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Final Evaluation of GO Wales Final Report
Prepared on behalf of HEFCW
March 2015
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Job!Number:! 13!11!02!
Version!Number:! Final!v1.0!
Approved!by:! Stuart!Hardisty!
Date:! March!2015!
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HJA!would! like! to! thank! all! those! that! have! contributed! to! this! research,! the!GO!Wales! staff! and!external!stakeholders!who!gave!up!their!time!to!be!consulted!and!the!many!business!and!individual!participants!who!took!part!in!telephone!interviews.!!
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Contents!Executive!Summary!.................................................................................................................................!i!
1! Introduction!....................................................................................................................................!1!
2! Programme!Overview!.....................................................................................................................!4!
3! Rationale!and!Strategic!Fit!............................................................................................................!10!
4! Programme!Structures!and!Management!....................................................................................!16!
5! Activity!and!Output!Achievement!.................................................................................................!20!
6! Work!Placements!..........................................................................................................................!27!
7! Work!Tasters!.................................................................................................................................!37!
8! Graduate!Training!and!Development!............................................................................................!42!
9! Graduate!Academy!.......................................................................................................................!47!
10! Freelancer!Academy!....................................................................................................................!52!
11! CrossXCutting!Themes!..................................................................................................................!56!
12! Conclusions!and!Recommendations!............................................................................................!59!
A!series!of!Appendices!are!contained!within!two!separate!volumes!
Volume'1:'
Appendix!1:!The!GO!Wales!Programme! !
Appendix!2:!List!of!Consultees! !
Appendix!3:!Logic!Chains! !
Appendix!4:!Literature!Review! !
Appendix!5:!Best!Practice!Review! !
Appendix!6:!Detailed!Output!Data! !
Appendix!7:!Feedback!Form!Analysis! !
Appendix!8:!Individual!Participant!Survey! !
Appendix!9:!Individual!Participant!Longitudinal!Survey! !
Appendix!10:!Business!Participant!Survey! !
Appendix!11:!Business!Participant!Longitudinal!Survey! !
Appendix!12:!Control!Group!Survey! !
Volume'2:'
Appendix!13X18:!Survey!Questionnaires! !
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Executive!Summary!
GO!Wales! is!Wales’! graduate!employability!programme.! ! It! comprises! five! complementary! strands!designed! to! support' the' deployment,' development' and' retention' of' graduates’' high' level' skills,'knowledge'and' innovative'potential' in' businesses,' particularly' small' and'medium>sized'businesses.!The! programme! is! managed! by! the! Higher! Education! Funding! Council! for! Wales! (HEFCW)! and!delivered!by!Higher!Education!Institutions!(HEIs)!across!the!country.!!The!five!strands!are:!
• Work!Placements!X!10!week!paid!placements!within!Welsh!businesses!for!HE!students!and!graduates.!• Work!Tasters!–!up!to!10!day!work!tasters!in!Welsh!businesses!for!HE!students!and!graduates.!• Graduate! Training! and! Development! (GTD)! –! offering! financial! support! for! training! of! graduates!
within!Welsh!businesses.!• Graduate!Academy!–!an!opportunity!for!graduates!to!develop!work!readiness!skills.!• Freelancer!Academy!–!introductory!training!for!graduates!exploring!a!freelancing!career.!• GO!Wales!Jobs!–!job!advertisement!website.!
This! report! sets! out! the! findings! of! the! final! evaluation! of! Phase! 5! of!GO!Wales.! ! This! covers! the!period!January!2009!to!December!2014.!!Two!previous!evaluation!exercises!have!been!undertaken,!reporting!in!2011!and!2012.!!These!previous!evaluations!have!informed!this!final!evaluation.!!
Within!the!Convergence!area!GO!Wales!receives!ESF!funding!of!£15.7!million.!!The!programme!does!not! receive! structural! funds! in! the! Competitiveness! area! but! HEFCW! provides! core! funding! to!operate! the! programme! on! a! smaller! scale! to! ensure! an! all! Wales! service.! ! The! total! Phase! 5!programme!budget!is!£32.9!million.!!!
This! evaluation! has! found! that! the! programme! is!well! designed.! ! There! are! sound! logic! chains! in!place! to! suggest! the! activities! will! deliver! the! desired! outcomes.! ! The! five! strands! of! activity! are!complementary.!!There!is!a!sound!rationale!for!the!project!which!is!responding!to!evidenced!market!failure.!!!It!is!well!aligned!to!relevant!strategy!and!policy!aspirations.!!GO!Wales!fits!well!with!other!activities!and!is!particularly!complements!HEI!careers!service!activities.!!In!the!later!years!of!Phase!5!there!has!been!some!degree!of!overlap!between!the!Work!Placement!strand!of!GO!Wales!and!the!Jobs!Growth!Wales!project.!!This!has!had!an!impact!on!outputs!of!GO!Wales!in!the!second!half!of!the!funding!period.!!!
The!evaluation!has! found! that! the!programme! is!well! administered!and!operates! effectively.! ! The!Work!Placement!and!Work!Taster!strands!are!well!established!with!a!long!heritage.!!!They!are!well!understood!by!internal!and!external!stakeholders!and!have!operated!with!relative!ease!within!Phase!5.! ! The! GTD! strand! has! faced! some! challenges! both! operationally! and! within! its! target! markets.!!HEFCW!has! actively! sought! to!manage! these! challenges! and! implemented! inXprogramme! changes!which! aided! the! implementation! of! this! strand.! ! The!Graduate!Academy! and! Freelancer! Academy!strands! were! new! products! within! the! GO! Wales! offer! in! 2009.! ! Whilst! there! was! a! period! of!‘bedding!in’!these!became!established!and!operated!successfully.!!The!evidence!collected!from!both!programme!staff!and!participants!(individuals!and!businesses)!was!strongly!positive!in!terms!of!the!operational!delivery!of!GO!Wales.!!!
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Achievement!against!final!agreed!targets!has!been!good.!!Given!the!breadth!of!the!programme!there!are! a! variety! of! indicators! and!metrics! against!which! performance! can! be!measured.! ! Some! have!exceeded!target!and!some!have!fallen!a!little!short.!!!
Of!more! interest! is! the! reprofiling!of! targets! that! has!been!undertaken! throughout! the! life! of! the!project.! ! ! As! a! result! of! this! reprofiling! many! indicator! targets! have! been! revised! downwards! in!agreement!with!WEFO.!!However,!this!is!also!reflected!in!revisions!to!the!agreed!project!budget!and!is!a!useful!management!tool! for!WEFO!as! the!managing!authority!as! it! seeks!to!ensure!delivery!at!Operational! Programme! level.! ! The! largest! downward! revisions! related! to! achievement! of!qualifications!at!level!4!and!above.!!This!reflects!some!of!the!challenges!in!the!GTD!strand!which!are!explored!in!more!detail!within!the!main!report.!!It!is!also!a!result!of!lower!than!anticipated!take!up!of!a!new!professional!development!award!included!as!part!of!the!Work!Placement!strand!in!Phase!5.!!As!this!was!a!new!element!target!setting!was!difficult.!!!
Overall!GO!Wales!Phase!5!has!supported!more!than!5,000!individual!participants!and!assisted!more!than!1,800!businesses.!!More!than!2,000!participants!have!gained!qualifications.!! ! !Other!headlines!include:!
• More!than!4,300!completed!Work!Placements!• Almost!2,500!completed!Work!Tasters!• More!than!1,300!completed!GTD!interventions!• More!than!400!Graduate!Academy!participants!• Almost!400!Freelancer!Academy!participants!
Each! strand! of! activity! has! been! reviewed! individually.! ! This! has! found! high! levels! of! participant!satisfaction,!effective!delivery!and!clear!evidence!of!impact!in!line!with!intended!outcomes.!!The!GO!Wales! programme!has! delivered! both! hard! and! soft! outcomes.! ! In! particular! there! is! evidence! of!impact!upon!individual!and!business!manager!attitudes!including!increased!likelihood!of!undertaking!further! training,! of! recruiting! graduates! and! of! working! within! SMEs.! ! There! is! clear! evidence! of!improved!employability!among!participants,!reported!by!themselves!and!by!host!employers.!!There!are! case! study! stories! and! direct! participant! quotes! to! indicate! the! value! attributed! to! the!programme.!
Overall!the!programme!has!achieved!the!objectives!set!out!within!the!business!plan.!!!
Within! the! Convergence! area! GO! Wales! has! created! more! than! 1,800! net! additional! jobs! and!safeguarded! a! further! 200.! ! The! evidence! points! towards! a!wage! uplift! of! £2.4! X! £2.5!million! and!increased!business!turnover!of!almost!£32!million.!!At!an!all!Wales!level!more!than!3,100!jobs!have!been!created!and!a!further!200!safeguarded!with!an!estimated!wage!premium!of!£5.1!X!£6.9!million!and!increased!business!turnover!of!£47!million.!
Whilst! value! for!money! is! challenging! to! assess,! the! evidence! suggests! the!Go!Wales! programme!delivers!in!terms!of!economy,!efficiency!and!effectiveness.!!Based!on!the!available!evidence!cost!per!job!is!estimated!at!£6,000!X!£7,000.!!!
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1 Introduction!
