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Summary

We comissioned IFF Research to evaluate the Volunteer it Yourself (VIY) programme from September 2021 to June 2022.

The aims of the evaluation were:

  • to understand and evidence the theory underlying the programme’s support model and the mechanisms of change for acheiving education, employment and training outcomes.
  • to provide recommendations for a feasible impact evaluation design.
Programme overview

The programme supported disadvantaged young people aged 14–24 to learn trade and employability skills through helping to renovate or refurbish local community buildings and facilities in need of essential repairs and improvements.

Support included on-site placements to develop vocational skills, progression support and a range of work-readiness activities.

Young people were referred to the programme via local partners, icluding Pupil Referral Units, Jobcentre Plus, special schools and youth offending teams.

Key insights

 

Elements identified as supporting positive engagement and experience

Read more about Elements identified as supporting positive engagement and experience
  • Voluntary participation – relaxed and non-committal approach particularly successful for those with caring responsibilities or poor health.
  • Option to achieve an accreditation
  • Welcoming, supportive environment
  • Informal conversations with mentors gave a sense of waht tradesmen and industry would be like

EET outcomes were relatively uncommon and difficult to draw conclusions from due to limitations such as low sample sizes.

However, it was successful in achieving some of the
intended softer outcomes for the programme, with the majority (64%) of participants achieving an accreditation.

 

Recommendations for delivery

Read more about Recommendations for delivery
  • Create more consistency and coverage in welcome calls and in progression support
  • Increase lead-in time to and lenght of project work to enable greater opportunity for skills development and relationship building
  • Invest in building local networks of employers and delivery partners, to support increased and consistent delivery of employment and employability activities while a young person is on site.

How feasible is the intervention for an impact evaluation?

Read more about How feasible is the intervention for an impact evaluation?

The programme is not suitable for a randomised control trial (RCT) or quasiexperimental design (QED) at this stage due to:

  • difficulty in identifying a comparator and a randomisation point
  • the required sample sizes and associated cost
  • limitations on tracking outcomes longer term

Want to read the full evaluation report?

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