What Works
JobsPlus impact evaluation
Exploring whether a place-based employment support model can improve education, employment and training outcomes for young people aged 16–24.
The systems challenge
Young people face a range of barriers to entering and sustaining employment, including limited access to opportunities, financial pressures and wider challenges affecting their wellbeing and readiness for work. Mainstream employment support may not always meet their needs or engage those who are furthest from the labour market.
Our aim
To strengthen the UK evidence base by exploring whether place-based, community-led employment support models such as JobsPlus can improve education, employment or training outcomes for young people in England, including those who may not engage directly with employment services.
What are we doing?
We are looking to develop an impact evaluation of JobsPlus across ten pilot sites in England.
Building on international evidence, the proposed evaluation would use linked administrative data to assess:
- what impact the programme has on employment, education, and training outcomes for young people
- why and how the programme operates in different local policy and service contexts in England
- whether the programme is good value for money
The insights seek to inform decisions about the future of place-based employment support.
Feasibility phase
Read more about Feasibility phaseTen pilot sites in England began delivery in July 2024:
- Barnet Homes
- Clarion Housing Group
- Great Places
- L&Q
- Magenta Living
- Plus Dane Housing
- Southern Housing
- South Yorkshire Housing Association
- Thirteen Group
A feasibility study – conducted by Learning and Work Institute and the Institute for Employment Studies – found that:
- the programme’s accessible, community-based approach and tailored support helped engage young people 16–24, with 249 registered between December 2024 and December 2025, accounting for 35% of total registrations
- young people accessed a range of employment, training, wellbeing, financial and practical support
- there are opportunities for the programme to strengthen employer engagement, specialist support and the role of Community Champions
The feasibility study concluded that an area-based difference-in-differences design using linked administrative data offered the most promising route to estimating impact.
A individual-level randomised controlled trial (RCT) is not recommended, given the challenges of randomisation and the potential for the programme’s wider community effects to influence outcomes for non-participants.
Evaluation phase
Read more about Evaluation phaseThe proposed design will use:
- an area-based difference-in-differences analysis, comparing changes in outcomes for young people living in the pilot areas with changes in similar areas where JobsPlus was not delivered.
- linked administrative data, potentially drawing on Department for Education (DfE), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) datasets.
The design allows us to explore outcomes for a wider population of young people, not only those who directly accessed support. This is particularly relevant because JobsPlus aims to influence local attitudes and behaviour through community engagement.
The proposed primary outcome is the proportion of 16–24-year-olds in education, employment or training 12 months after baseline.
Potential secondary outcomes include:
- participation in education and training
- apprenticeships and qualifications
- employment
- benefit receipt
- taxable earnings
The evaluation is part of our What Works programme, which aims to generate high-quality, causal evidence about youth employment, education, and training outcomes.
Meet the partners
Institute for Employment Studies (IES)
What Works: testing youth employment interventions ·
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