Hardisty! Jones! Associates! Ltd! (HJA)! was! appointed! by! the! Higher! Education! Funding! Council! for!Wales! (HEFCW)! to! undertake! the! final! evaluation! of! the! GO! Wales! Programme,! Phase! 5.! ! This!evaluation!considers!the!impact!and!delivery!of!the!GO!Wales!Programme!over!the!period!January!2009! –!December! 2014.! ! ! This! builds! on! two! previous! evaluation! exercises! undertaken! as! part! of!Phase!5,!reporting!in!2011!and!2012.!
1.1 What!is!GO!Wales?!
GO!Wales!is!Wales’!graduate!employability!and!skills!programme.!!The!programme!is!sponsored!and!managed! by! HEFCW! and! delivered! by! Higher! Education! Institutions! (HEIs)! in!Wales.! ! ! GO!Wales!offers!a!suite!of!products!and!services!to!graduates!and!higher!education!students!to!prepare!them!for!work!and!to!highlight!to!businesses!the!benefits!of!employing!workers!with!graduate!level!skills!and!investing!in!their!training!and!development.!!There!are!six!strands!of!activity!within!Phase!5!of!the!GO!Wales!Programme:!
1. Work!Placements!X!10!week1!paid!placements!within!Welsh!businesses!for!HE!students!and!graduates.!
2. Work!Tasters!–!up!to!10!day!work!tasters!in!Welsh!businesses!for!HE!students!and!graduates.!
3. Graduate!Training!and!Development!–!offering!financial!support!for!training!of!graduates!within!Welsh!businesses.!
4. Graduate!Academy!–!an!opportunity!for!graduates!to!develop!work!readiness!skills.!
5. Freelancer!Academy!–!introductory!training!for!graduates!exploring!a!freelancing!career.!
6. GO!Wales!Jobs!–!job!advertisement!website.!
The! evaluation! has! considered! issues! relating! to! each! of! these! strands! of! activity.! ! Further!information!on!the!strands!can!be!found!at!Appendix!1.!
This! evaluation! is! focused! on! Phase! 5! of! GO!Wales.! There! have! been! four! preceding! phases.! GO!Wales!was!established!in!2003,!and!before!that! its!predecessor!programmes!Cymru!Prosper!Wales!and! Graduate! Wales! operated! from! the! mid! 1990s.! ! Over! this! period! there! has! been! continual!evolution!of!the!programmes!to!meet!employer!and!graduate!needs.!!
GO! Wales! runs! as! an! allXWales! programme! with! the! same! range! of! activities! available! in! all!geographies.! !However,!this!evaluation!places!particular!focus!on!the!activities!of!GO!Wales!within!the!Convergence! area!of!Wales,!which! receives! substantial! ESF! funding.! !With!no!prospect! of! ESF!Competitiveness! funding! in! East! Wales! the! programme! has! operated! on! a! much! smaller! scale!outside!the!Convergence!area!of!Wales.!
1.2 Evaluation!Aims!
The!following!aims!were!set!out!in!the!brief!for!this!evaluation:!
1. Assess! to! what! extent! the! programme! has! achieved! its! aims! and! objectives,! as! outlined! in! the!business!plan;!
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2. Provide!a!final!assessment!of!the!design,!delivery!and!management!of!the!programme,!including!an!assessment! of! the! appropriateness! of! any! ‘in! Programme’! changes,! for! example! the! change! to!regional!delivery!of!the!GTD!strand,!so!that!lessons!may!be!learned!for!the!future;!
3. Provide!a!final!assessment!of!the!effectiveness!of!the!programme!and!its!various!elements,!including!impact!on!participants;!
4. Examine!value!for!money!on!the!basis!of!outputs,!outcomes!and!models!of!delivery;!
5. Examine!the!effectiveness!of!the!programme!in!the!context!of!the!two!ESF!Cross!Cutting!Themes!X!Equal!Opportunities!and!Environmental!Sustainability,!including!followX!up!with!employers!who!have!been! provided! with! signposting! information! to! help! them! improve! equal! opportunities! and!environmental!sustainability!within!their!organisation,!and!assess!the!impact!of!the!programme!on!a!cross! section! of! individuals! X! including! a! gender! perspective! and! including! those! with! protected!characteristics!as!appropriate;!and!
6. To!make!evidenceX!based!recommendations!for!the!development!and!delivery!of!future!activity!in!the!next!round!of!structural!funding.!
1.3 Evaluation!Objectives!
The!following!objectives!are!summarised!from!the!project!specification:!
1. Analyse!and!report!on!individual!and!company!participant!feedback!in!order!to!gather!their!views!on!the!effectiveness,!impact,!design,!management!and!delivery!of!the!project.!
2. Conduct! primary! research! using! a! representative! sample! of! individual! and! company! participants!drawn! from! all! strands,! in! order! to! gather! their! views! on! the! effectiveness,! impact,! design,!management!and!delivery!of!the!project.!!
3. Gather! the! views! of! staff! working! on! the! project,! HEI! delivery! partners! and! stakeholders! on! the!design,!delivery!and!management!of!the!programme.!
4. Consider!Programme!performance!against!a!range!of!targets!and!indicators.!
5. Consider!valueXforXmoney!in!the!context!of!outputs,!outcomes!and!modes!of!delivery.!
6. Make! recommendations! for! the! development! and! delivery! of! future! activity,! particularly! in! the!context!of!the!next!round!of!structural!funding.!
7. Consider!the!impact!of!the!programme,!including!the!longerXterm!impacts!on!individual!and!company!participants!and!the!wider!impacts!on!Wales,!where!measurable.!
1.4 Methodology!
The!aims!and!objectives!set!for!this!evaluation!have!influenced!the!evaluation!design.!!As!part!of!the!project! inception! process! the! following! research! methodology! was! agreed.! ! Further! details! are!presented!within! the! report! and!appendices!where!appropriate.! ! The!analysis! and! conclusions! set!out!within!this!report!are!based!on!the!evidence!gathered!through!this!research!programme!and!the!evidence! gathered! through! the! earlier! evaluation! exercises! within! Phase! 5! of! GO! Wales.! The!following!evidence!gathering!tasks!have!informed!this!phase!of!evaluation:!
1.4.1 Literature!and!Best!Practice!Review!
An!extensive!literature!review!was!undertaken!as!part!of!the!earlier!evaluation!exercises.! !This!has!been!updated! to! take! account! of!more! recent! research,! policy! and! strategy! developments! and! to!consider!any!new!evidence!on!best!practice.!!
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1.4.2 Management!Information!
A!host!of!project!management!information!has!been!reviewed.!
1.4.3 Consultation!
Consultations!have!been!undertaken!with!a! range!of!GO!Wales! staff! from!across!Wales!as!well!as!external!stakeholders.!!Details!of!all!consultees!are!set!out!at!Appendix!2!to!this!report.!
1.4.4 Feedback!Form!Analysis!
Over!the!three!evaluation!exercises!within!Phase!5!more!than!3,200!feedback!forms!completed!by!business! managers! and! individuals! at! the! time! of! their! participation! in! GO! Wales! have! been!reviewed.!!Analysis!of!feedback!forms!can!be!found!at!Appendix!7!to!this!report.!
1.4.5 Participant!and!Business!Survey!
Extensive!telephone!survey!fieldwork!has!been!undertaken!across!the!three!evaluation!exercises!as!part!of!Phase!5.!!This!has!included!some!longitudinal!analysis!and!interviews!with!a!control!group!of!individuals! and! businesses! to! aid! understanding! of! deadweight! and! the! added! value! of! the!programme.!!Survey!analysis!can!be!found!at!Appendices!8X13!of!this!report.!
1.4.6 Case!Studies!
A! small! number!of! case! studies!have!been! researched! to!provide! some!additional! insight! into! the!experience!of!programme!participants.!
1.5 Report!Structure!
This!report!contains!the!summary!analysis!from!all!the!research!activities.!!It!is!structured!as!follows:!
• Chapter!2!provides!an!overview!of!the!GO!Wales!Programme,!summarising!its!objectives,!activities!and!resources.!
• Chapter!3!outlines!the!rationale!and!strategic!context!underpinning!the!Programme!
• Chapter!4!provides!a!review!of!programme!design!and!operational!arrangements!
• Chapter!5!sets!out!analysis!of!performance!against!targets!for!a!range!of!indicators!
• Chapters!6X10!set!out!a!summary!review!of!evidence!by!strand!including!impact!analysis!
• Chapter!11!reviews!activity!under!the!cross!cutting!themes!of!the!ESF!Programme;!and!!
• Chapter!12!sets!out!the!conclusions!of!the!evaluation!and!recommendations!for!consideration!by!HEFCW!
Further! detailed! analysis! and! supporting! information! is! contained! within! a! series! of! appendices.!!These!are!contained!within!separate!volumes.!
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2 Programme!Overview!
This! chapter! sets! out! further! details! on! the!GO!Wales! project! in! terms!of! its! aims! and!objectives,!resourcing!and!target!outputs!and!outcomes.! ! It!also!considers!the!structures!and!arrangements! in!place!for!the!delivery!of!GO!Wales.!
2.1 Project!Objectives!
The!business!plan! (version!5)! for! the!Convergence!area!project! sets!out! the!overall!aim!of! the!GO!Wales!project!to:!
“support'the'deployment,'development'and'retention'of'graduates’'high'level'skills,'knowledge'and'innovative'potential'in'businesses'in'the'Convergence'areas'of'Wales,'particularly'small'and'medium>sized'businesses”'2'
Given! the! broad! range! of! activities! within! the! GO!Wales! project! there! is! no! single! list! of! project!objectives.! ! The! following! objective! statements! have! been! drawn! from! the! commentary! on! each!individual!activity!strand!within!the!business!plan:!
