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Cover Page

Research Report

Evaluation of the Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) Project Prepared for: Paul Powell, Careers Wales

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Evaluation of the Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) Project

Prepared for: Paul Powell, Careers Wales

Prepared by: BMG Research

November 2011

Produced by BMG Research

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Table of Contents

Executive summary ............................................................................................................... 1

1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 6

1.1 Background............................................................................................................. 6

1.2 Method .................................................................................................................... 7

1.2.1 Qualitative work stream ................................................................................... 7

1.2.2 Quantitative work stream ................................................................................. 8

1.3 Report structure ...................................................................................................... 9

2 Qualitative interviews: Advisers and Team Leaders ..................................................... 10

2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 10

2.1.1 Background on advisers ................................................................................ 10

2.2 Partnerships and partnership working ................................................................... 10

2.2.1 Background to the partnerships ..................................................................... 10

2.2.2 Partnership working: what works well ............................................................ 11

2.2.3 Partnership working: areas for improvement .................................................. 12

2.3 Advisers’ perceptions of clients ............................................................................. 13

2.3.1 Clients’ expectations and presenting needs ................................................... 13

2.3.2 Common barriers and concerns faced by clients ............................................ 13

2.4 Activities undertaken with clients ........................................................................... 14

2.4.1 The initial advice and guidance interview ....................................................... 15

2.4.2 Follow-up and tools used in further sessions.................................................. 15

2.4.3 Challenging client aspirations ........................................................................ 16

2.4.4 The referral process ....................................................................................... 18

2.4.5 Feeding back to referral agents ..................................................................... 18

2.5 Achieving positive outcomes ................................................................................. 19

2.5.1 What works best in helping the client to move forwards ................................. 19

2.5.2 Wider outcomes for the CIAG project ............................................................. 20

2.5.3 What can hinder progress and outcomes? ..................................................... 21

2.6 Summary: staff views ............................................................................................ 22

3 Quantitative research: Participants............................................................................... 24

3.1 Profile of respondents ........................................................................................... 24

3.1.1 ReAct clients .................................................................................................. 26

3.2 Initial contact with Careers Wales ......................................................................... 27

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3.2.1 Finding out about the organisation ................................................................. 27

3.2.2 Source of referral (where referred) ................................................................. 28

3.2.3 Reasons for getting in contact with the organisation ...................................... 28

3.2.4 Motivations for those referred via partner organisations ................................. 29

3.3 Activities undertaken with advisers ....................................................................... 29

3.3.1 Types of support received .............................................................................. 30

3.3.2 Perceptions of support ................................................................................... 31

3.3.3 Most effective actions in helping participants with getting a job ...................... 31

3.3.4 Ratings of helpfulness of Careers Wales ....................................................... 33

3.4 Meeting clients’ needs .......................................................................................... 33

3.4.1 Meeting clients’ needs ................................................................................... 34

3.4.2 Whether Careers Wales could have done more ............................................. 34

3.4.3 Challenging participants’ aspirations .............................................................. 36

3.5 Referring clients to other organisations ................................................................. 37

3.5.1 Referring participants on to other organisations ............................................. 37

3.6 Outcomes ............................................................................................................. 38

3.6.1 Changes in activity since contacting Careers Wales ...................................... 39

3.6.2 Movement of respondents within different economic activities ....................... 40

3.6.3 Actions taken since contact with Careers Wales ............................................ 41

3.6.4 Impact of Careers Wales CIAG project on outcomes ..................................... 43

3.6.5 Barriers to achieving outcomes ...................................................................... 45

3.6.6 Improving participants’ skills and confidence.................................................. 46

4 Cross-cutting themes ................................................................................................... 48

4.1 Equal opportunities ............................................................................................... 48

4.2 Environmental sustainability .................................................................................. 48

5 Overview and Recommendations ................................................................................ 49

5.1 What works well .................................................................................................... 49

5.2 Recommendations ................................................................................................ 51

Appendix 1: Topic guide for Advisers .................................................................................. 54

Appendix 2: Topic guide for Team Leaders ......................................................................... 56

Appendix 3: Questionnaire for participants .......................................................................... 58

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Executive summary

Background

In 2011, BMG Research was commissioned by the Careers Wales Association (CWA) to conduct an evaluation of the Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) Project, which involves the five Careers Wales companies that operate in the Convergence area. The project is supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) and is aimed at increasing the number of economically inactive/unemployed participants accessing information, advice and guidance support (and is thus aligned to ESF Priority 2).

The Project commenced in April 2010 and is due to end on the 31st March 2012. The main objectives of the project focus on the provision of enhanced careers advice and guidance support to economically inactive/unemployed participants and supporting a small number of employers to adopt or improve their equality and diversity strategies and monitoring systems.

The types of interventions that participants take part in (as part of the CIAG project) include activities such as; job search training, CV writing, developing employability skills, confidence building sessions and action planning.

As of the end of September 2011, the project had engaged with 10,170 participants. A total of 1,223 had progressed to further learning by September, and a total of 58% had achieved positive outcomes (already exceeding the target). A total of 1,200 participants were no longer part of the project as they had moved into work.

Evaluation aim and method

The aim of the research was to add insight to a review of the priorities for, and structure of, careers service delivery by determining the impact of the service on clients and other stakeholders, particularly relating to the sustainability of the outcome over the longer term.

Qualitative and quantitative work streams were undertaken to assess a range of evidence. BMG initially conducted a programme of in-depth interviews with 33 CIAG team leaders and advisers to enable a full understanding and exploration of the partnership context in which Careers Wales operates, in terms of referral process and delivery mechanisms as well as views on inputs, outcomes and impacts. This was followed by a quantitative telephone survey of 312 participants who had been referred to Careers Wales and who received support from the CIAG service.

CIAG staff experiences of the programme

Partnership working

CIAG Advisers have worked with a range of different types of organisations and programmes in the delivery of programme. These include agencies and services such as Jobcentre Plus, Citizens Advice Bureau, prisons and Remploy. The project has also worked with programmes including JobMatch and Future Jobs Fund and has linked with other ESF-funded partners, such as the ReAct programme, Bridges into Work, Genesis, Cyrenians, and Coastal.

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Linking with local further education colleges and training providers has also been a key area of partnership as has working with area-specific projects. Additionally, CIAG advisers have linked with voluntary sector organisations, employers and local authorities.

In some instances partnerships had originated from advisers’ previous experience and contacts in delivering careers advice, and partnership working was seen as important in helping clients to move forwards, since it allowed advisers to offer a greater service through a number of different networks. Effective partnerships were facilitated by appropriate and frequent referrals to CIAG, which were helped by a mutual understanding of other organisations and their individual strengths.

Co-location of CIAG advisers alongside partners was identified as being important in helping partners to develop an understanding of each other’s services and what they could offer. Fluctuations in referrals were regarded as a less positive aspect of partnership working, since some advisers felt they had done a lot of work with partners and then failed to get the level of referrals they would expect. Limited project funding was also identified as having a possible negative impact on partnership working, and since it could be hard to establish on-going relationships where finance or funding restricted the continuation of services. Eligibility criteria also inhibited partnership working in some cases, when CIAG advisers were not able to see referred clients due to them being found to be ineligible for support.

Addressing clients’ needs

Different types of clients were perceived to have very different needs; for example, ReAct clients were more focused in looking for help with a career change or access to training, whilst the long-term unemployed often had more basic requirements, such as skills needs or improving confidence. As a result, advisers found that each client group had different priorities. Redundant clients looking to use ReAct funding were mainly more process-driven such as wanting to identify eligibility for funding and co-ordinating paperwork to release funding. For long-term unemployed clients, a key concern was felt to be the effect of entering employment or undertaking training/voluntary work while on benefits.

Additionally, it was reported that regardless of background, the biggest issue for all clients was low confidence. It was felt that all types of clients could experience emotional barriers such as low self-belief, fear of the unknown, low motivation or low expectations arising from previous negative experiences.

Activities undertaken with clients

The initial advice and guidance interview was identified as an important stage in the client relationship since this would introduce clients to their adviser and the Careers Wales service, explaining the on-going nature of support within the project, gather background information about the client and explain the two-way relationship between Careers Wales and the client, encouraging clients to understand that they should take ownership of the process.

Following initial, contact advisers undertook a range of multiple intervention activities, where clients could be seen repeatedly, using various tools to facilitate next steps as well as referrals to other agencies and ESF projects. Advisers reported that the use of tools would always be tailored to the individual, with some being based on individual clients’ learning styles before using tools.

Advisers also reported that client aspirations varied depending on a number of factors such as previous labour market experience, agency or service where clients had been referred

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from, and levels of client motivation. Challenging clients’ aspirations was an important aspect of the process, with advisers applying skilled and subtle approaches to do this once rapport had been established with clients, which often worked in encouraging clients to consider non-traditional roles and occupations.

Referring clients between organisations and partners was a key activity in the CIAG project, with advisers undertaking a tailored approach with individual clients. Formal and informal processes were applied, with client confidentiality being key for each type of approach.

Achieving positive outcomes

From the advisers’ perspectives, the most effective ways of achieving positive outcomes were through multiple interventions tailored appropriately for clients’ needs, through ongoing personal contact and support, high quality information, advice and guidance and where the client themselves took a degree of ownership in the process. Conversely, where it was more challenging to support clients in moving forward, this tended to be due to lack of client engagement, clients’ own personal circumstances, limited work or training opportunities, funding/eligibility issues (for example, for funding training courses or ReAct programme eligibility) and, in some cases, time constraints on the part of the advisers.

Participants’ experience of CIAG

Finding out about the CIAG project

Most survey respondents found out about the CIAG project via another organisation (typically Jobcentre Plus) or project, whilst others found out through word of mouth or had previously been in contact with Careers Wales or via their employer. Accessing careers guidance was respondents’ main motivation for engaging with Careers Wales, as well as getting help with completing CVs and job search.

Support received and activities undertaken

A range of support provided by CIAG was accessed by respondents, with guidance and support with CVs being the most frequently mentioned (45% and 42% respectively). Respondents also reported receiving help with their job search (23%) and with completing forms (17%), for example ReAct applications. Help with completing Action Plans and Skills Checks, general discussions and help with options for the future were also mentioned by respondents.

Satisfaction with information, advice and guidance received

Respondents provided high ratings of satisfaction for the different aspects of support that they had received through CIAG with eight in ten saying that the support they had received was either excellent or good. Support with producing CVs was identified as being the most helpful aspect of support in helping respondents with their career or getting a job. Many respondents also mentioned how the advice and guidance they had received about suitable or available jobs had been helpful, especially when it helped them to consider new and different areas of work. The ongoing nature of support and follow-up activities was also reported as being a particularly effective aspect of the CIAG project.

Impact and outcomes

A key element of providing IAG is to support people in reviewing their aspirations and considering alternative options. Around half of respondents felt that CIAG advisers had

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opened their mind to different career options with a similar proportion saying that advisers had influenced them to return to education or go on a training course.

There was a significant positive shift in the proportion of respondents in full-time employment (under threat of redundancy) prior to contact with Careers Wales to the time of the research interview (from 9% to 35%) and also an increase over time of +7% in the proportion in part-time employment (from 3% to 12%). Furthermore, the proportion in full time education increased from 0% to 4%. Two-thirds of respondents (65%) said that Careers Wales had helped them, including four in ten (42%) who said that the service had helped them ‘a lot’ in achieving these outcomes.

Since participating in the CIAG project, the majority of respondents had applied for a job and just under half starting a new job and/or attending a job interview. Around a third had started a training course and around a fifth had decided on a career change. Others had undertaken voluntary work or gone back to education.

Three-quarters of respondents agreed that since seeing a Careers Wales Adviser they now know how to search for and apply for jobs (73%). Around two-thirds said they can see which jobs suit their skills (67%), they feel more confident (67%) or they know which way their career is heading (64%).

Around three-quarters of respondents reported that they now knew how to search and apply for jobs since participating in the project. Two-thirds reported that felt more confident as a result of the CIAG project.

