Jobs Growth Wales Plus: evaluating support to young people who are NEET
- Oliver Allies
- Jun 19
- 3 min read
We are delighted to see the publication of our evaluation of Jobs Growth Wales Plus (JGW+), the Welsh Government’s flagship programme for supporting young people aged 16-19 who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
Launched in April 2022 and valued at approximately £25 million a year, JGW+ provides personalised training, development, and employability support through procured contractors throughout Wales. Though the programme went live post-pandemic, it was designed prior to COVID-19. Since then, the programme has undergone a series of adaptations. These are primarily in response to young people presenting more severe and complex needs than were expected when the programme was first designed.
Wavehill’s approach to the Jobs Growth Wales Plus evaluation.
Wavehill were commissioned in July 2022 to undertake a formative evaluation of JGW+ across two research phases; an interim and final phase. The evaluation involved:
Stakeholder consultations with those involved in the design, management and delivery of the programme.
Engagement with JGW+ participants both whilst on the programme and at least six months after exiting the programme.
The use of a Research Advisory Group of young people with protected characteristics to ensure that the voice of young people from diverse backgrounds helped shape the evaluation.
The design of a programme impact framework that could be taken forward as a separate, subsequent piece of research.
The key findings of the evaluation.
The programme has proved highly effective in engaging hard-to-reach groups. By July 2024, it had supported over 10,000 unique participants. Of the entire eligible population, this represents approximately one-third of all 16-19 year olds in Wales who are NEET.
Success in engagement has given rise to challenges in demand management, with spikes in enrolments in July (associated with the point at which young people leave secondary education) and, to a lesser extent, October (typically around the first half-term) of each academic year.
Building trust is key to participant engagement and retention on the programme, and a core strength of JGW+ lies in its flexible, learner-led support. This flexible approach is reflected in adaptations made to help meet the diverse, often complex, and increasing needs of its participants. However, the LLWR (Lifelong Learning Wales Record), which underpins current monitoring, lacks the ability to capture the full extent of these needs, particularly in relation to wellbeing and personal barriers. Capturing these needs in monitoring is important in demonstrating the context in which participants are engaging, whereby multiple barriers must be addressed prior to embarking on a journey into employment or education.
The evaluation also identified notable geographical variation in levels of engagement and types of support. The variation likely reflects the differing approaches among the five regional prime contractors who deliver JGW+ services, however it warrants further exploration to explore what barriers there may be to achieving equitable access to JGW+ across Wales.
Over time, rates of positive outcomes for participants, whether that be progression into education or employment, have improved steadily. Participants also report significant benefits to their mental health and overall wellbeing, with improvements in confidence and reductions in social anxiety frequently cited.
Finally, there are early indications that JGW+ may be positively influencing wider socio-economic indicators. Notably, unemployment rates among 16–19 year olds in Wales have declined and, where comparative data exists, appear to be diverging from trends in England. However, further data points are required to help verify the emergence of this trend.