Work!Placement!P!to!help!students!and!graduates!make!the!best!start!to!their!career!in!Wales!and!at!the! same! time! enable! SMEs! and! other! organisations! to! access! higher! level! skills,! knowledge! and!innovative!potential.
Work!Taster!P!to!enable!students!and!graduates!to!experience!organisations,!make!contacts!and!gain!a! better! understanding! of! the! skills! and! knowledge! required! to! forge! a! graduate! career! in! their!chosen!area(s).!
GTD!P! to!upXskill! individuals!and!SMEs,!provide! training! in!key!areas!and!aid! retention!of!graduate!level!skills!in!SMEs!in!the!Welsh!economy.!
Graduate!Academy!P!to!help!graduates!develop!careers!in!the!Welsh!economy!where!they!can!use!their!higherXlevel!skills,!knowledge!and!innovative!potential.!!
Freelancer!Academy!–!to!equip!graduates!from!a!wide!range!of!degree!disciplines!to!freelance!in!the!Welsh!economy.!
The! business! plan! makes! clear! the! desire! to! have! a! positive! impact! upon! both! individual! and!business!participants!for!the!benefit!of!the!Welsh!economy.!!!
2.2 Outputs!and!Outcomes!
The! outputs! of! GO! Wales! are! expressed! in! various! ways! including! the! number! of! participants,!activities!undertaken!and!qualifications!gained.!!These!are!designed!to!deliver!positive!outcomes!for!the! participants! and! the!Welsh! economy,! including! enhanced! levels! of! graduate! employment! and!retention,! utilisation! of! higher! level! skills! to! boost! business! productivity! and! performance! and!changed! attitudes! to! using! higher! level! skills! and! engaging! with! universities! among! the! business!community,!particularly!among!SMEs.!!Table!2.1!summarises!these!by!strand.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2!Higher!Education!Funding!Council!for!Wales,!GO!Wales!–!Skills!for!the!Knowledge!Economy:!Business!Plan!(version!5)!
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5!
! Table&2.1&Output&and&O
utcomes&Sum
mary&Table&
Strand&Outputs&
Outcom
es&Work!Placements!
• Completed!placements!
• City
!and!Guilds!Professional!D
evelopment!
Qualific
atio
ns!Awarded!
• Increased!participant!e
mployability
!skills
!!
• Businesses!benefit!fr
om!new!skills
,!knowledge!and!ideas!
• Focused!resource!to
!improve!business!products,!p
erformance!or!process!
• Participants!m
ore!lik
ely!to
!consider!working!fo
r!SMEs!!
• Increased!awareness/understanding!of!th
e!benefits
!of!e
mploying!a!graduate!
• Businesses!m
ore!lik
ely!to
!employ!graduates!
• Higher!level!of!g
raduate!employment!in
!Wales!(p
articularly!in!SMEs)!
• Increased!innovatio
n!in!W
elsh!businesses!
Work!Tasters!
• Completed!ta
sters!
• Participants!have!increased!understanding!of!skills
!and!knowledge!required!in!chosen!
career!!
• Employers!m
ay!benefit!fr
om!new!skills
,!knowledge!and!ideas!
• May!help!to
!change!SME!perceptio
n!on!employing!a!graduate!
• Higher!level!of!g
raduate!employment!in
!Wales!(p
articularly!in!SMEs)!
• Increased!innovatio
n!in!W
elsh!businesses!
• Businesses!benefit!fr
om!im
proved!business!products,!p
erformance!or!process!
Graduate!Training!
and!Development!
• Completed!training/courses!
• Qualific
atio
ns!awarded!
• Increased!participant!skills
!!
• Participants!m
ore!lik
ely!to
!request!C
PD!training!
• Businesses!m
ore!lik
ely!to
!invest!in
!CPD!
• Increased!retentio
n!of!g
raduates!in!W
elsh!businesses!(p
articularly!in!SMEs)!
• Graduates!develop!new!skills
!and!knowledge!
• Businesses!benefit!fr
om!im
proved!business!products,!p
erformance!or!process!as!a!result!o
f!
skills
!gained!or!enhanced!
Graduate!Academy!
• ILM!Level!5!Award!in!M
anagement!
qualific
atio
n!
• Completed!placement/work!experience!
• Increased!skill!le
vels!fo
r!th
ose!th
at!a
re!unemployed!or!underOemployed!(student)!
• Increased!participant!e
mployability
!skills
!!
• Many!participants!m
ore!lik
ely!to
!consider!working!fo
r!SMEs!!
• Increased!awareness/understanding!of!th
e!benefits
!of!e
mploying!a!graduate!
• Businesses!m
ore!lik
ely!to
!employ!graduates!
• Higher!level!of!g
raduate!employment!in
!Wales!(p
articularly!in!SMEs)!
• Increased!innovatio
n!in!W
elsh!businesses!
• Businesses!benefit!fr
om!im
proved!business!products,!p
erformance!or!process!
Freelancer!Academy!
• ILM!Level!3!Award!in!Startin
g!your!own!
enterprise!
• Development!o
f!skills
!and!knowledge!required!to
!work!as!a!freelancer!
• Increased!retentio
n!and!employment!(s
elfOe
mployment)!o
f!graduates!in!W
ales!!
!!
!6!
!
2.3 Indicators.
The!business!plan!sets!the!following!output!targets!for!the!Convergence!area:!
Table.2.2.Convergence.Area.Activity.Targets.(Nov.2014.Reprofile).
Intervention. 2009.to.2011. 2009.to.2014.(Reprofiled).
No!of!Placements! 1,695! 3,244!No!of!Tasters! 1,050! 1,665!No!of!funded!graduate!training!and!development!opportunities.! 990! 983!No!of!Graduate!Academy!participants! 180! 274!No!of!Freelancer!participants! 204! 195!No!of!participants!undertaking!an!environmental! sustainability!focused!placement!or!specific!training!activity!
45! 262!
No! of! participants! undertaking! and! equality! or! diversity!!focused!placement!or!specific!training!activity!
20! 98!
No! of! participants! receiving! environmental! and! equality!awareness!raising!training!!
384! 469!
.
Table.2.3.Convergence.Programme.Indicator.Output.Targets.(Nov.2014.Reprofile).
Indicator. 2009.to.2011. 2009.to.2014.(Reprofiled).
Total!Participants!! 3,600! 5,600!Older!participants! 43! 169!BME!participants! 432! 328!Participants!with!work!limiting!health!condition!or!disability!! 216! 122!Participants!accessing!level!3!training! 204! 232!Participants!accessing!Level!4!and!above!training! 1,941! 2,834!Employers!assisted!or!financially!supported! 845!
(of!which!800!will!be!SMEs)!
1,850!
Research!studies! 1! 1!Participants!gaining!qualifications!at!level!4!or!above! 1,455! 1,889!Participants!gaining!qualifications!at!level!3! 153! 252!Project!delivering!specialist!training!in!sustainable!development! ! !!
The! business! plan! also! identifies! added! value! by! increasing! “the$ number$ of$ individuals$ receiving$training$and$having$a$positive$ impact$on$the$quality$of$ training$available$to$ individuals$ in$SMEs.$ $ It$will$ set$ graduates$ on$ the$ road$ to$ continuing$ professional$ development.$ $ It$will$ provide$ SMEs$with$skills$and$capability$that$they$would$not$otherwise$have$or$not$have$to$the$same$degree.$ $The$new$Freelancer$strand$will$ increase$the$likelihood$of$graduates$choosing$self$employment$as$a$means$of$developing$their$career$and$using$their$skills$in$the$Welsh$economy.”$
!!
!7!
!
2.4 Logic.Chains.
Logic! chains!are!used! to! show!how!the! resources!allocated! to!an!activity!are! logically!expected! to!lead!to!their!target!outputs!and!outcomes.!!These!are!a!helpful!tool!in!testing!whether!a!project!has!the!potential! to!deliver! its!ambitions,!or!whether!there!are!weaknesses! in!programme!and!project!design.!
Appendix! 3! sets! out! logic! chains! for! each! strand! of! activity,! devised! as! part! of! earlier! Phase! 5!evaluation!exercises.!! !The!following!is!a!summary!logic!chain!covering!the!whole!programme.!!The!evaluation!has!not!identified!any!areas!of!substantial!weakness!as!a!result!of!logic!chain!analysis.!
Figure.2.1.Summary.Logic.Chain.
!
!!
!
8!
!
2.5 Budget.and.Expenditure.
Table! 2.4! sets! out! the! budget! for! GO! Wales! Phase! 5.! The! funding! basis! is! different! for! the!
Convergence!and!Non!Convergence!areas.!!In!aggregate!Phase!5!is!a!£32.9!million!programme.!
Within!the!Convergence!Area!the!programme!has!been!awarded!ESF!support!of!almost!£16!million.!!
Match!funding!is!provided!by!HEFCW,!the!delivery!HEIs!and!supported!employers!in!both!the!public!
and!private!sector.!!In!total!the!Convergence!Area!project!is!almost!£27!million.!!!
In! the!Non!Convergence!Area!HEFCW!provides! almost! £6!million! in! core! funding.! !Due! to! varying!
funding!rules!the!employer!match^funding!element!is!not!monitored!in!the!Non!Convergence!area.!!