Overview and recommendations

In summary, team leaders and advisers all spoke positively about the CIAG project, feeling that it was valuable and offered much needed ongoing IAG to clients who often found themselves in vulnerable situations and in need of advice and support to help them to move forward. From the clients’ perspective, numerous positive outcomes were reported, with the project making a demonstrable impact on, for example, employability skills, job search skills, soft skills, job entry and further training and education. Elements of the CIAG project which work particularly well in terms of supporting clients and achieving outcomes include:

Offering a personalised tailored approach to enable advisers to work on a one-to-one basis

Offering ongoing support and an ‘open door’ policy for clients Support with CV writing Offering a peripatetic ‘outreach’ service for clients Co-locating the CIAG project with other services or facilities such as Jobcentre

Plus Partnership working with other agencies Direct engagement with employers who are facing the prospect redundancies Holding regular all-Wales meetings across the Careers Wales companies to

share progress and good practice Working with those clients who are particularly affected by redundancy and are

thus closer to the labour market than those who have more enduring labour market barriers

Advisers being able to ‘challenge’ clients to consider different career or training options through building an ongoing client relationship

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Providing expert knowledge of the labour market and different opportunities to clients, thus enabling them to be better informed in their decision-making and job-search activities

To continue to build on the success of the CIAG project to date, a number of recommendations are proposed, including

Managing the growth in caseload size to ensure that advisers were able to provide the tailored support that individual clients need

Reviewing the length of time that clients are kept on the project caseload, providing a clear exit policy and strategy, which will in turn also help to keep the caseload size manageable

Clarifying with WEFO the eligibility criteria in relation to the Work Programme, which may impact on referrals to CIAG

Emphasising Careers Wales’ unique offer, over and above other support that is available to clients in similar circumstances

Ensuring that there is clarity among partners with regard to who can claim outcomes, to ensure that this does not hinder partnership working

Continuing to strengthen local, regional and national strategic links and partnership working, for example by gaining representation on Boards and committees of relevant groups

Continuing to share learning across Careers Wales companies through networking events

Providing further clarification and guidance to clients with regard to other programme eligibility and funding entitlements for training to ensure that this does not act as a barrier to progression

Reviewing the nature of provision to those who identify as having a long term limiting illness, health problem or disability to ensure that their needs are fully addressed.

The elements of the service that appear to have the greatest impact are the general ongoing support, plus information, advice and guidance specifically around applying for jobs and building a good CV. This support should continue to be at the core of delivery.

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1 Introduction

1.1 Background In Wales, Careers Wales is responsible for delivering information, advice and guidance to all ages and for contributing to the Welsh Government's Lifelong Learning Agenda. Established in 2001, and funded by the Welsh Government, it brings together six careers companies across Wales under one name.

In 2011, BMG Research was commissioned by the Careers Wales Association (CWA) to conduct an evaluation of the Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) Project, which involves the five Careers Wales companies that operate in the Convergence area. The project is managed by CWA on behalf of the companies. The project is supported by the European Social Fund (ESF) and is aimed at increasing the number of economically inactive/unemployed participants accessing information, advice and guidance support (and is thus aligned to ESF Priority 2). The project budget is £3,692,307 in total including £1,292,307 match funding and £2,400,000 ESF Convergence funding.

The Project commenced on 1st April 2010 and is due to end on the 31st March 2012. The original main objectives of the project are (with revised targets agreed with the Welsh European Funding Office, as of 2011, in brackets):

The provision of enhanced careers advice and guidance support to 10,200 (revised to 14,800) economically inactive/unemployed participants:

4,488 of whom are female 7,000 of whom will be referred from/to the ReAct project1 3,200 of whom will be referred from/to other ESF projects and mainstream

programmes.

Anticipated project outcomes relate to the number of participants entering further learning (27%) and the number gaining other positive outcomes (27%).

As of the end of September 2011, the project had engaged with 10,170 participants (well above target). A total of 1,223 had progressed to further learning by September, and a total of 5,997 had achieved positive outcomes (already exceeding the target). A total of 1,200 participants were no longer part of the project as they had moved into work.

1 ReAct – the Redundancy Action Scheme - is an ESF-funded project to provide support to individuals who have been made redundant or are under threat of redundancy to help them to find alternative employment, to increase their skills and remove barriers to learning, or returning to work. As part of the ReAct programme, participants have their training needs assessed by Careers Wales, who also advise on suitable training courses.

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The types of interventions that participants take part in (individually and in group settings, depending on their needs and circumstances) as part of the CIAG project include:

Job search training CV writing Employability skills training Skills check Confidence building sessions Psychometric testing, and Action planning.

The aim of the research was to add insight to a review of the priorities for, and structure of, careers service delivery by determining the impact of the service on clients and other stakeholders, particularly relating to the sustainability of the outcome over the longer term. The research objectives were as follows:

Establish numbers and characteristics of participants and what activities they have undertaken;

Explore referral and engagement routes, including expectations and meeting needs;

Identify the contribution of the range of activities to the client ‘journey’ and subsequent outcomes;

Identify longer-term impacts of participation in CIAG – from both client and deliverer perspectives;

Review and assess relationships between different stakeholders; Evaluate the equal opportunities and environmental impact elements; Reviewing the programme input; and Identify areas of good practice/effective delivery and areas for development in the

future.

1.2 Method BMG initially conducted a programme of qualitative work (in-depth interviews) to enable a full understanding and exploration of the partnership context in which Careers Wales operates, in terms of referral process and delivery mechanisms as well as views on inputs, outcomes and impacts. This was followed by a quantitative telephone survey of participants who had been referred to Careers Wales and who received support from the CIAG service. These two work streams are described in more detail below.

1.2.1 Qualitative work stream

BMG Research completed 33 qualitative interviews in total, with 28 Advisers and 5 Team Leaders from each of five Careers Wales offices that were delivering the CIAG project. These offices are:

Careers Wales Gwent - responsible for delivery of the project within the convergence area of Gwent, i.e. Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent, and East Caerphilly;

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Careers Wales Mid Glamorgan and Powys - West Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda, Cynon Taff, and Bridgend;

Careers Wales West - Neath Port Talbot, Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Ceredigion;

Careers Wales North East - South Denbighshire; Careers Wales North West - Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Conway, and North

Denbighshire.

In-depth qualitative telephone interviews were conducted between 21st July and 17th August 2011. The interviews lasted for approximately half an hour on average, with some lasting up to 45 minutes.

Interviews were semi-structured, and a range of issues was discussed with respondents using a topic guide. For advisers, topics included: partners and perceptions of partnership working; dealing with referrals including participants’ expectations and any barriers to achieving their goals; activities typically undertaken with clients; format of referrals and of feedback to delivery partners; what works best in supporting clients to move forward; any challenges in delivering the project and how these could be overcome.

For Team Leaders, a slightly different topic guide was used. This covered: delivery arrangements/organisation and staffing; partners and perceptions of partnership working; engagement and referrals; activities typically undertaken by advisers with their clients; what works best in achieving outcomes; any challenges in delivering the project and how these could be overcome. Copies of both topic guides can be found in the appendices of this report.

1.2.2 Quantitative work stream

BMG Research also carried out a telephone survey with participants who had been in contact with Careers Wales, and who had received information, advice or guidance from the service’s advisers through the CIAG project. The questionnaire was designed to gather participants’ experiences of the support they received from Careers Wales, and the impact it may have had on them and their subsequent activities. A copy of the questionnaire can be found in the appendices of this report.

All participants surveyed were selected as they had registered with Careers Wales within six months prior to the fieldwork taking place – this was done to ensure that sufficient time had elapsed to be able to capture progress and, where appropriate, outcomes. Interviews were conducted by interviewers at BMG’s call centre during evenings and weekends using a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) methodology. In total, 312 interviews were completed between 15th and 20th September 2011. All respondents were offered the opportunity to complete a survey in Welsh. However, all of those contacted indicated that they were happy to undertake the survey in English.

Participants’ contact details were provided to BMG in accordance with the Data Protection Act, where clients had given consent to their details being used in this way during initial contact with Careers Wales. In total, 4,694 useable contacts were provided to BMG by Careers Wales, from which the 312 interviews were achieved.

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Excluding those not contacted, there were 475 respondents to whom interviewers spoke but who said they did not want to or were unable to take part. Including only those contacts who were spoken to (787 in total), a final sample of 312 represents a revised response rate of 40%.

Table 1: Call outcomes

Unable to reach contact (e.g. Engaged, no reply after 10 calls) 1,834

Not contacted (out of sample quota) 1,703

Quota failures (e.g. In terms of area, gender) 516

Number ineligible (e.g. Wrong number, number not recognised) 166

Respondent unwilling (e.g. Contact was busy or refused) 475

Completed 312

Within the survey sample, monitoring quotas were set for area (proportionate to each Careers Wales caseload size), gender, and ethnicity, reflecting the prevalence of each of these characteristics within the wider population of CIAG clients, to ensure that the sample was representative of the views of CIAG clients more generally. BMG also set soft quotas for the numbers of ReAct clients who were interviewed, although this number was upweighted within the final sample, rather than being strictly reflective of prevalence within the wider population. This process ensured that there were enough ‘ReAct’ respondents for their views to be considered in isolation and compared with the views of other types of clients.

1.3 Report structure

The next chapter (Chapter 3) reports on the findings from the qualitative discussions with Careers Wales team leaders and advisers, to understand how they work with partners and clients.

Chapter 4 focuses on the client perspective, reporting on the findings from the telephone survey of CIAG participants.

In Chapter 5, the cross-cutting themes of equal opportunities and environmental sustainability are considered.

Finally, Chapter 6 provides an overview and offers recommendations.

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2 Qualitative interviews: Advisers and Team Leaders

This section of the report describes findings from qualitative interviews with advisers, using the following headings:

Introduction; Partnerships and partnership working; Advisers’ perceptions of clients;; Activities undertaken with clients; Achieving positive outcomes; Overcoming challenges; and Continued delivery and recommendations.

2.1 Introduction

This section provides background information on the advisers who were interviewed.

2.1.1 Background on advisers

Of the 28 advisers, around a third (11 advisers) had worked with Careers Wales for less than five years, one in ten (4 advisers) had worked for Careers Wales between five to nine years, and a further third (9 advisers) had worked with Careers Wales for over 10 years. Although some advisers had worked on the CIAG project for the entire duration of their employment at Careers Wales, others had worked on different projects or in slightly different roles at Careers Wales before joining the project.

Many advisers described having experience working with adults prior to working on the CIAG project specifically. The advisers described having undertaken a range of qualifications and training to support them in their jobs. All had achieved at least NVQ Level 4 in Advice & Guidance, and many also had undergraduate or postgraduate level qualifications in a relevant subject. Advisers also described undertaking regular training in-house or external training in a range of areas, for example in the use of psychometric assessments, in skills in working with groups of participants or in time management.

2.2 Partnerships and partnership working

This section describes experiences of partnership working, in terms of which partners advisers worked with, what works well, and where there were aspects that could improve partnership working.

2.2.1 Background to the partnerships

Advisers were asked which partners they worked with. A range of different types of organisations and programmes were mentioned by respondents, including;

Government or government-supported programmes such as Jobcentre Plus, Citizens’ Advice Bureau, probation and prison services, Remploy, JobMatch, Future Jobs Fund;

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Other ESF-funded partners, for example the ReAct programme, Want2Work, Workways, Bridges into Work, Genesis, Cyrenians, Coastal,

Local colleges and training providers; Area-specific projects such as Colegmenni, Chwarae Teg, Bridgend Employment

Roots, Drug Aid, Hallech, South West Rhyl, School Gates; Voluntary organisations (frontline organisations such as Mind, as well as

voluntary service councils); Employers; and Local authorities.

Some of these partnerships had originated from the adviser’s previous experience and contacts. For example, one adviser had previously worked with a 'Community Education' project and since coming to Careers Wales has been able to organise group work and class visits with them. The adviser felt this was “something that happens across the team” and certainly a number of other interviewees had similar examples from their own experience.

