteristics and evaluation method .................. 35 Strategic aims of the PtA programme ......................................................... 35 Eligibility for the programme ....................................................................... 37 Financial support to learners ...................................................................... 37 Measuring progression ............................................................................... 38 The PtA learning process ........................................................................... 38 Participating Further Education Institutions ................................................ 39 The European dimension ........................................................................... 40 Planning and funding of Pathways ............................................................. 41 Evaluation method ...................................................................................... 42 3 The delivery of the PtA programme: the employer viewpoint ........... 48 Employers and PtA delivery: evaluation points ........................................... 57 4 The delivery of the PtA programme: the participant viewpoint ......... 58 Introduction ................................................................................................. 58 Engagement with PtA ................................................................................. 59 Experiences on PtA courses ...................................................................... 67 Learners and PtA delivery: evaluation points ............................................. 74 5 The delivery of the PtA: the stakeholder viewpoint............................ 76 Introduction ................................................................................................. 76 Design principles of the programme ........................................................... 76 Introduction of the programme ................................................................... 77 Partnership working and the role of SSCs .................................................. 79 The ESF contribution to PtA ....................................................................... 84 Efficiency of PtA administration .................................................................. 87 Resource implications of PtA for Colleges.................................................. 89 Marketing of PtA ......................................................................................... 89 Recruitment of employers........................................................................... 92 Welsh language provision .......................................................................... 95 Stakeholders and PtA delivery: evaluation points ....................................... 95 6 PtA: outputs ........................................................................................... 98 Introduction ................................................................................................. 98 1 Gender of learners and subjects of Pathways ............................................ 98 The geographical distribution of PtA ......................................................... 100 PtA participation, ethnicity and disability................................................... 103 Outputs of the PtA programme: evaluation points .................................... 104 7 PtA: outcomes ..................................................................................... 106 Introduction ............................................................................................... 106 Destination of PtA learners ....................................................................... 106 Outcomes from the PtA learner perspective ............................................. 110 Outcomes from the employer perspective ................................................ 115 Outcomes from the stakeholder perspective ............................................ 117 Outcomes from the European Funding perspective ................................. 121 Outcomes: overview and the future of PtA ............................................... 126 Outcomes of the PtA programme: evaluation points ................................ 129 8 Conclusions ......................................................................................... 132 2 Glossary of acronyms EMA Education Maintenance Allowance ERP Economic Renewal Programme ESDGC Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship ESF European Social Fund EU European Union FE Further Education FEI Further Education Institution GCSE General Certificate of School Education ILA Individual Learning Agreement ILO International Labour Organisation LLWR Lifelong Learning Wales Record NEET Not in Education, Employment or Training NVQ National Vocational Qualification ONS Office for National Statistics OCN Open College Network PLA Programme-Led Apprenticeship PtA` Pathways to Apprenticeship QCF Qualifications and Credit Framework SSC Sector Skills Councils WEFO Welsh European Funding Office 3 Executive Summary Introduction 1. In September 2012 BMG Research was commissioned to undertake an evaluation of the Pathways to Apprenticeship (PtA) programme. The evaluation is intended to assess the value of the PtA programme as a contribution to the Welsh Government’s (WG) efforts to combat youth unemployment and as a route towards rewarding, sustainable employment for the programme’s young learners. The programme is supported by the European Social Fund (ESF), and, therefore, the evaluation also considers the extent to which the objectives of the ESF contribution, for learner achievement and progression within the Convergence1 area of Wales, are met. It is expected that the programme, devised in response to the 2008/09 recession, will end in July 2014. 2. The evaluation is based on two annual periods of evaluation activity. The report of which this is a summary sets out the outcomes of the first annual period of evaluation. It will be followed later by further evaluation activity leading to a final report in 2015. This will include analysis of the counterfactual i.e. what would have happened in the absence of the programme. Context of the PtA programme 3. A review of the context for the Pathways programme showed the need, at the time PtA was designed and instituted, for innovative government responses to combat rising numbers of young unemployed people in Wales against a background of recessionary conditions, falling numbers of Apprenticeships and, as a consequence of Wales’ all-age approach, strong competition for Apprenticeships from people in older age groups. 4. The review also showed that pre-Apprenticeship preparation is widely used across the UK and elsewhere in the world. However, there is no fixed model of pre-Apprenticeship training, and provision elsewhere varies in 1 The Convergence area covers West Wales and the Valleys: Isle of Angelsey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea,
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