If!this!was!considered!in!the!same!way!the!total!scale!of!the!project!would!exceed!the!£32.9!million!
as!shown!in!the!table.!
Table.2.4.GO.Wales.Phase.5.Budget.2009P2014.
. ESF. HEFCW. HEI. Employers.(Public).
Employers.(Private). Total.
Convergence!Area! £15,732,000! £2,602,000! £1,797,000! £484,000! £6,277,000! £26,891,000!Non^Convergence!
Area!!! £5,998,000! !! Not!monitored! £5,998,000..
Total. £15,732,000. £8,600,000. £1,797,000. £484,000. £6,277,000. £32,890,000.Source:.HEFCW!
Notes:$Budget$ reEprofiled$ July$ 2014$and$agreed$with$WEFO$November$2014.$ Figures$may$not$ sum$due$to$rounding.$
Table.2.5!shows!expenditure!as!at!30th!September!2014!WEFO!Claim.!!Final!expenditure!figures!are!
anticipated!in!May!2015.!.
Table! 2.6! shows! current! claimed! expenditure! as! a! percentage! of! agreed! budget.! ! Notably! under^
budget!is!match!funding!from!public!sector!employers.!!Within!the!Convergence!Area!the!majority!of!
expenditure!against!budgets!is!running!at!just!under!80%,!with!HEFCW!funding!at!close!to!100%.!!
It!was!confirmed!by!the!GO!Wales!management!team!at!HEFCW!that!the!final!quarter!claims!made!
by!delivery!HEIs!will!be!large!and!include!record!of!a!substantial!amount!of!employer!match^funding.!!
Overall! it! is! anticipated! that! the!programme!will! come! in! slightly!under^budget.!HEFCW! funding! is!
typically! front^loaded! due! to! lags! in! the! claims! recording! employer! match^funding.! ! It! is! not!
anticipated!that!HEFCW!financial!contributions!will!exceed!budget.!
Table.2.5.GO.Wales.Phase.5.Expenditure.2009P14.
. ESF. HEFCW. HEI. Employers.(Public).
Employers.(Private). Total.
Convergence!Area! £12,398,097! £2,546,261! £1,426,011! £20,834! £4,800,809! £21,192,012!Non^Convergence!
Area!!! £4,820,512! !! Not!monitored! £4,820,512!
Total. £12,398,097. £7,366,772. £1,426,011. £20,834. £4,800,809. £26,012,524.Source:.HEFCW!
Notes:$Based$on$WEFO$Claim$for$period$up$to$30$September$2014.$$
.
!!
!
9!
!
Table.2.6.GO.Wales.Phase.5.Expenditure.as.Percentage.of.Budget.2009P14.–.to.September.2014.
. ESF. HEFCW. HEI. Employers.(Public).
Employers.(Private). Total.
Convergence!Area! 79%! 98%! 79%! 4%! 76%! 79%!
Non^Convergence!
Area!!! 80%! !! Not!monitored! 80%!
Total. 79%. 86%. 79%. 4%. 76%. 79%.Source:.HEFCW!
Notes:$Based$on$WEFO$Claim$for$period$up$to$30$September$2014.!
2.6 Delivery.Arrangements.
Overall! project!management!of!GO!Wales! is! undertaken!by! a! small! team! in!HEFCW,!with!delivery!
undertaken!by!specialist!teams!employed!by!partner!HEIs.!!There!is!also!a!central!marketing!and!IT!
team!based!within!Swansea!University.!!There!is!some!variation!by!strand!as!to!the!detailed!delivery!
arrangements:!
• Work!Placements!and!Work!Tasters!are!delivered!by!each!HEI!in!Wales.!!HEFCW!and!the!respective!
HEI!agree! targets!and!budgets! for!each!strand.! !Costs!are! reimbursed! following! the!submission!of!
valid!claims.!!HEFCW!is!not!prescriptive!as!to!the!structures!and!delivery!methods!employed!by!HEIs.!!
Therefore!there! is!some!variation! in!the!team!structures!across!the!HEIs! in!Wales!delivering!these!
strands.! !For!example,!some!HEIs!have!staff! that!specialise! in!only!Work!Placements!or!only!Work!
Tasters.!!Others!have!staff!that!work!across!all!strands!of!activity.!The!majority!of!HEIs!delivered!GO!
Wales!as!an! integral!part!of! their!careers!services,!complementing!and!enhancing!core!advice!and!
guidance!activities3.!!!
• The!GTD!strand!operated! in!a! similar! fashion! to! the!Work!Placements!and!Work!Tasters!over! the!
period!2009^2011,!with!limited!success.!!It!was!then!reorganised!as!part!of!the!extension!of!Phase!5.!!
There!are!now!three!GTD!hubs!operating!in!South!East!Wales,!South!West!Wales!and!North!&!Mid!
Wales.!!!These!specialist!centres!deal!with!referrals!from!all!HEIs!and!the!central!marketing!team.!
• The! Graduate! Academy! is! managed! by! Trinity! St! David,! with! all! HEIs! passing! on! referrals! and!
providing!support!organising!work!experience!placements!as!part!of!the!academy.!
• The!Freelancer!Academy!is!managed!by!Aberystwyth!University!with!all!HEIs!passing!on!referrals.!
Further!comment!on!delivery!arrangements!is!set!out!at!Chapter!4.!
!
! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!3! As!GO!Wales! reaches! the! end! of! its! Phase! 5! funding! activity! has! ceased,! substantially! reducing! the! range! of! services! offered! by!HEI!
careers!services!in!some!locations.!
!!
!10!
!
3 Rationale.and.Strategic.Fit.
This! chapter! draws! on! extensive! documentary! review! initially! undertaken! as! part! of! earlier!evaluation!phases!and!updated!as!part!of!this!final!evaluation!of!Phase!5.!!!
3.1 Need.for.Intervention.
The!evidence! indicates!a!clear!need!for! intervention.! !Set!out!within!Appendix!4!to!this!report! is!a!review!of!relevant!research!documents.!!In!summary,!the!evidence!indicates:!
• The!increasing!importance!of!graduates!to!the!on^going!competitiveness!of!the!UK!economy;!• The!importance!placed!upon!employability!skills!and!relevant!work!experience!by!employers;!• The! relative! lack! of! satisfaction! of! employers!with! the! employability! skills! and! relevant! experience!
currently!held!by!many!graduates;!• The!lower!levels!of!university^business!engagement!and!graduate!recruitment!among!smaller!firms,!
including!a!lack!of!appreciation!of!the!value!of!graduates;!• The!call!by!employers!for!universities!to!do!more!to! improve!employability!skills!and!to!offer!more!
work^based!placements;!• The!need!to!improve!graduate!retention!in!Wales!and!to!increase!the!value^added!per!job,!which!is!
the!primary!driver!of!the!GVA!gap!in!Wales.!
All! these! findings! highlight! the! need! for! a! wide^ranging! intervention! to! improve! graduate!employability,! make! graduate! recruitment! easier! and! challenge! the! perceptions! of! employers,!particularly!SMEs,!as!to!the!value!of!graduate!employment.!
3.2 Strategic.Context.
In!recent!years!at!the!European,!UK!and!Wales!levels!there!has!been!an!increasing!awareness!of!the!importance! of! the! need! for! the! Higher! and! Further! Education! sectors! to! work! closely! with! the!business!sector!to!ensure!that!learning!and!training!provision!provides!skilled!workers!that!can!meet!the! needs! of! business! both! now! and! in! the! future.! ! In! addition! to! ensuring! that! the! content! of!courses!are!relevant!to!the!needs!of!employers,!it!is!also!vital!that!graduates!have!the!relevant!skills!and!understanding!to!apply!their!knowledge!in!the!workplace.!!
Included!within!Appendix!4!is!a!review!of!the!strategic!context!and!underpinning!policy!rationale!to!the! investment! in!GO!Wales! in! its!current! funding!round! (January!2009!–!December!2014).!Where!appropriate,!mention!is!made!of!more!recent!policy!and!strategy!announcements!that!could!affect!future!phases!of!the!project.!!!This!shows!a!strong!policy!fit!between!the!aims!of!GO!Wales!and!the!current!strategic!and!policy!framework.!
3.3 Market.Failure.
The!HM!Treasury!Green!Book4!states!that!before!any!intervention!by!government!it!is!important!to!identify!a!clear!need!which!it!is!in!the!national!interest!for!government!to!address.!!The!rationale!for!government! intervention! is! usually! founded! in! either! market! failure! or! where! there! are! clear!government!distributional!objectives!to!be!met.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4!HM!Treasury!(2003)!The!Green!Book:!!Appraisal!and!Evaluation!in!Central!Government!
!!
!11!
!
There!is!evidence!of!market!failure!affecting!the!supply!and!demand!for!higher^level!skills.!!!
3.3.1 Demand.for.higherPlevel.skills..
In! terms! of! the! demand! for! higher^level! skills! the! Skills! and! Employment! Action! Plan! (2005)!highlighted!that!there!is!evidence!of!market!failures!that!constrain!the!demand!for!higher^level!skills!and! therefore! hinder! effective! supply! responses.! ! The! market! failures! affecting! the! demand! for!higher!skilled!workers!include:!
Information.Failures.Information!is!needed!for!a!market!to!operate!efficiently.!!In!the!market!for!higher^skilled!workers:!
