Job search preparation delivered as part of an active labour market programme to young people aged 16 to 24 can substantially reduce the likelihood of young people being NEET by equipping young jobseekers with skills to navigate looking for work.
Last updated: 26 August 2026
Low/no impact
Well supported
Low/no impact
Well supported
Low positive impact
Emerging
Moderate - likely to require some intense, complex or specific resource needs for effective delivery
For every 100 young people who are NEET and take part in job search preparation as a component of a targeted youth employment intervention, around the same number of young people are in employment 12 to 24 months later compared to those who did not take part. This component makes little or no difference to recent employment.
Headline insights about this component based on current high-quality evidence, where job search preparation has been delivered as part of an active labour market programme to young people aged 16 to 24.
Reducing NEET
Job search preparation can substantially reduce the likelihood of young people being NEET (not in education, employment or training).
The probability of a high positive impact on NEET reduction at 24 months after the start of an intervention is 62%, with over 80% probability of any positive impact on this outcome. This may reflect relatively higher levels of engagement in learning and training, and possibly longer periods spent in work.
The evidence strength rating for NEET reduction as an outcome is ‘consolidating’.
Work quality
Job search preparation could increase the length of time young people are in employment.
Sub-group analysis
Young people aged 16 to 20 may see larger benefits from learning about how best to present work-readiness and skills to employers compared to those 20 to 24 years old.
Job search preparation focuses on equipping young jobseekers with the tools and skills necessary to navigate looking for work effectively.
Young people aged 16 and over who are still in education, or who are unemployed, NEET, or economically inactive.
In the UK, job search assistance can be provided:
We do not have sufficient evidence on the specific duration for delivering job search preparation as part of a multi-component intervention.
Funding may come from diverse sources or from a mixture of public and private sources including:
Job search preparation can support individuals to:
Job search preparation can support employers to:
Calculations are based on insights from available high-quality studies on the complexity of delivery requirements and estimated associated costs.
Based on existing evidence, we’ve identified some common features that support the commissioning, design and delivery of effective youth employment programmes:
Design, fund and deliver outreach and recruitment activities that raise young people’s awareness, with targeted initiatives to reach under-represented group who are most likely to benefit.
This might include:
Discover more about risk factors associated with being NEET.
Also consider how best to identify and engage the most suitable partners and employers for a programme. Engagement should be timely and clear, in ways that raise awareness and facilitate recruitment, enrolment, and sustained engagement.
Effective programmes may use direct community outreach activities for engaging under-served groups, alongside up-to-date local and administrative data, working with public employment services, or advertising vacancies along with eligibility criteria.
Design, fund and deliver programmes that
A strong relationship between policymakers, learning providers, employers, community organisations and local skills delivery organisations including Mayoral Strategic Authorities and Local Skills Improvement Plan areas supports effective youth employment support programmes.
Design, fund and deliver programmes that foster collaboration with education providers such as colleges to improve access to relevant teaching experience.
Support providers and delivery organisations to accurately and systematically capture and communicate data and milestones and track programme outcomes. This may include structured and standardised tracking forms, or developing realistic programme-specific performance frameworks.
For funders and commissioners – ensure recorded data, reporting and assessment captures a full range of appropriate and relevant youth employment and related outcomes to help rich understanding to ensure rich picture of what programmes do.
Encouraging reporting commonly recognised metrics allows evaluation to be easily comparable and included in the growing evidence base.
Design, fund and deliver programmes that:
| Included studies | 65 |
|---|---|
| No. of effect sizes | 202 |
| Location(s) | High-income countries |
| Outcome | Labour force status, earnings, employment duration, hours worked, and education & skills |
| Comparator | 'Services as usual' / Business as usual |
| Demographics | ? |
The Youth Employment Toolkit brings together evidence from robust studies in high-income countries that:
Find details of individual studies, as well as other systematic reviews of youth employment evaluations, in the Youth Employment Evidence and Gap Map.
More information about included studies can be found in page 55-60 of the full CNMA report and the specific evidence profile for job search preparation can be found on page 123.
The evidence strength ratings for job search preparation reflect the number of studies included in the meta-analysis. Studies were scored on reported design, sample size, approach to attrition, and definitions of interventions and outcome measures. More detail can be found in the technical guide.
The current evidence can be strengthened by taking a consistent approach to incorporating standardised metrics for education, employment and training outcomes as well as outcomes that indicate work quality.
Prioritise further understanding of component duration to identify typical delivery and what might be optimal for success.
If you have feedback or a question about the Toolkit, please get in touch.
