Home Publications The impact of wage subsidies on marginalised young people

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Authors

Alexandra Nancarrow, Dan Muir, Beatrice Rosolin, Cristiana Orlando, Becci Newton (IES) Jamie Rowland, Ellie Ott (CEI) Aron Shlonsky (Monash University)

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Monash University

Evidence and Research on Youth Employment  · 

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Monash University
Research & evaluation partner

ProgrammeEvidence and Research on Youth Employment

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Monash University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.  

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Centre for Evidence and Implementation

Evidence and Research on Youth Employment, Evidence into Action  · 

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Centre for Evidence and Implementation
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CEI is a global, independent nonprofit dedicated to using the best evidence to improve the lives of children, families, and communities facing adversity. CEI’s international team of researchers and implementation specialists partner with what works centres, organisational leaders and teams, practitioners and policymakers on rigorous evaluation, evidence-informed programme design, and effective implementation and scaling.

Working with Youth Futures

CEI collaborates with us on research and evaluation activity as a member of our evaluation panel.

As Practice Development and Implementation Partner for Evidence into Action, CEI’s primary role is to synthesise and translate current evidence available on On/Off the job training and support delivery partners to apply evidence into existing or pilot programmes and embed and sustain evidence-based practice approaches.

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Institute for Employment Studies (IES)

What Works: testing youth employment interventions  · 

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Institute for Employment Studies (IES)
Evaluation panel, Research & evaluation partner

ProgrammeWhat Works: testing youth employment interventions

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IES is a leading independent centre for applied research and insight on employment, workforce, and labour markets.

Its mission is to help bring about sustainable improvements in employment policy and human resource management by generating and applying the best evidence to build a more inclusive, healthier and empowering world of work. It develops insight on what works across the employment journey – from education and transitions into work, through to workforce management, development, and careers.

Working with Youth Futures

IES collaborates with us on research and evaluation activity as a member of our evaluation panel.

Youth Employment Toolkit

Summarising evidence on effective youth employment interventions.

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Summary

Youth Futures Foundation commissioned the Centre for Evidence and Implementation, the Institute for Employment Studies and Monash University to examine the effect of wage subsidies on youth employment outcomes in high-income countries.

Insights were used to inform the wage subsidy programmes section of our Youth Employment Toolkit.

Approach

A rapid evidence assessment was used to examine wage subsidy programmes targeted at unemployed young people:

  1. searching the appropriate literature using specified search terms
  2. selecting relevant papers based on inclusion and exclusion criteria
  3. extracting relevant evidence
  4. synthesising and interpreting the evidence
Included studies

Four studies were considered suitable for meta-analysis:

  1. New Deal for Young People (UK)
  2. Future Jobs Fund (UK)
  3. Subsidised employment programmes (Netherlands)
  4. Youth Practice (Sweden)
Insights

Findings suggest that programmes using wage subsidies improve
employment outcomes for young people, but do not improve young people’s entry into education.

The ability for wage subsidy programmes to help young people enter employment appears to depend on factors, including the areas in which young people live, young people’s prior work experience, current labour market conditions and whether young people experience challenges when applying for jobs.

Limitations

Findings are based on a small number of studies (four for the
employment outcome and two for the education outcome).

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