• Employers!are!often!unaware!of!the!skills!needed!in!order!to!improve!their!business!performance!• Although!there!is!evidence!to!suggest!that!employers!are!generally!aware!of!the!importance!of!skills,!
fewer!agree!that!investment!in!skills!brings!benefits!to!the!business!
Externalities.Externalities!occur!when!a!particular!activity!produces!benefits!or!costs!that!are!not!directly!priced!into!the!market.!!!
Firms!are!often!concerned!that!once!an!employee!has!benefited!from!an!investment!in!training,!that!employee!will! leave!the!firm!before!the!firm!has!recouped!its! investment.! !Unless!training!pays!off!very!quickly,!firms!are!therefore!reluctant!to!provide!training!to!their!workers,!particularly!in!terms!of!transferable!skills.!
3.3.2 Supply.of.higherPlevel.skills.
In! terms! of! the! supply! of! higher^skilled! labour,! much! of! the! GO! Wales! project! is! specifically!concerned!with!employability!skills! i.e.!skills,!behaviours,!attitudes!and!personal!attributes!that!are!necessary! for! an! individual! to! seek,! gain! and! sustain! employment! and! function! effectively! in! the!workplace!and!are!transferable!to!a!variety!of!contexts.!Employability!skills!prepare! individuals! for!work!rather!than!for!a!specific!occupation.!!However,!the!GTD!element!of!GO!Wales!also!deals!with!supporting!the!acquisition!of!specific!skills!and!knowledge!to!support!the!development!of!graduates!and! the!businesses! they!are!employed!within.! !Market! failures!affecting! the!supply!of!higher^level!skills!are!primarily!around!information!failures,!including:!
• Individuals!lacking!the!information!to!understand!or!appreciate!the!benefits!of!developing!their!skills.!!There! is! however,! an! argument! to! suggest! that! this!market! failure! is! diminishing! as! students! face!increased!competition!for!jobs!and!need!to!ensure!that!they!‘stand!out!from!the!crowd’.!
• Students!and!graduates!believing!that!they!need!to!work!in!larger!employers!to!have!satisfying!and!well!paid!careers!and!not!recognising!the!benefits!of!working!for!smaller!employers!e.g.!opportunities!to!work!across!functions!and!to!be!more!entrepreneurial.!
• Students!and!graduates!lacking!the!information!to!know!how!to!secure!a!placement,!or!what!kind!of!placement!would!be!most!appropriate!for!them.!
!!
!12!
!
3.4 Fit.with.other.Programmes.and.Initiatives.
GO! Wales! sits! within! a! range! of! employability! and! business! support! initiatives! in! Wales.! ! The!following! table! summarises! key! activities! that! relate! closely! with! GO! Wales! and! comments! on!current!relationships.!
!!!
13!
! Table&3.1&GO&W
ales&fit&with&other&Program
mes&and&Activities&
&Activities&
Relationship&and&Fit&
Student/Graduate!
University!Careers!and!
Employability!Activities!
Universities!across!Wales!provide!a!variety!of!services!and!support!through!their!Student!Support!or!Careers!Services!as!well!
as!directly!via!course!structures!and!content.!!A!summary!of!the!key!activities!include:!
• General!careers!advice!and!guidance!on!a!range!of!topics!such!as!career!planning,!job!search,!CV!writing,!assessment!centres!
etc.!!Advice!tends!to!be!provided!through!onGline!and!written!materials,!oneGtoGone!sessions!and!group!workshops.!!Universities!
also!provide!searchable!databases!of!local!and!national!vacancies!
• Some!Universities!offer!fourGyear!‘sandwich’!courses,!where!the!student!spends!their!third!year!of!their!degree!working!in!
industry!related!to!their!degree!course.!!Sandwich!courses!tend!to!be!offered!in!subjects!such!as!engineering!and!human!and!
health!sciences.!
• A!number!of!Universities!have!introduced!employability!programmes.!!For!example,!at!Cardiff!University,!academic!schools!are!
encouraged!to!run!an!employability!programme!(Career!Management!Skills)!for!students!at!departmental!level.!!CMS!is!made!
up!of!a!range!of!workshops!–!many!are!focused!on!job!hunting!(e.g.!CV!writing,!online!applications!etc)!but!others!cover!softer!
skills.!!Depending!on!the!academic!school,!students!may!be!awarded!a!certificate!for!completing!6!modules!or!completion!of!
the!modules!can!count!towards!a!student’s!degree.!!Swansea!University!piloted!the!Employability!Skills!Award!in!2009!which!
offered!students!three!modules!–!“Personal!Career!Development”,!“Creativity!and!Enterprise!in!the!Workplace”!and!
“Enhancing!your!Employability”!and!are!designed!to!support!and!encourage!students!to!gain!a!greater!understanding!of!‘career!
management’,!dealing!with!issues!such!as!choosing!a!career,!recognising!the!key!skills!that!can!be!transferred!from!student!life!
to!the!job!market.!Each!module!is!worth!10!credits!and!the!award!is!obtained!once!all!three!modules!have!been!completed.!
This!is!in!addition!to!the!modules!studied!as!part!of!degree!courses.!!The!award!then!appears!on!the!student’s!degree!transcript!
for!prospective!employers!to!see.!
• Santander!SME!Internships!has!launched!during!the!GO!Wales!Phase!5!period.!!This!scheme!is!operated!by!many!Welsh!
Universities!and!provides!a!limited!number!of!placements!within!SMEs!for!final!year!students!and!recent!graduates.!!In!some!
ways!this!is!similar!to!the!GO!Wales!Placement!strand,!although!consultations!suggested!the!level!of!supporting!service!delivery!
is!less!and!the!scale!of!the!scheme!is!much!smaller.!
A!review!of!activity!being!delivered!at!Universities!across!Wales!reveals!that!the!GO!Wales!project!is!consistently!used!across!
Wales!as!the!primary!mechanism!for!arranging!work!placements!for!students.!!Other!activities!vary!by!institution!and!course.!!
We!have!not!been!able!to!source!any!information!or!research!as!to!the!effectiveness!of!these!other!activities.!
!!!14!
! &Activities&
Relationship&and&Fit&Careers!W
ales!and!Job!
Centre!Plus!
Careers!Wales!is!the!national!careers!guidance!and!inform
ation!service!for!young!people!and!adults.!Careers!Wales!provides!
services!for!!
• People!of!all!ages!requiring!careers!inform
ation!and!advice.!!
• Em
ployers/businesses!requiring!help!and!advice!on!recruitment,!training,!em
ployee!development,!skills!and!qualifications.!!
A!review
!of!Careers!Wales!carried!out!in!2009!by!Professor!Tony!W
atts!on!behalf!of!the!Welsh!A
ssembly!G
overnment!found!
that!although!Careers!Wales!has!an!allGW
ales!remit,!its!activities!have!tended!to!be!focused!on!children!and!young!people!
and!in!particular!working!w
ith!14!–!19!networks.!!The!review
!noted!that!in!the!light!of!the!recession!and!resulting!
redundancies,!increasingly!adults!are!seeking!advice!and!support!from!Careers!W
ales.!
The!Report!recognises!the!need!for!a!significant!rebalancing!of!services!in!favour!of!adult!provision!via!the!adoption!of!more!
overt!differentiated!provision!for!young!people,!increased!attention!to!providing!support!in!the!workplace,!and!a!greater!
focus!on!building!the!capacity!of!other!organisations!to!deliver!services.!
The!review!also!questioned!w
hether!Careers!Wales!is!an!all#ability!as!w
ell!as!an!all#age!service.!!There!is!evidence!that!after!the!age!of!16!there!is!som
e!tendency!for!it!to!be!drawn!tow
ards!lower!skill!levels.!The!review
!notes!that!the!service!has!
looked!to!develop!better!partnership!working!w
ith!HEFCW
!to!better!develop!services!for!graduates!but!progress!at!the!time!
of!the!review!had!been!lim
ited.!
Job!Centre!Plus!is!an!executive!agency!of!the!Departm
ent!for!Work!and!Pensions.!It!provides!services!that!support!people!of!
working!age!from
!welfare!into!w
ork,!and!helps!employers!to!fill!their!vacancies.!!Sim
ilar!to!Careers!Wales,!there!is!anecdotal!
evidence!from!consultations!that!JobCentre!Plus!is!generally!focused!tow
ards!lower!skill!level!jobs!and!that!students!and!
graduates!can!access!more!tailored!advice!from
!their!university!careers!service.!
!
Jobs!Grow
th!Wales!
Jobs!Grow
th!Wales!(JG
W)!w
as!established!in!2012!as!part!of!a!set!of!Welsh!G
overnment!initiatives!to!address!youth!
unemploym
ent.!!It!provides!participants!with!a!w
ork!placement!or!support!to!start!their!ow
n!business.!!There!is!a!dedicated!
graduate!strand!of!activity!within!JG
W!that!has!been!delivered!by!H
EFCW.!!JG
W!therefore!offers!a!very!sim
ilar!product!to!the!
GO!W
ales!Work!Placem
ent!strand,!but!with!greater!incentives!for!business!participants.!!For!exam
ple,!JGW!offers!full!funding!
to!the!minim
um!wage!level,!plus!on!costs,!for!26!w
eeks!in!comparison!to!G
O!W
ales!placements!offering!a!part!w
age!subsidy!
!!!15!