2.2.2 Partnership working: what works well

Advisers were asked what was effective in terms of partnership working. Partnership working was seen generally as important in helping clients to move forwards, as it allowed advisers to offer a greater service through a number of different networks. The main factors in effective partnership working were considered to be:

having a shared goal between organisations; a mutual awareness; understanding of each other’s organisations, and to some extent, physical location.

A number of advisers mentioned that partnership working between agencies benefited from their understanding of having a shared goal:

“All trying to do the same thing, helping people move forward…where they are going and how to get there.”

Effective partnerships were felt to be led by appropriate and frequent referrals, which were helped by a mutual understanding of other organisations and their individual strengths or ‘selling points’. Regular, maintained contact with partner organisations played a significant role in development of effective partnerships. Some advisers mentioned networking events which had allowed them to meet staff from other organisations early on in the project, and get a ‘personal contact’ in another organisation that they could speak to:

“Getting to know different organisations in the community and build up partnerships where you then know to refer clients on to different things"

Several advisers said that co-location had been important in helping partners to develop an understanding of each other’s services and what they can offer. When the adviser had a ‘presence’ at an agency this created a ‘drop-in’ environment, which led

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to further referrals. Many advisers had regularly spent time working in other offices, such as the Jobcentre or Bridges into Work, which had benefited partnerships:

“When we worked at separate offices, we didn't get as many referrals from them. When we decided to go back in and be based there again you do get a lot more referrals… your presence is there... there's a better mutual arrangement”

2.2.3 Partnership working: areas for improvement

Many advisers said that there were no aspects of their partnerships that did not work well. However, factors that could sometimes have a negative impact included:

fluctuations in referrals; the potential for duplication of services; limited funding for other projects; and practical issues of eligibility or confidentiality.

A minority also mentioned individual differences, for example if they had found individuals at certain partner organisations hard to contact.

Fluctuations in referrals were regarded as a less positive aspect of partnership working. Some advisers felt they had done a lot of work with partners and then failed to get the level of referrals they would expect, and others felt that referrals from certain partners could not be guaranteed:

“Sometimes we can do a lot of work with partners and then we don’t get the level of referrals we expect. It can be a valuable experience or other times it dips a little bit, you can’t always tell’

Several advisers felt that duplication of services was a risk in partnership working. For example, several agencies might offer advice and guidance or help with CVs, and be able to offer these services themselves as well as referring to Careers Wales.

“There is a lot of duplication, quite a lot of the ESF projects offer similar things, ideally it would be each having its own strength…. Sometimes it can be confusing for the client”

In other cases, advisers mentioned that limited project funding could impact on partnership working, and some advisers felt it could be hard to establish on-going relationships where finance or funding restricted the continuation of services.

Partnership working could also be inhibited by eligibility criteria, where clients were referred to other agencies and then unable to be seen, or referred to Careers Wales but subsequently discovered to be ineligible. A small number of respondents mentioned that confidentiality guidelines could occasionally restrict partners, in terms of the way they were allowed to contact one another.

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2.3 Advisers’ perceptions of clients

This section describes advisers’ perceptions of clients in terms of their expectations and presenting needs, common barriers and concerns faced by clients

2.3.1 Clients’ expectations and presenting needs

Advisers said that clients’ expectations varied widely, and would depend on previous experience i.e. “where they are at and where they are from”. It was felt that whilst some clients were open-minded and ready to engage, others are less so, and expectations varied from realistic and focused to unrealistic and more ambiguous.

Different types of clients were perceived to have very different needs; for example, ReAct clients might be more focused in looking for help with a career change or access to training, whilst the long-term unemployed might have more basic requirements, such as skills needs or improving confidence. Furthermore, clients who had been referred from Jobcentre Plus might see Careers Wales as an extension of the Jobcentre and ‘come because they have been told to’, or see the process as a ‘tick-box exercise’:

“With a jobcentre referral, they are often not sure why they have been referred, they think it is a stage in a process in order to retain their benefits”

Advisers said that, although ReAct clients may have previously had a presentation and therefore some understanding of the organisation, the majority of clients had little or no idea of what to expect from Careers Wales and were often unsure about what they could get out of the service: “generally, clients don't really know about what we do”. The initial interview and the ‘contracting’ stage of the process were therefore felt to play a key role in setting out what the service could offer to clients:

“We would discuss their expectations and what we do, how we could work together, the project and how it works, what they would like out of it”

2.3.2 Common barriers and concerns faced by clients

Advisers were asked to describe some of the barriers experienced by their clients. These are described below. Again, barriers and concerns were felt to vary widely between individuals:

“It's such a wide spectrum of people, even within the priority groups."

Although some advisers felt the main concern across all client groups was ‘getting a job’, most stated that concerns would usually be characterised by the client’s background. For instance, if clients had been made redundant, their main concern might be to get another job as soon as possible to meet ongoing financial pressures. These clients might be most interested in finding out what sorts of help are available via ReAct or other funding programmes, as well as discovering what sorts of jobs would be available to them after often spending a number of years in one industry.

For redundant clients looking to use ReAct funding, some advisers felt that client concerns were mainly more process-driven including identifying eligibility for funding and co-ordinating paperwork to release funding. For example one adviser stated that

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delays from employers in sending P45s and redundancy letters could hinder clients from progression onto ReAct courses.

For the long-term unemployed, a key concern was felt to be the effect of entering employment or taking training/voluntary work on benefits. Concerns may therefore focus on potential earning, the hours clients would have to work, and whether or not they would earn more through working than they receive on benefits. One adviser mentioned working with Jobcentre Plus to do calculations that show clients they are better off in work. Advisers said unemployed clients may also be anxious about the relationship between Careers Wales and Jobcentre Plus: “Are we going to tell the Jobcentre, what's going to happen now?"

Some advisers felt that, regardless of background, the biggest concern for all clients was confidence. A number felt that all types of clients could experience emotional barriers such as low self-belief, fear of the unknown, low motivation or low expectations arising from previous negative experiences:

“Although they don’t say it, I think it is confidence, it has been knocked, they don’t actually say I need help with my confidence, but, after talking to them for a while...”

Advisers also stated that a key barrier for some clients was having very little understanding of how to go about getting a job:

“Not knowing how to research, what's out there, where to start looking or potentially what to do at all”

Issues of knowledge and confidence were felt to particularly affect people who were long-term unemployed, for whom the idea of entering employment could be daunting. Some clients were perceived to be ‘trapped in a cycle of rejection’, lacking in self-belief and ability and with a lack of literacy, numeracy and IT skills, alongside a lack of general knowledge and expectations of what to expect.

Other factors which were commonly mentioned as barriers included: the current economic situation and characteristics of the job market e.g. certain areas of work in decline or ceasing to exist, and the lack of opportunities available; lack of relevant skills; age barriers; lack of transport (particularly in rural areas); lack of an up-to-date CV; lack of computer or internet access; lack of finances to fund travel or training; childcare responsibilities; housing issues; physical or mental health problems; learning difficulties; criminal records; and drug and alcohol issues.

2.4 Activities undertaken with clients

This section of the report outlines advisers’ descriptions of activities undertaken with clients, from the initial advice and guidance interview, to follow-up and tools typically used to offer further support, as well as challenging clients’ ideas and the processes used for referrals.

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2.4.1 The initial advice and guidance interview

The initial advice and guidance interview was felt to be an important stage in the client relationship. Some advisers stated that the overarching aim of the interview was to provide ‘career guidance’, but within this described several important steps.

Advisers said they would initially introduce themselves and the Careers Wales service, establishing ‘what we do and why we do it’, as well as explaining the on-going nature of support within the project. They would then get some background information on the client, for example ‘checking their reasons for attending and exploring any underlying reasons’, which would help them to identify the client’s needs and start to build a rapport. Many advisers stated that ‘getting to know the client’ was the most important part of the initial interview.

Advisers described how they would establish ‘ground rules’, for example outlining confidentiality and data protection, explaining that the interaction between Careers Wales and the client is a ‘two way thing’, and encouraging them to understand that they should take ownership of the process.

From here, a number of advisers said they would use advice and guidance skills to help the client identify any decisions that needed to be made, presenting them with new options as appropriate by summarising and feeding back what the client says, ‘helping clients to weigh up their options’. The format for this would be dictated by the client’s presenting needs:

“They've all got their own individual needs, what might work for some won't work for the others....it’s very much tailored to the individual”

Advisers said they would then work with clients to decide on a ‘moving forward plan’; a ‘mutually agreed’ document outlining actions to be taken in order for the client to move forwards, as well as the proposed timescale associated with these. Advisers also described arranging follow-up activity. Although some said this is ‘up to the client if and when the rest is carried out’, others said they usually explained that it would be in the client's interest to take part in a series of interviews.

As earlier, several respondents noted that the process for ReAct clients could be slightly different, as they may already have attended a presentation explaining the programme. The initial interview may then focus on explaining the ReAct programme in more detail, helping clients to think about the usefulness of vocational training and discussing ideas for the future, and drawing up a specific ReAct action plan.

2.4.2 Follow-up and tools used in further sessions

First contact between the client and adviser was, on the whole, dedicated to advice and guidance and action planning. Following this, advisers described their interaction as ‘multiple intervention’, where clients could be seen repeatedly, with advisers using various tool to facilitate next steps as well as referrals to other agencies and ESF projects. As well as follow-up, a number of tools were felt to be important in working with clients and respondents mentioned using ‘anything that helps them to work out their direction, review where they're at’ as appropriate.

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In general, advisers reported that the use of tools would always be tailored to the individual, stating, for example, ‘we try to be flexible... to make sure that whatever it is they need to be doing, happens'. Some said they would try to determine a client’s learning style before using tools, and some advisers had even created their own tools, for example a ‘Workplace Sheet’ where a client could look at a number of different workplaces and tick which ones they would most like to work in.

Other commonly mentioned aspects included: Careers Wales online and the Internet, the topics covered in follow-up one-to-one work or group work sessions, and activities undertaken with ReAct clients. These are described below.

2.4.2.1 Careers Wales online

Advisers commonly mentioned Careers Wales online for activities such as looking up courses, or using the ‘CV wizard’ or vacancy section. The website was also used for tools such as Career Matching, Skills Check and Adult Directions. The Skills Check was felt to be particularly beneficial for the long-term unemployed in ‘showing them that they actually do have skills’, whilst Adult Directions could be useful ‘if someone is really undecided or has got lots of different ideas’. Advisers also used the Internet for job searching and finding information for clients, and could also provide participants with Labour Market Information to help them with career decisions.

2.4.2.2 One-to-one and group sessions

Advisers said clients were commonly helped on an individual basis with practical aspects of job search and applications, for example compiling or improving a CV, taking part in mock interviews, or getting tips about job search. These types of topics were covered in group sessions which could also focus on confidence building. Some advisers mentioned the usefulness of workshops that were targeted at specific groups, such as lone parents. In addition, some advisers mentioned psychometric tests, for example, Morrisby profiling, which were felt to be effective with academic or professionally-qualified clients in helping them consider ‘other things they might be good at’.

2.4.2.3 ReAct clients

Some advisers reported providing specific presentations or workshops for ReAct clients, whist others mentioned using forms for ReAct programmes in their sessions, for example the forms needed to access ReAct funding. A number of advisers mentioned that the types of support required by ReAct clients could often be done within one session rather than requiring follow-up; for example providing information on funding to someone who has already done a significant amount of research into different types of training.

2.4.3 Challenging client aspirations

Client aspirations were felt to vary depending on a number of factors; for example, previous labour market experience, where clients had been referred from, levels of motivation, and so on. Advisers said some had realistic aspirations, particularly those who had done some research before coming to the CIAG project.

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“Some are high flyers who know what they are doing, they just need to access funding…. everything is already sorted in their minds.”

However, advisers said often others ‘haven’t got any ideas at all’ or attended initial meetings with unrealistic aspirations. Examples of this type of situation included clients who wanted to enter academic careers without committing to further study; clients who wanted to enter a career that was unavailable locally but without being willing to travel; and clients who wanted to continue to work in an occupational or industrial area in decline. In these cases, challenging respondents was particularly important:

“It's a key part of what we do, challenging. With permission, it is done in a way that is helping them to either glean more info and insight or be absolutely sure about the decision that they are going to make. It distinguishes us from other providers of careers advice.”