! &Activities&
Relationship&and&Fit&for!10!w
eeks!without!on!costs.!!!The!JG
W!Graduate!strand!offered!a!w
age!subsidy!for!26!weeks!but!w
as!not!on!a!like!for!like!basis!w
ith!the!core!JGW!offer.!!As!a!result!of!these!differential!term
s!this!evaluation!has!found!consistent!reports!of!the!negative!im
pact!of!this!scheme!on!take!up!of!W
ork!Placements.!!An!early!evaluation
5!showed!that!the!JG
W!Graduate!strand!
was!delivering!few
er!jobs!than!anticipated,!possibly!due!to!other!similar!offers!(such!as!core!G
O!W
ales!activity).!!Because!of!the!overlap!w
ith!existing!activity,!the!interim!evaluation!suggests!that!discontinuing!the!graduate!strand!of!JG
W!is!
considered.!
Business!
KTPs!and!other!University/Business!
engagement!
programmes!
Knowledge!Transfer!Partnerships!are!threeGw
ay!projects!between!a!graduate,!an!organisation!and!a!university/research!
organisation/further!education!institution.!!In!a!KTP!the!student/graduate!undertakes!a!project!that!is!core!to!the!developm
ent!of!the!organisation's!strategy.!!This!allows!the!graduate!to!apply!their!degree!as!w
ell!as!develop!their!own!skill!
base!with!continued!support!from
!both!the!organisation!and!an!academic!supervisor.!The!purpose!of!the!KTP!is!to!enable!
knowledge!transfer!betw
een!the!organisation!and!the!academic!institution.!!KTPs!last!betw
een!10!weeks!and!three!years.!!
There!is!a!complem
entary!relationship!between!G
O!W
ales!and!the!KTP.!!Often,!G
O!W
ales!is!the!first!stage!for!a!business!to!em
ploy!graduates!and!explore!university!relationships,!which!allow
s!them!to!explore!the!benefits!of!em
ploying!graduates!and!m
ay!encourage!businesses!to!consider!other!collaborative!activity!such!as!a!KTP.!!In!some!cases,!the!G
O!W
ales!placee!stays!on!in!the!com
pany!as!a!KTP!associate.!!
Other!Business!Support!
Activities!As!w
ell!as!providing!graduates!with!relevant!w
ork!experience,!GO!W
ales!can!also!be!seen!as!a!business!support!product.!!As!has!been!discussed!above,!em
ploying!staff!with!higherGlevel!skills!can!bring!productivity!and!innovation!benefits!to!SM
Es.!!It!is!therefore!im
portant!that!business!support!advisors!and!Welsh!Assem
bly!Governm
ent!Relationship!Managers!are!aw
are!of!GO!W
ales!as!part!of!the!wider!suite!of!business!support!initiatives!so!that!businesses!get!best!advice!available.!
GO!W
ales!also!offers!opportunities!for!individuals!to!explore!enterprise!and!fits!within!the!W
elsh!Governm
ent’s!Youth.Enterprise.Strategy.!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5!Interim
!Evaluation!of!Jobs!Grow
th!Wales,!2014,!Ipsos!M
ORI,!W
avehill!Consulting,!WISERD!
!!
!16!
!
4 Programme)Structures)and)Management)
Chapter!6!of!the!interim!evaluation!of!Phase!5!(DTZ,!2011)!set!out!a!discussion!of!Programme!Design!and!Operational!Structures!after!the!first!two!years.!!As!part!of!this!final!evaluation!an!update!review!of!delivery!arrangements!has!been!undertaken!through!consultations!with!project!staff!and!through!
consideration!of!participants’!(individuals’!and!businesses’)!feedback!received!from!feedback!forms!and!the!telephone!survey.!
4.1 Programme)Design)
GO!Wales!incorporates!multiple!strands!of!activity,!which!combine!to!support!both!individuals!and!businesses! in! Wales! to! utilise! higher! level! skills! more! effectively.! ! No! issues! as! to! the!
complementarity!(or!lack!thereof)!of!the!strands!have!been!raised!at!any!stage!in!the!evaluation.!
The!Work!Placement!and!Taster! strands! remain! the!most!wellNknown!and! recognised!elements!of!GO!Wales!among!external!stakeholders.!!This!is!unsurprising!given!their!long!history.!!On!the!basis!of!the! evidence! collected! through! the! three! evaluation! phases! of! Phase! 5,! these! remain! very! highly!
regarded! and! have! high! degrees! of! positive! feedback! from! participants.! ! The! ‘products’! of!Placements!and!Tasters!are!mature!and!well!understood.! !As!a!result!the!delivery!of!these!strands!has!been!more!straightforward.!!!
The! GTD! strand! within! Phase! 5! was! an! evolution! of! the! former! CPD! (Continuing! Professional!
Development)! activity! in! the! previous! phase! of! activity.! ! It! was! clear! within! the! 2011! and! 2012!evaluation! phases! that! there!were! challenges!with! the! design! of! this! strand.! The! 2011! evaluation!report!identified!three!primary!challenges!identified!through!consultation:!
• Competition! –! with! other! similar! publicly! funded! schemes! to! support! training,! some!with! higher!
funding!intervention!rates;!
• Clarification!–!relating!to!inNprogramme!changes!to!what!could!and!could!not!be!funded,!which!made!
achievement!of!initially!agreed!targets!very!challenging;!and!
• Narrow! Focus! –! as! a! result! of! only! funding! higherNlevel! qualifications.! ! This! provided! insufficient!
flexibility6!to!meet!employers’!needs!in!some!cases,!and!created!challenges!in!achieving!targets!given!the!very!narrow!range!of!eligible!qualifications,!which!were!often!fairly!lengthy!courses.!
Given!these!challenges,! the!operational!design!of!the!GTD!strand!was!amended!from!2012!for!the!second! threeNyear! period! within! Phase! 5.! ! This! moved! the! structure! from! delivery! by! all! HEIs! in!
Wales! to! three! ‘hubs’.! ! This! allowed! for! a! greater! concentration! of! resources! and! specialism.!!Consultations!have!been!undertaken!with!two!of!the!three!hubs!as!part!of!this!final!evaluation.!!The!
responses! suggest! that! there! was! improvement! as! a! result! of! the! move! to! the! hub! model,!particularly!in!the!ability!to!have!a!small!number!of!staff!specialising!in!compliance!issues!in!respect!of! GTD.! ! ! Notwithstanding,! there! remain! concerns! (as! expressed! by! consultees)! relating! to! the!
eligibility! criteria! for! GTD,! which! can! sometimes! create! a! substantial! administrative! burden! and!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!6!This!should!be!considered!in!context.! !The!GTD!approach!did!not!require!participants!to!select!from!a!tightly!defined!menu!of!training!options.! !There!was!freedom!to! identify!appropriate!training!within!the!funding!criteria.! !However,! it!was!reported!that!because!of! the!focus!on!higher!level!qualifications!this!sometimes!limited!the!ability!of!employers!to!secure!funding!for!the!courses!they!had!identified!as!being!appropriate.!
!!
!17!
!
frustration! for! both! staff! and! participant! businesses.! ! Responses! also! suggested! that! the! concern!relating! to! competition,! which! had! been! raised! in! earlier! phases! of! evaluation! work,! was! not! so!prevalent!in!the!later!years!of!GTD!delivery.!!!
There!also!remains!concern!about!the!underlying!design!of!GTD!and! its!ability! to!meet!employers’!needs.!!To!a!large!extent!these!concerns!relate!to!the!overall!requirements!of!the!ESF!Convergence!Programme!design!rather!than!GO!Wales.!!In!particular,!the!narrow!focus!on!approved!qualifications!registered!on!the!Ofqual!framework!and!the!need!to!focus!on!higherNlevel!qualifications.!!This!limits!the!range!of!courses!and!qualifications!that!can!be!funded.!!It!is!recognised!that!this!creates!a!niche,!to!avoid!duplication!with!other!ESF!funded!interventions.! !However,!the!discussions!with!GTD!staff!made!clear!that!from!their!interactions!with!employers,!the!utilisation!of!higher!level!skills!within!the!Welsh! economy! is! not! necessarily! related! to! the! further! delivery! of! formal! or! higher! level!qualifications.! This! suggests! a! potential! divergence! between! the! needs! of! employers! and! the!requirements!of!the!overarching!EU!Funding!Programmes7.!The!participants!within!the!GTD!strand!already!possess!higherNlevel!qualifications,!and!GTD!might!be!better!targeted!on!a!clear!objective!to!facilitate!the!effective!utilisation!of! these!skills!within!SMEs.! !This!would!maintain!the!criterion! for!participants!to!be!graduates!with!higherNlevel!skills,!but!could!create!broader!scope!for!the!range!of!eligible! activities.! ! One! suggestion! included! the! development! of! a! type! of! ‘graduate! development!programme,’!similar!to!those!operated!by!larger!corporate!employers,!made!available!to!SMEs.!!This!would! allow! graduates! employed! by! SMEs! to! be! trained! in! a! range! of! areas! to! allow! the! better!utilisation!of!their!graduate!level!skills!in!the!workplace.!!Such!a!programme!could!be!modular,!with!external!accreditation.! !Participants!could!optNin! to!a!minimum!number!of!modules! to!achieve!the!qualification,! allowing! module! selection! to! be! tailored! to! the! needs! of! the! employer/employee.!!Further!concept!development!and!market!testing!would!be!required.!!
It! should! be! noted! that! it! was! agreed! that! GTD! could! fund! a! limited! amount! of! non! regulated!qualifications! such! as! PRINCE! 2.! ! There! are! also! other! participants! which! have! only! partially!completed!qualifications!for!various!reasons8.! !Neither!of!these!groups!can!be!counted!against!the!qualifications! achieved! indicator,! but! are! reported! against! the! project! participants! indicator.! 622!individuals!have!completed!715!of!these!interventions!throughout!the!life!of!GO!Wales!Phase!5.!
At! the! time!of! earlier! evaluation! exercises,! the! Freelancer! and!Graduate!Academies!were! in! early!stages! of! operation.! ! FollowNup! consultations! suggest! these! have! matured,! and! play! a!complementary! role! to! other! GO!Wales! activities.! No! issues! relating! to! scheme! design! for! either!strand!were!raised!through!consultations.!
4.2 Operational)Arrangements)
No!major!concerns!have!been!raised!through!the!consultation!process.!Through!the!six!years!of!GO!Wales! Phase! 5,! the! operational! arrangements! have! matured! for! new! strands! and! continued! for!strands!that!have!a!long!heritage.!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!7!It!is!understood!that!to!ensure!probity!of!public!expenditure!there!is!a!desire!for!a!formal!reportable!output.!!However,!in!some!instances!this!requirement!can!hinder!the!achievement!of!the!ultimate!aim!of!the!Programme.!8!For!example!some!participants!may!decide!partway!through!the!qualification!that!it!is!not!appropriate.!!Alternatively!GO!Wales!may!have!funded!part!of!a!Masters!or!other!long!term!qualification.!!Where!this!has!not!been!able!to!complete!before!the!end!of!the!funding!period!a!full!qualification!cannot!be!reported.!!
!!
!18!
!
A!number!of!minor! issues!were!raised!by!project!staff,!but!nothing!significant!or!consistent!across!HEIs.! ! Some! issues! were! highlighted! which! arise! from! the! variation! in! delivery! arrangements!between!HEIs.! !These!are! to!be!expected!given! the!scope! for!differences! in!approach,!and!were!a!feature!of! consultations!during! all! three!phases!of! evaluation!over! the!period!2009N2014.! ! ! In! the!most!recent!phase!it!was!suggested!that!more!training!could!potentially!be!provided!to!new!project!staff! to! improve!consistency!of! service!delivery!across!HEIs9.!Some!examples!were!cited!of!project!participants!receiving!slightly!different!levels!of!service!because!of!these!variations.!Whilst!these!are!generally!minor!the!issue!of!continually!striving!for!consistency!is!one!to!consider!in!the!future.!
The!previous!evaluation!phases!made!a!number!of!operational!recommendations.!!Progress!against!these!has!been!considered!as!part!of!this!evaluation.!
It! was! recommended! that! stronger! links! be! forged! with! business! advisors,! Job! Centre! Plus! and!Careers!Wales.!!Effort!was!made!to!sign!up!more!business!advisors!to!GO!Wales!newsletters!in!order!that!they!were!informed!of!the!project!and!the!opportunities!it!provided!for!their!clients.!!There!are!now! 880! business! advisors! following! GO! Wales! via! Twitter! and! 130! signed! up! to! the! official!newsletter.! HEFCW!project!managers! have! indicated! success! in! delivering! improved! and! effective!working!relationships!with!Job!Centre!Plus!at!a!strategic!level!as!well!as!at!operational!level.!!As!an!example,! GO! Wales! was! presented! as! an! option! for! job! hunting! graduates! by! Job! Centre! Plus!advisors.! ! There! were! also! reported! improvements! in! relationships! with! Careers! Wales! via! a!Memorandum!of!Understanding!between!HEFCW!and!Careers!Wales.!!
Progress!has!been!made! in! linking! local! and! central!marketing!efforts.! ! Consultations!with!project!staff! did! not! raise! any! concerns! regarding! this! issue! when! asked! as! part! of! the! final! evaluation,!indicating!improved!working!relationships!and!practices.!!This!has!included!involving!marketing!staff!in!project!meetings!with!HEIs!and!HEFCW.!!Also!related!to!marketing,!whilst!a!new!CRM!system!was!considered!it!was!not!thought!appropriate!to!carry!this!forward.!
Communication!issues!amongst!project!staff!that!were!cited!as!an!issue!in!earlier!evaluation!phases!were!not!raised!as!a!particular!issue!for!concern!during!the!final!evaluation.!This!is!likely!a!result!of!improved!practices!employed!by!the!central!project!management!team!at!HEFCW!to!ensure!all!that!project!staff!have!access!to!project!information!via!electronic!and!meeting!based!communications.!
In! 2011! the! greatest! concern! related! to! GTD! delivery,! and! this! was! adjusted! to! take! account! of!known!challenges.! ! This! appears! to!have! led! to! improvements! in! the!operational!working!of!GTD.!!Issues!related!to!the!overall!design!of!GTD!are!discussed!above.!!Operationally,!the!shift!to!the!hub!model!required!referrals!to!the!hub!from!other!HEIs.!!The!consultations!suggest!variation!in!the!way!HEIs!referred.!!The!hubs!appear!to!have!developed!pragmatic!methods!to!deal!with!this.!!!
The!2011!evaluation!also!reported!the!impacts!felt!as!a!result!of!a!gap!in!funding!in!the!lead!up!to!Phase! 5,! which! led! to! a! loss! of! project! staff,! and! with! them! their! expertise,! knowledge! and!relationships!with!businesses.!!This!impacted!on!the!ability!to!‘hit!the!ground!running’!when!funding!was! agreed! due! to! recruitment! delays! and! lack! of! knowledge! and! expertise.! It! is! feared! that! the!same!will!occur!at!the!end!of!Phase!5.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!9!This!would!be!subject!to!ESF!funding!eligibility!criteria.!!GO!Wales!does!provide!a!staff!handbook!to!all!delivery!HEIs.!!
!!
!19!
!
The!2012!evaluation!report!made!fewer!recommendations,!mainly!focusing!on!the!need!to!address!progress!towards!targets!in!lagging!areas!and!the!need!for!more!active!management!of!crossNcutting!themes.! !HEFCW!has! indicated! that!meetings!with! key! staff! groups!were!held! to! focus! activity!on!targets!and!project!requirements.!!Further!consideration!of!progress!against!target!is!set!out!in!the!following!chapter.!!
There!are!positive!views!of!the!programme!management!from!participants.! !The!main!exception!is!the!volume!of!paperwork!required,!which!is!typical!of!ESF!supported!activities,!and!is!not!unique!to!GO!Wales.!!!
! !
!!
!
20!
!
5 Activity)and)Output)Achievement)
This!chapter!provides!a!review!of!performance!in!terms!of!achievement!of!outputs!relative!to!target.!
Further!detailed!information!is!set!out!within!Appendix!6!to!this!report.!
5.1 Targets)
The! previous! evaluation! rounds! completed! as! part! of! Phase! 5!were! undertaken! on! the! basis! of! a!
threeNyear! programme! running! from! January! 2009! N! December! 2012.! ! The! programme! was! then!
extended! to! December! 2014,! covering! sixNyears.! ! As! part! of! this! project! extension,! targets! were!
recalibrated.! ! These! are! referred! to! as! the! January! 2012! targets.! ! During! the! delivery! of! the!
programme!there!has!been!ongoing!monitoring!and!annual!reprofiling!of!targets.!!The!most!recent!
reprofile! commenced! in! July! 2014,!with! final!WEFO! approval! in!November! 2014.! ! As! a! result! it! is!
helpful!to!consider!the!nature!of!reprofiling!to!understand!broader!performance!issues.! !As!part!of!
this!reprofiling!of!target!undertaken!in!partnership!with!WEFO!the!associated!funding!of!GO!Wales!
has!been!adjusted!accordingly.!!As!such!this!is!partly!a!management!tool!for!WEFO.!
5.1.1 Convergence)Programme)Targets)
Table!5.1!shows!the!headline!targets!agreed!with!WEFO!for!Convergence!area!outputs.! !The!target!
for!the!total!number!of!individual!participants!has!been!revised!downwards!by!2%,!whilst!the!target!
for! employers! assisted! has! been! increased! substantially! by! 23%! through! the! reprofiling! exercises.!!
The! target! for! participants! gaining!qualifications!has!been! revised!downwards!by!16%.! !As! can!be!
seen! from! Table! 5.2! this! is! as! a! result! of! reductions! to! the! target! for! participants! gaining!
qualifications! at! level! 4! or! above.! ! This! is! primarily! a! result! of! challenges!with! the! GTD! strand! of!
activity!discussed!elsewhere!in!this!report.!!!In!particular,!the!fact!that!only!regulated!qualifications!
can!be!reported.!The!other!factor!in!this!downward!revision!relates!to!the!Professional!Development!
Award!(PDA)!taken!as!part!of!the!Work!Placement!strand.!!TakeNup!and!completion!of!this!element!
has!been!lower!than!was! initially!anticipated.!The!PDA!was!a!new!element!to!the!Work!Placement!
strand!in!Phase!5!and!therefore!target!setting!was!not!based!on!any!prior!experience.!
Table)5.1)Convergence)Programme)Targets)(Convergence)Area)Only))
Description)January)
2012)November)
2014)%)change)in)target)
Individual!participants! 5,714! 5,600! N2%!