Advisers and team leaders identified with the importance of being able to challenge clients’ perceptions or ideas.

“Challenging is one of the firm foundations of careers guidance”.

Challenging aspirations was felt to be a subtle process which would only take place after a rapport had been built between the adviser and client:

“Some want to do something that's totally unrealistic, but we don't dismiss that, we talk it round and get them to think about the skills that they have got”

Advisers described using various skills to encourage clients to ‘broaden out the range of things that they can consider’. Depending on the client, specific activities that might be undertaken to ‘help clients to think of alternative ways forward’, included:

Asking questions to find out where ideas have originated from and what clients really want to do next;

Using visioning exercises such as thinking about ‘if all other things in their life weren't happening, what would they want to do’;;

Undertaking research for clients to determine feasibility of what they want to do; Making clients aware of facts, such as length of time they would have to study

for, travel requirements etc; Informing clients on current labour market information; and Helping clients to look at their skills and qualities and match these to jobs

available in the labour market.

Advisers were also asked specifically whether they had any examples of clients who had gone into a non-traditional area after being challenged. Although some said this did not happen as often as they would like, others were able to provide examples, which often involved male clients who had been in a trade for a number of years and were subsequently considering a caring or helping profession, for instance:

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“I had one client who was a plumber and decided he didn't want to do that anymore, but wasn't sure because he had been in that trade for so many years. We discussed it and it became apparent that maybe he would like work as a probation officer or helping with young people. We did also look at caring and he is now doing some voluntary work as a carer.”

2.4.4 The referral process

Advisers were asked about referring clients to other organisations or partners. The vast majority of advisers described frequently referring clients to a range of other partners (mostly those outlined earlier at Section 3.2.1), following a build-up of rapport with the client and once the client’s needs had been identified. Advisers stated that referrals would be tailored to individuals, being made as appropriate ‘to anyone I think can help’.

A number of advisers mentioned that referrals were often made on an informal basis, involving ‘signposting’ rather than a formal referral process; for example, giving the client a list of options and the freedom to make contact should they want to, or calling a partner on the client’s behalf if they were not sufficiently confident to make the call themselves. This was particularly the case where there was co-location between partners, enabling them to ‘pop in with clients and introduce them and make an appointment straightaway’.

Most advisers stated that the referrals were usually a two-way process. In some cases, when the client went on to training or employment, advisers did not hear from them again; however, in many cases the client would still revisit the adviser for further advice and guidance:

“That's the really good thing about this project, although I am referring on, I never feel that I am losing that client because I keep in touch with the client anyway.”

2.4.5 Feeding back to referral agents

Advisers were asked about how they would usually provide feedback to referral agents or other partners, when a client was referred to Careers Wales from another organisation.

The key issue for advisers was confidentiality. They emphasised a process of asking the permission of the client, and keeping feedback brief to avoid breaking confidentiality agreements. Feedback was not always automatic. In some cases, advisers described it as ‘client-led’ and only done if it would help the client to move forwards. Feedback was usually given informally, face-to-face or over the telephone or by email, although some advisers described having regular meetings with certain partners to discuss issues. For some partner organisations, advisers used referral forms to provide information about clients and refer them on. However advisers stressed that they would not discuss a client with partners without first getting the client’s permission.

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2.5 Achieving positive outcomes

This section of the report describes what advisers felt works best in terms of helping clients to achieve positive outcomes, as well as any wider outcomes for the project.

2.5.1 What works best in helping the client to move forwards

In terms of the most effective ways of providing information, advice and guidance to CIAG clients, frequently mentioned aspects included:

providing multiple interventions and types of support through on-going contact; providing face-to-face advice and guidance; providing good quality guidance; and when clients take ownership of the process.

Many advisers mentioned that being able to provide multiple interventions and on-going support was important, in terms of having the time ‘to mentor and support clients and offer additional support on more than one occasion’. This helped them to build a rapport and demonstrate commitment to the client, particularly with those who are reluctant to meet new people. Advisers described how they could follow-up via repeat appointments, or would contact clients they had not heard from in a while and ask them to get in touch; some also said they would encourage clients to contact them at any time to discuss their progress. Follow-up was felt to be a key part of the CIAG project and something that worked very well:

“It does seem quite often people that are so grateful that they have heard from me again. They express that it is quite unusual for an organisation to check I am ok, to see what is happening… that in turn raises motivation and therefore encourages them to move forward”

“The fact that they can come back as often as they need to is great, you can see them relax when they realise they've found someone who can help them through the sometimes complicated job market “

Secondly, many advisers mentioned that providing advice and guidance face-to-face was particularly effective, particularly when compared with other methods such as email or telephone which ‘do not have the same impact as meeting people face-to-face’. Face-to-face contact was felt to be important in building trust and rapport, and could also allow advisers to assess non-verbal communication. Some advisers mentioned that technology (such as texting) could be useful in conducting follow-up, but others had less than positive experiences of using technology to provide guidance, such as receiving limited input from clients when communicating via email, or finding clients to be distracted by their environment when communicating over the telephone.

Advisers also frequently mentioned the importance of providing good quality guidance, mentioning skills such as ‘listening to the clients and their needs without judging’, or providing clients with feedback and encouragement. Another key aspect of the process was felt to be encouraging the client to engage and take ownership of the process and ‘making sure the client is on board’ or ‘that the plan is there and the timing of it, or the reality of it… works for the client:

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“What works well is working with client to understand what they want and need, rather than telling them what to do, it’s important that the client is a part of it… that it is tailored to the individual".

2.5.2 Wider outcomes for the CIAG project

Advisers were asked if there were any wider outcomes for the CIAG project, such as partnership working. The main outcomes mentioned were:

improvements to partnership working; improvements to Careers Wales’ own practices;; job satisfaction for advisers; and outcomes for the community.

A number of respondents mentioned partnership working. They said that networking had been particularly important at the start of the project, leading to them finding new partners and therefore helping being able to help more or new groups of clients, with ‘each network leading to participation in another field’. Networking also helped advisers to get a better understanding of other organisations:

“I had to network a lot to start with because it was such a rural area we were working in: I've got to know a heck of a lot more people"

Advisers mentioned that networking events were important for getting introductions to partners, and once a partnership was established there might then be regular meetings or other activities to build on this relationship and help a greater number of clients. Some advisers described how networking, for example, attending open days, had led to further partnership work between agencies, for example, group work. Advisers felt that improvements to partnership working had the effect of improving their own skills and knowledge; for example, learning to deal with drug and alcohol issues, as well as improving the referral process for clients, increasing referrals to Careers Wales, and raising the profile of the organisation.

In addition, a number of advisers mentioned that the CIAG project had led to improved practices within Careers Wales, leading their organisation to ‘develop as a team and group’. For example, some advisers had compiled resources based on work they were doing with CIAG clients that could then be used across the company. Other offices had developed new systems to manage the follow-up process more efficiently.

Another key outcome of the project was job satisfaction for advisers. A number of advisers mentioned that they particularly enjoyed the follow-up aspect of the project and being able to keep in touch with clients to monitor their progress over a longer period. This aspect was felt to lead to a better relationship and a greater opportunity to see clients as ‘individuals’:

“We get to know them well. It’s nice to stay with them and then get a phone call to say, oh I've got a job”

Lastly, the project was felt to have had important benefits for local communities. Advisers mentioned benefits to the area or community from new businesses set up by

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clients, as well as benefits to the next generation of children as they see their parents going into employment.

2.5.3 What can hinder progress and outcomes?

Advisers were asked what hinders progress for participants and what, if anything, could be done to improve them. The main issues were described as:

a lack of participation or engagement by clients; clients’ personal circumstances;; the availability of opportunities; referrals from elsewhere; issues of funding and eligibility; and advisers having limited time.

A number of advisers described how outcomes could be hindered if the client did not sufficiently participate or engage in the process. Some advisers said there were a ‘range of people who do not attend’, which would then impact on advisers’ time and resources. Although advisers felt this could be overcome to some extent by telephoning prior to appointments or undertaking outreach, others felt that occasionally clients were not ready to undertake activities to help them find a job, or ‘did not really want to work’:

"We can do a CV and we can get them ready for interview, but they've got to want to do it.”

Some clients’ personal circumstances were also perceived as challenges which needed to be overcome in order to enable the client to progress. As well as ‘the usual things’ that advisers said commonly acted as barriers to employment, such as childcare or transport issues, some advisers mentioned that clients could lose their confidence if they experienced rejection or a ‘knock back’ and it could then be hard to keep them motivated. Some said that due to recent changes to Jobseeker’s Allowance, they were now dealing with a number of clients who were previously on an incapacity benefit, and whom it could be challenging to help move forwards. However, advisers felt that being able to offer ongoing support through the CIAG project could help to overcome this:

“The fact that we can do that and on this longer basis is good, keeping things moving. Sometimes just a phone call gives them that little boost again to get back on track.”

Another key hindrance to outcomes was felt to be a lack of opportunities for clients in the current economy – ‘they're just so scarce’, with advisers stating that they are ‘seeing redundancies in every sector’, limiting opportunities further. This was particularly the case in rural areas, where there were fewer jobs and limited variety of opportunities, as well as limited public transport. One adviser gave an example of a client who had recently moved to the local area and was unable to find employment in his trade, and was subsequently close to becoming long-term unemployed.

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In such circumstances, the advisers would work with the clients to manage their expectations and to look at alternative options.

A number of advisers mentioned challenges in getting referrals to the service. Some advisers experienced challenges in promoting the service and getting people to ‘know where we are’, which again could be confounded by a rural location; a number of advisers felt that this could be overcome with more marketing of the service. Others mentioned challenges in dealing with fluctuations in referrals, for example dealing with large-scale redundancies – ‘one minute we’re really busy when major redundancies occur and then it quietens down again’ - saying that this was overcome through flexibility of the team.

In addition, a number of advisers mentioned that they received low numbers of referrals from certain partners [an issue mentioned earlier in this report when advisers were asked about less effective aspects of partnership working (Section 3.2.3)]. Advisers also mentioned that referrals were affected when partner organisations were dissolved due to lack of funding, and there was little they could do about this.

Other key hindrances included issues of funding and eligibility. If clients were unable to get funding to participate in a course or training, this could stop them from moving forwards. Sometimes this was linked to eligibility for the ReAct programme; for example, if a clients’ employer was unable to confirm they had been made redundant, or if clients could not meet ReAct conditions for funding of a training programme. Other examples included individuals with a fragmented labour market history but recent experiences of employment (agency work) which meant that they may not be eligible for some types of support.

“Sometimes in certain situation there are clients who can't access the service who would benefit from the support, and others who are eligible who don't need it.”

Finally, a number of advisers mentioned that they sometimes had limited time to deal with clients. Some mentioned the difficulties of managing large volumes of administration or paperwork alongside supporting clients. Others mentioned a growing caseload and that it was becoming ‘more and more of a challenge to keep abreast of what everybody is doing and getting to know the outcome’. This was particularly the case as numbers of redundancies continued to grow and the caseload increased - ‘nobody ever goes off the caseload’ – and there was a slight concern that this could impact on the extent to which advisers were able to carry out follow-up activity as they are ‘spread too thinly’.

2.6 Summary: staff views

In summary, team leaders and advisers all spoke positively about the CIAG project, feeling that it was valuable and offered much needed ongoing IAG to clients who often found themselves in vulnerable situations and in need of advice and support to help them to move forward.

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Advisers felt that the project worked well (particularly in terms of follow-up), that there was a need for the service, and that they would like to be able to continue building partnerships as much progress had been made in this area.

"It’s a better way of working, I think, with adults."

The CIAG project provided an opportunity to engage with adults on a on-going basis, providing a package of tailored support to them to help advise and guide them towards moving into employment. Such support was recognised as being particularly needed in the current climate - ‘support is really, really needed at the moment’. This was felt to apply to both redundancies arising from the continuing recession and long-term unemployed clients, as many of the latter group were experiencing the impact of policy changes in relation to Jobseeker’s Allowance and needed support to help them through this and into employment.

A number of advisers also mentioned that they would like to continue their partnership working, building new relationships through continued networking as well as growing existing partnerships, in order to continue to provide clients with as many opportunities as possible to enter or re-enter employment.

Some advisers felt they would like the project to continue with a focus on new areas of work, or on ‘clients who really need the service’. For some, this meant broadening eligibility criteria to help a greater range of clients. Others felt that they would like to be able to spend more time on follow-up than their caseload or targets currently allowed:

“Having a target of 211 newcomers and 77 follow-ups, the balance isn't right, it means that you can only see 77 clients more than once. This isn't the intention of the project, it's meant to be long-term relationship building and follow up to see the client into employment.”

Some respondents also said they would like further promotion of services, and that Careers Wales could undertake further marketing to raise awareness and promote greater numbers of clients entering the service.

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3 Quantitative research: Participants

This section of the report describes findings from the quantitative survey of CIAG participants under the following headings:

Profile of respondents; Initial contact with Careers Wales; Activities undertaken with advisers; Meeting clients’ needs;; Referring clients on; and Outcomes for participants.

Although the data is primarily quantitative in nature, there were a number of occasions in the survey where respondents were asked to expand on an answer they had given or to provide further information. These qualitative insights are also useful and have been included verbatim throughout this chapter to provide further illustration.

3.1 Profile of respondents

Reflecting the population of CIAG clients within Careers Wales as a whole, around a third of respondents (31%) were from the West area, around a quarter were from Mid Glamorgan and Powys (26%) or Gwent (23%), and around one-fifth were from North West (18%). A smaller proportion was from the North East region (3%):

Figure 2: Profile - region

No. of

respondents

Proportion of

respondents

West 98 31% Mid Glamorgan and Powys 80 26% Gwent 71 23% North West 55 18% North East 8 3% Sample base 312 100%

Again reflecting the population of CIAG clients within Careers Wales as a whole, respondents were most commonly aged 45-54 years (32%). Slightly fewer respondents were aged 18-34 (29%) or 35-44 (26%), whilst around one in ten (13%) were older than 55:

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Figure 3: Profile - age

No. of respondents

Proportion of

respondents 18-24 37 12% 25-34 52 17% 35-44 80 26% 45-54 101 32% 55-64 41 13% Prefer not to say 1 <0.5% Sample base 312 100%

The CIAG population profile in terms of gender was also reflected in the survey sample with 63% male compared with 37% female:

Figure 4: Profile - gender

No. of

respondents

Proportion of

respondents

Male 197 63% Female 115 37% Sample base 312 100%

In terms of ethnicity, around one in fifty respondents were from a BME background (2%), whilst the majority were non-BME (98%). This also mirrors the breakdown in the wider CIAG population as a whole:

Figure 5: Profile – ethnicity

No. of respondents

Proportion of

respondents White - British 139 45% White - Welsh 146 47% White - English 14 4% White - Irish 2 1% White Other 4 1% Dual Heritage Other 2 1% Asian or Asian British - Indian 1 <0.5% Asian or Asian British - Pakistani 1 <0.5% Other 2 1% Refused 1 <0.5% Sample base 312 100%

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Close to one-fifth of respondents said they had a long-term illness, health problem or disability (17%) that limited their daily activities or work in any way:

Figure 6: Profile – long term limiting illness, health problem or disability

No. of respondents

Proportion of

respondents Yes 54 17% No 257 82% Refused 1 <0.5% Sample Bases 312 100%

Close to half of respondents said their highest qualification was equivalent to O-levels or GCSEs (44%). Over one in ten respondents had a degree (13%), slightly more than said they had no formal education (9%). Around one in twenty-five (4%) had a postgraduate degree:

Figure 7: Profile – education

No. of respondents

Proportion of respondents

O-level / CSE / GCSE / NVQ level 1 or 2 or equivalent / Welsh Baccalaureate Foundation or Intermediate 137 44%

A-level or NVQ level 3 or equivalent / Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced 63 20%

Degree (e.g. BA / BSc) or NVQ level 4 or 5 or equivalent 42 13%

No formal education 29 9%

Tertiary diploma / other equivalent 15 5%

Post-graduate degree (e.g. MA, PHD) or equivalent 14 4%

Primary school 3 1%

School leaving certificate 3 1%

Other 5 2%

Refused 1 <0.5%

3.1.1 ReAct clients

Around a quarter of the final sample were ReAct clients (25%). Although the proportion of ReAct clients within the wider population is somewhat smaller (approximately 8%), the number of ReAct clients was boosted in the survey sample to ensure their views could be compared with the views of other groups:

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Figure 8: Profile – ReAct clients

No. of respondents

Proportion of respondents

Yes 77 25%

No 235 75%

Sample Bases 312 100%

3.2 Initial contact with Careers Wales

This section describes how respondents found out about Careers Wales, as well as sources of referral (where clients had been referred via other organisations or projects), and respondents’ initial motivations for making contact with Careers Wales.

3.2.1 Finding out about the organisation

Referral from another organisation was the main route into the CIAG project. The majority (63%) said they were referred to Careers Wales via another organisation or project. Around one in ten (10%) found out about Careers Wales through word of mouth, and a similar proportion said they had always known about it or been in contact before (7%). Around one in twenty-five came into contact after ‘just passing’ a Careers Wales office (4%), said they were approached by Careers Wales (4%), or that they found out through their employer or previous employer (4%):

Figure 9: Q3. How respondents found out about Careers Wales (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

Respondents who were unemployed prior to contacting Careers Wales were more likely to be referred through an organisation or project (68%), compared with those in employment (49%).

63%

10%

7%

4%

4%

4%

2%

2%

3%

2%

Was referred through another organisation or

project e.g. Jobcentre, Genesis

Word of mouth

Always known about it / been there before

Just passing a Careers Wales office

We were approached by Careers Wales

Through employer / previous Employer / work

Internet

School / local college

Other

Don't know / can't remember

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3.2.2 Source of referral (where referred)

Respondents who had been referred to Careers Wales (63% of the total sample, or 195 respondents) were asked which organisation or project they were referred from.

Unsurprisingly the most common response was the Jobcentre (66%). Around one in ten respondents (12%) said they were referred via their employer. Some respondents mentioned other projects such as JobMatch (4%) or Bridges into Work (2%).

A proportion (9%) mentioned another referral agent. These included: ReAct; Job Links; Shaw Trust; the NHS; Pathways; School careers service; and the local authority:

Figure 10: Q4. Which project or organisation participants were referred from (where referred)

Sample base: 195

Younger people (7% of those aged 18-34) were, of course, more likely to say they were referred from school or college, although the majority of this group (68%) were still referred via the Jobcentre.

Unsurprisingly, those who were unemployed prior to contact with Careers Wales were more likely than other groups to say they were referred via the Jobcentre (83%), whilst those who were being made redundant were more likely to be referred by their employer (16%).

3.2.3 Reasons for getting in contact with the organisation

All respondents were asked why they went to Careers Wales.

66%

12%

4%

3%

2%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

9%

5%

Jobcentre

Employer

Job Match

School / College

Bridges into Work

Probation Services

Remploy

Genesis

Want 2 Work

Coastal

School Gates

Other

Don't know / can't remember

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Around two-fifths mentioned guidance (37%), whilst around a quarter mentioned the ReAct programme (29%) or CV support (24%). Around one-fifth (22%) mentioned that they wanted help with job search:

Figure 11: Q5. Why respondents went to Careers Wales (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

3.2.4 Motivations for those referred via partner organisations

Where respondents said they were referred to Careers Wales by the Jobcentre, or that they were told to go by another referral agent, they were asked what they felt they needed help with at this stage.

Respondents commonly said they needed help with improving or developing a CV, and many also said that they wanted help with training or information about funding available for specific training:

“To see if there is a grant for me to get a training certificate for part 1-5 for the motor trade.”

A number of respondents mentioned that they wanted advice and guidance; for example ‘knowing how to get in to my career path’, or more information in one area if they were ‘looking to go into a different career’. Others said that they specifically wanted help with finding a job.

Just two respondents said they did not need any help:

“I did not need help, I was just sent there via Pathways.”

3.3 Activities undertaken with advisers

This section describes the types of support received by respondents, as well as the types perceived to be most useful in helping respondents to move forwards with their career, and ratings of the support received by respondents.

37%

29%

24%

22%

9%

4%

4%

10%

1%

Guidance

ReACT (redundancy programme)

CV Support

Help with job searching

Was told to by the Jobcentre

Skills Check

Was told to by another referral agent

Other

Don't know / can't remember

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3.3.1 Types of support received

Participants were asked what types of support they received from Careers Wales.

Close to half said they received guidance (45%), and a similar proportion said they received support with their CV (42%). A quarter said they received help with job search (23%) and close to one in five (17%) received help with form filling, for example for the ReAct programme. Around one in ten said they received an Action Plan (13%) or a Skills Check (11%).

Figure 12: Q7. Types of support received from Careers Wales (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

Of the quarter of the total sample (24%; 63 respondents) who said they received something other than the particular support identified in Figure 12, several mentioned activities that might come under the description of ‘advice and guidance’, for example ‘attempting to make me work out where my skills lie’, or ‘suggesting various types of work I could do’.

However, the main ‘other’ aspect which respondents mentioned was arranging training and further learning for participants. These types of activities ranged from helping clients to understand training options and providing them with information about training to helping them apply for funding, or helping them access training and make applications for courses. For example:

“They helped me to get into college for a Military Preparation course in Cardiff and with the application for the Armed Forces.”

A number of respondents also said advisers had helped them with the ReAct process, indicating that this went beyond the ‘help with form filling’. . Respondents mentioned

45%

42%

23%

17%

13%

11%

6%

4%

24%

4%

Guidance

CV Support

Help with job searching

Help with form filling (e.g. ReAct)

Action Plan

Skills Check

Goal setting

Using Careers Wales' website

Other

Don't know / can't remember

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wanting help in generally ‘dealing with ReAct’, and some said that advisers had provided them with advice on being made redundant, as well as the training and funding available via the ReAct programme. Some respondents also had specific queries relating to ReAct, for example about incentives for their future employers.

Another key aspect was providing help with interview techniques and improving participants’ interview skills. Other types of support mentioned by small numbers of respondents included providing access to computers, helping respondents to understand and access training, providing follow-up, organising group sessions, referring clients to other organisations and helping to organise voluntary work.

Some respondents also mentioned that advisers had provided information on a specific query, for example, providing information about benefits or about becoming self-employed.

3.3.2 Perceptions of support

Where respondents had received the types of support from Careers Wales indicated in Figure 12, they were then asked to rate this. Generally, ratings were very positive, with over eight in ten of those who had received each type saying that this was either excellent or good.

Figure 13: Q8. Ratings of different activities undertaken with Careers Advisers (where received each type)

Sample bases in parentheses NB. Caution * indicates small sample base

3.3.3 Most effective actions in helping participants with getting a job

Respondents were asked what was the best thing or things that Careers Wales did to help them with their career or getting a job.

By far the most commonly mentioned aspect was support with CVs. Respondents described how advisers helped them to produce CVs if they did not already have one,

100%

100%

97%

95%

88%

87%

85%

85%

0%

0%

2%

0%

6%

1%

2%

3%

0%

0%

3%

0%

6%

6%

8%

0%

0%

3%

6%

5%

8%

4%

Goal setting [19]*

Using Careers Wales' website [14]*

CV Support [130]

Action Plan [38]

Skills Check [32]

Guidance [132]

Help with form filling [75]

Help with job searching [49]

Excellent/Good Neither Fair/Poor Can't remember / not applicable

32

helped them to improve existing CVs, and in some cases helped them to distribute CVs to potential employers, for example:

“It was sitting down to discuss the CV and what to put in there because it was a long time since I had to write a CV. They gave me pointers for what an employer is looking for on a CV.”

“The advisor helped to set up my CV and put the final touches, she would even print it off and send it to other companies. She created one CV for plumbing jobs and another one for private jobs.”

After this, many respondents mentioned the advice and guidance, including where advisers had provided information about suitable or available jobs, or helped them to make decisions about their career, including encouraging them to think about things they may not have previously considered:

“Pointing me in the right direction, made me aware of different avenues.”

Some respondents mentioned the ‘encouragement and motivation’ they had received from advisers, with several mentioning that ‘just having someone to talk to’ had helped, or that speaking with advisers had provided an important confidence boost:

“I was a carer for my mother but she passed away and the adviser…. helped me a lot as I wasn’t very confident.”

“They showed me what was available and what I could do to get a job, as I had not been employed for many years things were a lot different”

Within this, many respondents mentioned the on-going nature of support and the follow-up that is central to the CIAG project:

“It was the subsequent support. I could email stuff to the Careers Adviser to check over and get feedback.”

Another area in which advisers were felt to have been helpful was providing clients with contacts, for example, ‘putting me in touch with the right people’. This included referrals to a range of other organisations, including JobMatch, Bridges into Work and Genesis, volunteering organisations, organisations which aimed to help disabled people into work, and training providers. The range of partners mentioned by respondents very much reflects those described by advisers during qualitative interviews.

Another key aspect for respondents was the provision of information about training, including specific training they had undertaken or qualifications they had achieved since contacting Careers Wales, and which advisers had helped them to arrange:

“I told them what I was interested in and she looked for courses, and she made telephone calls.”

33

Respondents also mentioned the help they had received with job search, including help with interview techniques and job applications, and finding them a job. A small number mentioned specific tools, for example Skills Check.

Finally, whilst the vast majority of respondents were generally positive and praised the services they had received, there was nevertheless a small proportion who, when asked, said that Careers Wales had not helped them with their career or getting a job. This was largely to do with the respondent having found a job by their own volition.

“Nothing really, I only had one interview and after that I found a job myself (nothing to do with Careers Wales).”

3.3.4 Ratings of helpfulness of Careers Wales

Respondents were asked how they would rate the help they received from the Careers Wales CIAG project overall. Close to nine in ten (89%) said it was very or quite helpful, including 63% who said it was very helpful. Just one in ten said it was not very or not at all helpful (10%).

Figure 14: Q16. Ratings of helpfulness (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

Responses were even more positive among ReAct clients – almost all (96%) said the help they received was either very or quite helpful . Those who felt Careers Wales could not have done any more (95%), or who were referred from the Jobcentre (90%) were also more likely to say this was the case.

3.4 Meeting clients’ needs

This section describes respondents’ perceptions of the activities provided by Careers Wales, in terms of whether Careers Wales met their needs, whether they felt Careers Wales could have done more, and whether they felt advisers challenged them during advice and guidance sessions.

63%

26%

5%

4%

1%

89%

10%

Very helpful

Quite helpful

Not very helpful

Not at all helpful

Don't know / can't remember

Summary: Very / Quite helpful

Summary: Not very / Not at all helpful

34

3.4.1 Meeting clients’ needs

Respondents were asked to what extent they felt Careers Wales met their needs. Seven in ten said Careers Wales fully or partly met their needs (71%), including 49% who said that Careers Wales fully met their needs.

Figure 15: Q9. Extent to which Careers Wales met respondents needs (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

ReAct clients were significantly more likely to say that Careers Wales met their needs (86%), compared with those who were not ReAct clients (44%).

Those with a long term limiting illness, health problem or disability (44% compared with 25% of those without), and those who experienced barriers2 to getting a job (42% compared with 21% of those who did not) were more likely to say that Careers Wales did not meet their needs

3.4.2 Whether Careers Wales could have done more

All respondents were asked whether there was anything else Careers Wales could have done to help them in planning their next steps (Q11). The large majority said that there was not and around one in eight (15%; representing 47 respondents) said there was.

Interestingly, participants who are now in part-time employment (25%) or full-time employment (17%, although this was not statistically significant) were more likely to say that Careers Wales could have done something else, compared with those who are currently unemployed (9%).

2 This group is based on those who identified factors at ‘Q17. Was there anything that made it more difficult at that time for you to get the job or training that you wanted?’ which did not include those related to the performance of Careers Wales; i.e. those who experienced barriers such as finance, childcare etc. – see section 4.6.4 for more details.

49%

22%

18%

10%

1%

71%

28%

Fully met your needs

Mostly met your needs

Only partly met your needs

Did not meet your needs at all

Don't know

Summary: Fully / mostly met

Summary: Partly / did not meet

35

Those who felt Careers Wales could have done more were asked to state what else they could have done.

Responses were wide ranging. However, one main theme was that respondents would have liked better or more information about a specific issue. In some cases this was something quite specific, for example wanting more information about universities or legal advice. By contrast, some respondents said they would have liked more information on broader subjects such as ‘looking at funding to pay for a course’. For whatever reason, a small minority of respondents may have failed to receive the information they required.

Other respondents felt that Careers Wales could offer additional services (which are currently beyond the Careers Wales remit); for example, offering work placements. There were also a few mentions of wanting provision that is in fact already available via Careers Wales, such as one-to-one sessions or interview practice. This might suggest that some clients were unable to make full use of the services available to them, or that some types of delivery are not available in some areas:

“They could have held 1-to-1 sessions, instead of the CV workshops, and spoke to me individually on how to improve my CV.”

In addition, some respondents mentioned that they would have liked more time with advisers or more follow-up, and in a small minority of cases respondents reported that they did not receive any follow-up service:

“I would have liked them to have kept in touch with me. Just had one interview and after that I was left to it. They did not really do anything.”

“They could have followed up the limited guidance they gave me. They could have followed up and rang me back and found out how it was all going.”

A small number of respondents also felt that Careers Wales could have done more if they had got them a job. However, it was generally unclear whether this was due to careers advisers or if clients had not have taken sufficient ownership of the process:

“I had the impression they would help you get a job, rather than asking what job I can do. I wanted help in what skills I needed to get a job. He didn't know what advice to give to me.”

“Not sure what they do for people… Nothing was offered to me, no job vacancies that matched my skills. More information on what they can help with, and what support we can have. I had to look myself even though I heard they help people get jobs.”

Two respondents also said that they had difficulties in making appointments with Careers Wales.

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3.4.3 Challenging participants’ aspirations

A key element of providing IAG is to support people in reviewing their aspirations and considering alternative options. Participants were asked to what extent they felt services and support received from Careers Wales helped them to consider different options and opportunities.

Around half felt that advisers opened their mind to different career options (54%), and a similar proportion (52%) said advisers had influenced them to go on a training course or return to education. Just three in ten (32%) said advisers had made them consider jobs in a different location:

Figure 16: Q13a. Agreement that services and support respondents received from Careers Wales.... (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

Respondents who were more likely to say that services and support opened their mind to different career options included those who are currently unemployed (61%) or in education or training (70%, although this was not statistically significant).

However, those who thought Careers Wales could have done more (45%), or who were not referred on to any other organisations (34%), were more likely to say that the services and support did not open their mind to different career options.

Respondents who were more likely to say that the services and support influenced them to go on a training course or return to education included:

ReAct clients (82%); Those currently in education or training (73%); Respondents who were referred on to other organisations (69%); Those who had been/were being made redundant before contacting Careers

Wales (59%).

However, respondents who thought Careers Wales could have done more (51%), or who were not referred on to any other organisations (42%) were more likely to say that the services and support did not influence them to take up training or education.

54%

52%

32%

14%

12%

10%

31%

35%

56%

0

1%

2%

Open your mind to different career options

Influence you to go on a training course or

return to education

Make you consider jobs in a different location

A lot / fair amount Mixed views Not very much / at all Don't know

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Respondents who were unemployed at the time of interview (39%) were among the most likely to say that Careers Wales encouraged them to consider jobs in a different location.

However, those who were more likely to say that Careers Wales did not encourage them to consider jobs in a different location included:

Respondents who felt that Careers Wales could have done more (81%); Older respondents (60% of those aged 35-54 and 63% of those aged 55+); Those currently in full time (66%) or part time (62%) employment, as well as

those who have started a job since being in touch with Careers Wales (60%). This may clearly be a reflection of these respondents having less difficulty in finding a job nearby, and therefore not needing to look in different locations.

3.5 Referring clients to other organisations

This section of the report describes the referral process for respondents after contacting Careers Wales, in terms of whether they were referred and, if so, where to.

3.5.1 Referring participants on to other organisations

All respondents were asked if Careers Wales referred them to any other organisations at any stage of their contact. Around three in ten respondents said that they were referred somewhere else (30%):

Figure 17: Q14. Whether respondents were referred anywhere else (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

ReAct clients (42%), as well as those who had been/were being made redundant prior to contacting Careers Wales (35%), were significantly more likely to say that Careers Wales had referred them to other organisations. Those who said they had had a career change (44%) or entered education/training (42%) since contacting Careers Wales were also more likely to say that Careers Wales referred them to other organisations.

In contrast, respondents who found out about Careers Wales after being referred from another organisation were more likely to say that Careers Wales did not refer them on anywhere else (70%).

30%

65%

4%

Yes

No

Don't know / can't remember

38

Respondents who said that Careers Wales referred them to other organisations (30% of the total sample or 94 respondents) were asked which organisations these were. Responses are shown in Figure 18.

The most commonly mentioned organisations were training or course providers (17%), such as ‘Alpha Training’, or ‘Pitman E-Academy’. Some respondents also mentioned organisations such as ‘Business in Focus’, which provide training and support to new businesses (and so have been included in this 17%).

Around one in ten mentioned colleges and universities (10%), including both those based locally and the Open University. A similar proportion mentioned ReAct (9%), or a volunteering organisation such as GAVO (7%). A high proportion (22%) remembered being referred, but could not remember where they were referred to:

Figure 18: Q15. Which other organisations respondents were referred to (where referred to other organisations)

Sample base: 94

3.6 Outcomes

This section describes outcomes for participants, in terms of changes in occupational activity and actions taken since contact with Careers Wales. The section also describes perceptions of barriers to achieving outcomes, as well as respondents’ perceptions of the impact of Careers Wales on personal outcomes.

17%

11%

9%

7%

6%

5%

4%

4%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

1%

6%

22%

Training / course provider

Colleges / Universities

ReACT

Voluntary organisation

Jobcentre

Bridges into Work

Employment agency

Job Match

Local authority

Disability

Working Links

Employer

Remploy

Genesis

Jobmatch

Cyrenians

Want 2 Work

Workways

Coastal

Quest

Other

Don't know / can't remember

39

3.6.1 Changes in activity since contacting Careers Wales

Respondents were asked what they were doing when they first came into contact with Careers Wales, as well as what they were currently doing i.e. at the time of interview. Although changes in occupation may not be directly attributable to contact with Careers Wales (not least because of the difficulty of isolating the impact of different interventions or support that clients may be receiving at any one time), this nevertheless provides an indication of ‘distance travelled’ by participants after contacting the service.

There was a significant increase in the proportion in full time employment prior to contact with Careers Wales to the time of interview (from 9% to 35%), and also an increase over time of +7% in the proportion in part time employment (from 3% to 12%). Furthermore, the proportion in full time education increased from 0% to 4%.

Meanwhile, the proportion who gave their main occupation as ‘made redundant or about to be made redundant’ declined from 45% to 4%. However, there was a similar proportion of respondents who were ‘unemployed and available for work’ both prior to contact and afterwards (34%).

Figure 19: Q1/Q2. Changes in occupation from prior to contact with Careers Wales to after contact with Careers Wales (All respondents)

Sample bases in parentheses

There were some differences among subgroups in terms of respondents’ activities when they first came into contact with Careers Wales:

Older respondents (52% of those aged 35-54 and 54% of those aged 55+) were more likely to say they had been or were being made redundant, whilst those aged 18-34 were more likely to say they were unemployed (56%);

9%

34%

3%

45%

0%

5%

3%

0%

1%

1%

35%

34%

12%

4%

4%

4%

3%

2%

1%

2%

Full time employment (30 hours plus per week)

Unemployed and available for work

Part time employment (under 30 hours a week)

Redundant (or about to be)

Full time education at school, college or university

Looking after home / dependants

Permanently sick / disabled

Part time education at school, college or university

On a government supported training programme …

Other

Activity when contacted Careers Wales [312] Current activity [312]

40

Men were also more likely to say they had been or were being made redundant (50%), whilst women (12%) were more likely to have been looking after the home.

In terms of current activities, that is respondents’ activities at the time of interview:

Younger people (46% of those aged 35-54) and men (39%) were more likely to be unemployed;

Men were more likely to be in full time employment (43% compared with 22% of women), whilst women were more likely to be in part time employment (23% compared with 6% of men);

3.6.2 Movement of respondents within different economic activities

The figure overleaf shows numbers of respondents in each type of activity at the time of interview, broken down by their previous economic activity prior to contact with Careers Wales. This demonstrates the movement of respondents within different activities.

The table shows that:

Of those previously in full-time employment [that is, under threat of redundancy - 29], most [21] are still in employment; however, a few have become unemployed [4] or now give their status as ‘made redundant’ [3];;

Those previously in part time employment [8] have mostly remained in part time employment, although 1 is now unemployed;

Those previously being made redundant [139] have gone on to a range of outcomes – 89 or 64% are employed, and 6 are in further education or training; however, 34 respondents, or 24%, were unemployed at the time of interview;

All 3 of those previously on a government-supported training programme are currently unemployed;

Of those previously unemployed [105], 62 or 59% have remained unemployed; however, others have gone on to a range of occupations – for example, 30 respondents or 29% are now in employment;

Of those previously looking after the home, 2 have gone on to be employed part-time and 4 to education, although 7 have remained looking after the home;

Of those previously sick/disabled, 1 has gone on to employment and 1 to education; however, the remaining [6] still give their main occupation as permanently sick/disabled.

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Figure 20: Q1/Q2. Numbers of respondents in each type of occupation at the time of interview - breakdown by previous occupation

Current occupation

Previous occupation

Full time employment (threat of redundancy)

Part time employment

Redun-dant

Govt. suppor-ted training prog-ramme

Unem-ployed

Looking after home/ depen-dants

Sick / disabled Other

Total 312

29 8 139 3 105 17 9 2

Full time employment

110

18 2 71 0 18 0 1 0

Part time employment

38 2 4 18 0 12 2 0 0

Redundant 11 3 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 Full time education

11 0 0 3 0 6 2 0 0

Part time education

7 0 0 1 0 3 2 1 0

Govt. supported training programme

2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

Unemployed

107

4 1 34 3 62 2 0 1

Looking after home / dependants

11 0 0 1 0 2 7 1 0

Sick / disabled

10 1 0 1 0 1 1 6 0

Other 5 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1

3.6.3 Actions taken since contact with Careers Wales

Respondents were asked whether, since contact with a Careers Wales adviser, they had taken any of a number of specific actions.

Almost two-thirds had applied for a job (63%) and two-fifths (46%) had actually started a new job. A similar proportion (44%) had attended a job interview. Around three in ten had started a training course (29%) and around one in five had decided on a change of career (17%). Over one in ten had undertaken voluntary work (16%), or gone back to education (12%):

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Figure 21: Q18. Actions taken since contact with a Careers Wales adviser (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

There were some differences among subgroups, in terms of actions taken since participants’ contact with Careers Wales:

Those aged 35-54 (51%) were the most likely to say they had started a new job; Men were more likely than women to have applied for a job (68% cf. 55%) or

started a new job (51% cf. 37%), whilst women were more likely to have undertaken voluntary work (23% cf. 11% of men) or gone back to education (19% cf. 7%);

ReAct clients were significantly more likely than other groups to say they had been on a training course (47%) or had decided on a change of career (26%).

Respondents who said that they had started a training course or gone back to education since their last contact with Careers Wales (106 respondents or 34% in total) were asked to describe this. Respondents mentioned a wide range of training courses, which included:

Animal-related e.g. wildlife surveying, dog grooming; Agricultural courses e.g. Permaculture training, organic growing; Business and administration e.g. Accounting and bookkeeping, Business Studies,

finance, management, PRINCE project management; Basic Maths and English e.g. City and Guilds, OCN; Childcare and teaching-related e.g. QCS level 2 ‘Teaching and learning in

schools’, ‘Support Work for Families’;; Construction based e.g. construction health and safety training, or forklift truck

training, as well as foundation degrees; Computer courses, including those designed to improve general IT skills e.g.

Clait, as well as training in industry specific software e.g. Sage; Counselling, mediation, coaching and mentoring; Customer service courses;

63%

46%

44%

29%

17%

16%

12%

7%

2%

Applied for a job

Started a new job

Attended a job interview

Started a training course

Decided on a change of career

Voluntary work

Gone back to education

Other - (PLEASE SPECIFY)

Don't know / can't remember

43

Driving training e.g. European driving license, training in driving instruction, courses for HGV/lorry driving;

Electrical trades e.g. electrical installation; Engineering courses; Training for ‘green jobs’ e.g. renewable energies;; Health and Safety training, First Aid training and Food Hygiene, Fire Risk Safety

Assessment; Courses in health and beauty e.g. gym instruction, pharmacy counter assistant; Welsh language training; Security training e.g. SIA training and CCTV training course; University degrees.

3.6.4 Impact of Careers Wales CIAG project on outcomes

Respondents were asked to what extent the information, advice and guidance from Careers Wales had helped them to take any of the actions they mentioned, such as applying for a job, attending a job interview, starting a training course or deciding on a change of career.

Two-thirds of respondents (65%) said that Careers Wales had helped them, including four in ten (42%) who said that the service had helped them ‘a lot’. Around a third (32%) said that the service had ‘not really’ helped them or had not helped them at all:

Figure 22: Q19. Extent to which Careers Wales helped with outcomes (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

Respondents who were ReAct clients were more likely to say that Careers Wales helped them (77%). In addition, those who were referred on to other organisations (74%) or who did not experience any barriers to achieving outcomes (70%) were also more likely to say that Careers Wales helped them.

42%

23%

14%

19%

3%

65%

32%

Yes, a lot

Yes, a bit

No, not really

No, not at all

Not sure

Summary: Yes a lot / A bit

Summary: No, not really / Not at all

44

Those who were not referred on (37%), who said Careers Wales could have done more for them (53%), or who experienced barriers to achieving outcomes (41%) were more likely to say that Careers Wales did not help them (this was largely due to them finding a job on their own – see below).

3.6.4.1 Reasons for saying that Careers Wales helped

Among those who said that Careers Wales helped them ‘a lot’ (42% of total sample or 131 respondents), there were a range of reasons provided. A number of respondents praised advisers for their help and encouragement in general, or said that Careers Wales advisers had helped ‘a lot’ because they got them a job. Other frequently mentioned aspects were:

The provision of advice and guidance; The provision of information on careers generally; Providing information on or access to training; Support with CVs; Help with interview techniques and job search; Improving confidence.

Many respondents mentioned the advice and guidance they received from advisers. A number mentioned the adviser had ‘pointed me in the right direction’, whether this was helping them to make a decision they had been considering for some time, for example starting a business, or encouraging them to consider different avenues of employment:

“At the time I was confused about my options, they explained it to me and opened my eyes to what other career paths to take.”

Respondents also mentioned the provision of information on careers generally; for example, providing respondents with information and advice on the different jobs available to them, as well as providing contacts at other organisations or potential employers:

“It was the websites and information they provided me with that helped me do what I wanted to do.”

A number of respondents also described how advisers had provided them with information about training, or enabled them to access training courses or qualifications:

“They gave me the name of the course provider and they organised and funded it. They also filled in the form for me which was very helpful.”

Some respondents also felt their adviser had helped ‘a lot’ because they helped them to develop their CVs, with some saying the CV support ‘was what got me a job’. Others mentioned practical help they had received; for example, help with ‘job interviews and techniques’ or knowing how to apply for jobs.

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A number of respondents also mentioned that advisers had helped improve their confidence, giving them a ‘confidence boost’ to attend training or job interviews, and helping them to get back into work.

3.6.4.2 Reasons for saying that Careers Wales did not help

Among those who said that Careers Wales did not help (either ‘not really’ or ‘not at all’ – 32% of total sample or 101 respondents), reasons mainly focused on respondents having found a job anyway i.e. without the help of advisers, having received help elsewhere, or not having received the information or training that they wanted.

A number of respondents said they had found a job themselves without the help of Careers Wales. In some cases this happened incidentally, for example with respondents being ‘called back for work by previous employers’. However, some said they already had enough information or were capable of finding a job without help.

Some also said Careers Wales did not help because they had found help elsewhere, with a number mentioning other partners such as JobMatch or Bridges into Work, or employment agencies.

“ReAct would not fund the course that I wanted to do, but they put me in touch with Job Match who did fund the course.”

A number of respondents felt that Careers Wales had not helped them because they had not received the information or training that they wanted. In some cases, respondents felt they had not received enough help:

“I saw the adviser once and I received a letter. It wasn't beneficial to me.”

A few felt they had not got the advice, information or support they needed and there was a ‘lack of help’ or ‘lack of advice’, they were unable to access the training they wanted, or that training offered was inappropriate:

“I was discouraged from doing the course I wanted to do… I don't think the help I received was something I was looking for. I was not given many options. They referred me to things I did not want to do.”

Other reasons for feeling that Careers Wales did not help included: not needing a CV; visiting Careers Wales only for ReAct funding; being ineligible for help (for example if respondent was still in employment); or experiencing other barriers in terms of personal circumstances e.g. age.

3.6.5 Barriers to achieving outcomes

Respondents were asked whether there was anything that made it more difficult for them to get the job or training they wanted. Around two in five (40%; 124 respondents) said there were barriers. These largely reflected the practical barriers described by advisers during the qualitative interviews; for example, issues with finance or childcare.

One of the most common barriers was finance. This included respondents’ lack of ability to pay for courses or further learning themselves, but also being unable to access funding that would have enabled them to access training:

46

“The course I wanted to go on to, I could not get funding.”

In some cases, this was due to eligibility criteria; for example, some respondents described how they could not access training without the offer of a job. Others were ineligible due to issues with their previous employers; for instance, if they had not officially been made redundant or had not received a letter to prove this:

“I couldn't get a letter from my boss to say that I had been made redundant to do the training course.”

In addition, some respondents mentioned that they felt the ReAct process had been overly bureaucratic, and this had been a barrier to them achieving the funding or training they wanted; for example:

“Lack of being able to access the funding resources that are out there. The ReAct funding - I had to fill in 15 pages. The government said I was entitled to funding but it was self-defeating really as I was told afterwards I was not entitled anymore.”

Several respondents said that being made redundant had, in general, been a barrier to getting the job or training they wanted.

Respondents also frequently mentioned a lack of opportunities in the current economic environment, with a number stating that ‘there were no jobs out there’. Some respondents said there were no jobs in their local geographic area, whilst others said there were no jobs in the industry or role they wanted, for example ‘executive jobs’, or jobs in construction.

Other common barriers included: ‘family commitments’, in particular, childcare responsibilities;; ill health or disability;; respondents’ age;; being unable to travel; having a lack of experience; having previous offences; and issues with literacy. A few respondents with particular needs or skillsets found it difficult to access the specific IAG they needed:

“The lack of knowledge in the fields that I needed. I have a post graduate education and they are not geared up for the level of education that I have.”

A few respondents had also experienced practical issues with training providers; for example, booking appointments or courses being postponed or cancelled.

3.6.6 Improving participants’ skills and confidence

Respondents were asked whether Careers Wales helped them in specific areas, relating to improving their skills and confidence in searching and applying for suitable jobs and developing their careers.

Three-quarters of respondents agreed that since seeing a Careers Wales Adviser they now know how to search for and apply for jobs (73%). Around two-thirds said they can see which jobs suit their skills (67%), they feel more confident (67%) or they know which way their career is heading (64%).

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Figure 23: Q21. Levels of agreement that since respondents saw the Careers Adviser they… (All respondents)

Sample base: 312

In terms of knowing how to search for and apply for jobs, younger respondents were even more likely to agree that Careers Wales helped them (81% of those aged 18-34). Those who felt Careers Wales did enough for them were also more likely to agree (79%), whilst those who thought Careers Wales could have done more were more likely to disagree (34%).

Those who were previously unemployed were the most likely to agree that Careers Wales helped them to see which jobs suited their skills best (70%, although this was not statistically significant), whilst respondents who were previously in employment were significantly more likely to disagree (27%).

Respondents who said Careers Wales could not have done any more to help them (73%), and those who did not experience any barriers to achieving outcomes (74%) were the most likely to agree that Careers Wales helped them to feel more confident.

ReAct clients were particularly likely to agree that, since seeing a Careers Wales adviser, they know which way their career is heading (77%). Those who had undertaken education or training since contacting Careers Wales were also more likely to agree (79%), as well as those who had not experienced any barriers to achieving outcomes (70%).

Meanwhile, those who said Careers Wales could have done more to help (34%), respondents with a long term limiting illness, health problem or disability (31%), and those who were referred to Careers Wales from another organisation (22%) were more likely to disagree that, since seeing Careers Wales, they know which way their career is heading.

73%

67%

67%

64%

11%

16%

16%

15%

16%

15%

17%

19%

Know how to search and apply for jobs

Can see which jobs suit my skills best

Feel more confident

Know which way my career is heading

Agree Neither Disagree

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4 Cross-cutting themes

Projects that receive ESF support must incorporate the cross-cutting themes of equal opportunities and environmental sustainability, which are seen as essential by the European Commission for the achievement of a well-balanced, sustainable and innovative economy.

4.1 Equal opportunities

Careers Wales has stated that it is committed to the promotion of equality of opportunity by avoiding discrimination and stereotyping in the delivery of its services and using careers guidance to raise the aspirations and widen the horizons of its clients whose choices may have been limited by gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion on belief.

In the CIAG project, there is a requirement to ensure that careers advice and planning is offered to women to ensure they are aware of routes to jobs at a higher level (ie, contribution to narrowing the gender pay gap and raising aspirations). However, this also includes avoiding occupational segregation and gender stereotyping. It is evident from the qualitative research undertaken that the team leaders and advisers are fully aware of this requirement, and are able to challenge clients where appropriate and provide alternative options or pathways for them to consider. From the survey of clients, it is also evident that the project has been successful in encouraging participants to consider alternative careers, which may include some that the clients had not previously thought about:

“that is part of what we do [challenging aspirations], we challenge those views, it is intrinsic in the guidance process, that would be true with issues in pay gap, non-traditional roles, that is part of our process”

4.2 Environmental sustainability

The Careers Wales Association has an eco-code and has also recently (2011) achieved the Green Dragon Environmental Standard.

All staff are aware of the environmental costs associated with activities, particularly where these include travel. In client interviews, advisers are encouraged by the team leaders to talk to clients about minimising costs and environmental impact of travel - although they observed that environmental awareness is generally not high on clients’ agendas. Clients are also provided with a leaflet by advisers, which is about travel options.

Some of the areas that are covered by the Careers Wales companies are particularly rural, so staff try to minimise travel by co-ordinating visits and allocating specific geographical areas to individual staff members.

In some areas, staff have also been looking at the use of video-conferencing with clients (for example, using Skype). However, this largely depends on the capabilities and willingness of the client as well as access to private, secure computers.

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5 Overview and Recommendations

The overall purpose of this evaluation was to examine the delivery and outcomes of the CIAG project so far, focusing on the impact of participation on clients. Of particular interest was understanding the types of interventions delivered by the project that appeared to be of the most value to clients in terms of helping them to move forward and achieve positive outcomes. The evaluation has also sought to identify particular areas of good practice in delivery and where there may be areas of improvement or areas that warrant particular attention. Thus, this final section of the report provides an overview of what has worked well in the CIAG project, followed by recommendations for the continued success of the programme.

5.1 What works well

What works well in delivery

Clients present a wide range of needs when they come into contact with Careers Wales; the personalised tailored approach appears to work well as the large majority of clients report being very satisfied with the IAG they received from the CIAG advisers, whom they found to be very helpful.

Support with writing or developing a CV was rated particularly highly.

Rather than relying on people coming through the door, advisers are working in

places where their clients are (for example, at the Jobcentre, local libraries, community centres, Want2Work venues). This outreach approach is seen by advisers and team leaders as fundamental to the success of the project.

Co-location – particularly with Jobcentre Plus offices. Where this occurs, referrals

are generally reported as higher and the service is smoother for both clients and staff.

Partnership working – working together with different agencies and partners to

the common aim of helping the client is particularly effective. Good open communication with partners is essential and being able to just ‘pick up the phone’ to partners/other agencies is seen as hugely beneficial.

Direct engagement with employers who are facing the prospect of redundancies

– this is particularly effective where advisers are able to contact employers because they have heard that there is a possibility of redundancies. Where Careers Wales is able to gain access to such employers they are able to support those under threat of redundancy as early as possible so that actions are in place before the individual actually becomes redundant.

The CIAG project has raised the profile of Careers Wales.

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The model of delivery which supports ongoing contact with a client through a caseload approach is effective - being able to spend more time with the client rather than it being a ‘one-off’ allows them to offer a ‘multiple’ intervention approach so that advisers can get to understand their clients’ circumstances and needs and are thus to be able to tailor support appropriately. Importance of ‘hand-holding’ in particular is evident.

An ‘open door’ approach offering continued support to a client is also beneficial –

so, for example, if a client is referred on to undertake some training, they can come back to the CIAG adviser on completion to receive further support with applying for a job.

Holding regular ‘all Wales’ meetings and communication works well, as it enables

sharing of good practice, resolving queries and ironing out any issues. Having specific job functions or roles to support the advisers’ or team leaders’

time; for example, the inclusion of an Employment Coach who is able to run mock interviews and a dedicated MIS co-ordinator for quality checking

What works well in achieving outcomes Positive outcomes that were identified included moving into employment,

education and training. For example, over two-thirds of those being made redundant at the point of engagement in the CIAG project were in work by the time of the survey. However, those who were already unemployed at the time of referral to the CIAG project found it harder to move into work despite the help from advisers – with three-fifths unemployed at the time of the survey interview. This suggests that whilst the project is able to help a wide range of people, it works particularly well with those who are affected by redundancy and are closer to the labour market than those who have more significant and perhaps enduring labour market barriers.

Being able to ‘challenge’ clients was seen as positive from both the perspectives

of the staff and the clients themselves, with around half of clients saying that the advisers had opened their minds to different career options or influenced them to consider further training or education.

Providing general support, advice, guidance and help made a significant

contribution to clients. There was evidence of significant activity between participating in the CIAG project and the survey interview (ie at least six months later) with almost two-thirds having applied for a job and over a third having undertaken training or gone back to education. Over two-fifths had started work. According to respondents, Careers Wales had been instrumental in influencing these activities, providing encouragement, exploring opportunities, and giving practical assistance (such as with applications). Two-thirds of these respondents indicated that Careers Wales had helped them in these actions (with two-fifths saying they had helped a lot).

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As above, according to respondents, the most valued elements of the CIAG

project was the general help and encouragement, the provision of advice and guidance, information on careers, information on training, and support with CVs and applying for jobs.

The CIAG project has also had a marked impact on clients’ knowledge of the

labour market and identifying appropriate and suitable opportunities. Almost three-quarters felt better equipped searching and applying for jobs (rising to over four-fifths among the younger clients) and the large majority now knew the direction in which their career was heading (particularly notable among ReAct clients).

Advisers and team leaders often spoke of raising confidence in participants. This

was a particular positive outcome achieved among survey participants with over two-thirds saying that they felt more confident as a direct result of seeing a Careers Wales adviser.

ReAct clients were particularly satisfied with the help they received from the

project. The ReAct model, whereby advisers are able to have early engagement directly with clients (i.e. before they are made redundant rather than after they have finished work) appears to be particularly effective, suggesting that early contact with, and access to, employers who are likely to have redundancies is beneficial.

5.2 Recommendations

Recommendations for Delivery

Managing growth in caseload size – all team leaders were aware that the economic downturn was having an impact on the programme, with more people coming forward for help alongside a decline in the number of opportunities available for them in the labour market. As clients can also potentially remain on the caseload for a long time, this also means it continues to grow. There is an inherent risk that as the caseload increases advisers have less time to spent interacting with and supporting their clients – the type of help which clients clearly value highly. It may be opportune to review the numbers of advisers and their administrative activities to see whether there is scope for some of this to be allocated to non-client facing staff. Careers Wales also need to review the length of time that clients are kept on the project caseload as clients can potentially remain on the caseload for a long time. The project therefore needs to be clear with regard to when to exit clients from the Project, thus providing the opportunity for advisers to spend more quality time with individual clients.

There is an expectation that changes in the Work Programme is having an impact on who is and is not eligible for referral, and that this in turn impacts on services that are delivered or focused on those who will not be able to access support through the Work Programme – provision needs to reflect this changing

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environment and agreement needs to be sought from WEFO on client groups eligible for the project.

Emphasising Careers Wales’ unique offer - on the face of it, to clients it may seem as though there are other organisations who seem to offer similar types of services and support (for example, CV writing, interview skills). However, the great strength of the CIAG project from Careers Wales is that the IAG offered is both impartial and ongoing. It is recommended that Careers Wales continue to distinguish their ‘offer’ and USP from what else is currently available to clients (who are often confused by the array of support available to them, provided at different places and by different agencies)

Some clients evidently are not always clear about what Careers Wales can and cannot do. Although the large majority of clients appear to understand this, in the survey there was a very small minority of respondents who felt that the project would have been able to ‘get’ them or offer them a job, which realistically is beyond the scope of the CIAG project – Careers Wales needs to ensure that all clients are fully informed of the purpose of the project prior to referral or at the initial interview.

Clarity in outcome ownership - progress in partnership working can sometimes be hindered by concerns over who will be able to claim the outcome – according to some this can hinder referrals. Careers Wales needs to seek further clarification from WEFO on which partner organisations can claim outcomes.

Pursuing security in funding - longer term sustainability of the project is dependent on funding, both of the CIAG project as well as partners’ projects (on whom they are to some degree dependant on for generating referrals). Going forward it will be crucial to strengthen the strategic links and partnership working on a national level. This can be achieved by gaining representation on Board and committees of local community groups.

Sharing learning – it is clear that there is a great deal of expertise and good practice in delivery across the different Careers Wales companies. Further sharing of good practice between different Careers Wales companies through networking events is recommended.

Recommendations for achieving outcomes

There are some challenges with regard to eligibility for some programmes/types of support, for example, some clients who are eligible for Careers Wales support are not always eligible for support from other (referral) partner organisations which was a frustration to clients when they needed help – further guidance may be required here.

It is apparent that difficulties in accessing financial support for training can present as a barrier to some clients – and this was sometimes given by

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respondents as a reason for feeling that Careers Wales had not been able to help them that much – seeking further opportunities for financing such provision is recommended. It is recommended that Careers Wales to produce clear guidance on what funding streams are available for training provision or identify partners who can provide a solution.

There is some indication that respondents who identified themselves as having a long term limiting illness, health problem or disability had greater needs from the project than others (some of which they reported as being unmet). Although the numbers in this group are small (17%, representing 54 people) it is perhaps higher than one would expect and does suggest that a more intensive approach may be beneficial to this group.

The client group that the project appears to have had the greatest impact on, in terms of job outcomes, is those that were affected by redundancy. However, that is not to say that other positive outcomes were not evident as they were clearly observed in the wider client group, particularly in terms of softer and other positive outcomes such as ability to job search effectively. Thus, a broad approach is required to understanding the significant impact that the project can have on its clients.

The elements of the service that appear to have the greatest impact are the general ongoing support, plus information, advice and guidance specifically around applying for jobs and building a good CV. This support should continue to be at the core of delivery.

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Appendix 1: Topic guide for Advisers

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Appendix 2: Topic guide for Team Leaders

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Appendix 3: Questionnaire for participants

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