Employers!assisted!or!financially!supported! 1,500! 1,850! +23%!
Participants!gaining!qualifications! 2,561! 2,141! N16%!
!
5.1.2 Further)Business)Plan)Targets)
Table!5.2! sets!out! further!detailed! activity! and!output! targets! taken! from! the!business!plan.! ! This!
shows!increases!to!target!activity!levels!with!both!older!and!BME!participants,!and!a!reduction!in!the!
number!of!participants!with!a!work! limiting!health!condition!or!disability.! ! !As!noted!above,! there!
have!been!changes!to!the!mix!of!target!activity!and!output!by!qualification!level.!!!
Targets! for! the! number! of! participants! undertaking! environmental! sustainability! or! equality! and!
diversity!focused!placements!have!been!increased!through!the!reprofiling!exercises.!
!!
!21!
!
Table)5.2)Further)Business)Plan)Targets)(Convergence)Area)Only))
Indicator) January)2012)
November)2014)
%)change)in)target)
Older!participants! 102! 169! +66%!BME!participants! 228! 328! +44%!Participants!with!work!limiting!health!condition!or!disability!! 142! 122! N14%!Participants!accessing!level!3!training! 269! 232! N14%!Participants!accessing!level!4!and!above!training! 3,046! 2,834! N7%!Participants!gaining!qualifications!at!level!4!or!above! 2,426! 1,889! N22%!Participants!gaining!qualifications!at!level!3! 135! 252! +87%!Research!studies! 1! 1! 0%!No!of!participants!undertaking!an!environmental!sustainability!focused!placement!or!specific!training!activity! 150! 262! +75%!
No!of!participants!undertaking!and!equality!or!diversity!!focused!placement!or!specific!training!activity! 70! 98! +40%!
No!of!participants!receiving!environmental!and!equality!awareness!raising!training!! 500! 469! N6%!
!
5.1.3 Strand)Activity)Targets)
The! following! tables! set! out! summary! data! for! the! programme! illustrating! the! revisions! to!operational! targets!between! January!2012!and!November!2014! for!participation!by! strand! for! the!Convergence!Area!and!All!Wales!respectively.!This!shows!the!downward!revision!to!activity!targets.!!!HEFCW! has! indicated! that! project! budgets! have! also! been! revised! downwards! as! part! of! the!reprofiling.! It! should! be! noted! that! the! target! for! Work! Placements! has! had! relatively! little!adjustment.! ! More! substantial! revision! has! been!made! to! targets! for!Work! Tasters! and! the! GTD!strand.!Challenges!with!GTD!have!been!outlined!at!Chapters!4!and!8!of!this!report.! ! !Consultations!with! project! staff! suggested! some! greater! challenges! with! recruiting! students! and! graduates! to!participate!in!Work!Tasters!than!businesses!to!offer!taster!opportunities.!!The!reasons!for!this!have!not!been!explored! in!detail,! although!anecdotal! evidence! suggested! that!undergraduate! students,!which! are! a! key! beneficiary! group! for! Work! Tasters,! are! often! waiting! until! after! graduation! to!prepare! for!work,! rather! than! taking! up! opportunities! on! offer!whilst! studying.! ! There!was! some!concern!that!this!was!the!case.! !The!targets!for!the!Freelancer!Academy!have!been!reduced!in!the!Convergence!Area!whereas!targets!were!increased!in!the!Non!Convergence!area.!
Table)5.3)Revisions)to)Targets)–)Convergence)Area)
!Target))
January)2012)ReNprofiled)Target))))November)2014)
Change)in)Target)
%)Change)in)Target)
Work!Placements! 3,358! 3,244! N114! N3%!Work!Tasters! 1,939! 1,665! N274! N14%!GTD! 1,224! 983! N241! N20%!Graduate!Academy! 303! 274! N29! N10%!Freelancer!Academy! 269! 195! N74! N27%!!)
!!
!22!
!
Table)5.4)Revisions)to)Targets)–)All)Wales)
!Target))
January)2012)ReNprofiled)Target))))November)2014)
Change)in)Target)
%)Change)in)Target)
Work!Placements! 4,619! 4,359! N260! N6%!Work!Tasters! 2,932! 2,522! N410! N14%!GTD! 1,715! 1,433! N282! N16%!Graduate!Academy! 448! 402! N46! N10%!Freelancer!Academy! 381! 352! N29! N7%!!
Targets! for! Work! Placements! and! Work! Tasters! are! split! operationally! between! the! HEIs.!!Institutional!level!targets!are!not!a!required!reporting!indicator!as!part!of!ESF!funding.!
For!Work!Placements!there!have!been!downward!revisions!of!targets!for!the!majority!of!HEIs,!with!the!exceptions!being!Glyndŵr!and!Swansea!Universities,!where!upward!revisions!to!initially!agreed!targets! have! been! implemented.! The!most! substantive! downward! revisions! (i.e.! >10%)!were! at! IT!Wales!(N29%),!University!of!Wales!Trinity!St!David!(N17%),!Cardiff!Met!(N13%),!and!UWTSD!–!Swansea!Met!(N12%).!!This!evaluation!has!not!explored!the!reasons!for!such!variable!adjustment!to!targets!at!the!institutional!level.!!Consultations!have!indicated!that!performance!can!be!affected!by!a!range!of!factors! including! local! economic! conditions,! quality! and! turnover! of! staff! and! robustness! of! initial!target!setting.!
For! Work! Tasters! a! somewhat! similar! pattern! has! occurred,! although! with! a! greater! scale! of!variation.!!Glyndŵr!has!revised!upwards!its!target!whereas!UWTSD,!Cardiff!Met!and!USW!(Newport)!have!seen!downwards!revisions!of!more!than!20%.!!!
5.1.4 Summary)
This!analysis! shows!a!mixed!picture! in! terms!of! target! reprofiling.! !Whilst! some!targets!have!been!increased,!others!have!been!reduced.!!One!might!argue!that!output!targets!are!more!important!than!activity!targets,!in!particular,!outputs!of!qualifications!achieved.!!As!is!discussed!later!in!this!report,!qualifications!are!not!necessarily!a!perfect!proxy!indicator!for!skills!attained,!and!there!are!a!variety!of!positive!impacts!which!accrue!to!participants!in!addition!to!qualifications!achieved.!!However,!it!is!this! indicator! which! has! been! reduced! most! substantially.! ! This! is! particularly! as! a! result! of!reductions!in!the!number!of!qualifications!at!level!4!and!above!achieved!by!participants.!
As! set!out!above,! there!are!numerous! reasons! for! this!downward! revision,! in!particular! the! issues!with! GTD! including! eligibility! criteria! and! issues! around! the! take! up! of! the! PDA! amongst! Work!Placement!participants.!!With!regard!to!the!former,!there!are!further!qualifications!which!have!been!achieved! by! participants! but! which! are! not! ‘reportable’! due! to! the! Convergence! Programme!eligibility!criteria.!!
It! should! also! be! noted! that! a! number! of! the! targets! for! indicators! related! to! the! cross! cutting!themes!have!been!revised!upward.!
!
!!
!23!
!
5.2 Performance)against)Target)
The!preceding!analysis!considered!the!revisions!to!targets!through!the!life!of!GO!Wales!Phase!5.!!The!following!analysis!sets!out!achievement!of!outputs!against!target.!!As!the!final!reprofile!of!target!was!signed! off! in! November! 2014! it! is! unsurprising! that! achievement! is! close! to! target! in! the! vast!majority!of!cases.!!!
5.2.1 Convergence)Programme)Indicators)
Table! 5.5! sets! out! the! level! of! output! achievement! against! the! core! Convergence! Programme!indicators! relevant! for!GO!Wales.! !These!are!based!on!data!correct!as!of!28th! January!2015.! !Data!cleansing!is!still!ongoing,!so!minor!amendments!may!be!made!before!full!project!closure.!!The!table!shows!outputs!within!5%!of!target.!
Table)5.5)Convergence)Programme)Participant)Indicators)
Description) Target) Outputs)
%age)of)target)
achieved)Individual!participants! 5,600! 5,365! 96%!Employers!assisted!or!financially!supported! 1,850! 1,806! 98%!Participants!gaining!qualifications! 2,141! 2,082! 97%!!
5.2.2 Further)Business)Plan)Indicators)
Table!5.6!shows!the!output!and!target!data!for!further!business!plan! indicators.! !Again!this!data! is!correct!as!of!28th!January!2015!and!is!subject!to!further!data!cleansing.!!Five!of!the!13!indicators!are!running! ahead! of! target.! ! A! further! four! are! within! 5%! of! target! and! all! but! two! are! within! 15%!tolerance.!!!!
The!most!notable!underNperformance!relates!to!the!number!of!older!and!BME!participants.!This!is!of!note!as!these!targets!were!revised!upwards! in!November!2014.! !Performance! is!well!ahead!of! the!previous! target! (reprofile! in!October!2013).!Discussions!with!HEFCW! indicate! that! the! information!which! was! used! to! reprofile! targets! has! subsequently! proved! unreliable! and! led! to! these! targets!being!set!too!high.!It!was!also!noted!during!consultations!that!some!participants!were!known!to!not!disclose! a! disability! or!work! limiting! longNterm! illness.!On! this! basis,! it! is! likely! that!GO!Wales!has!supported!more!disabled!students!than!formally!declare.!!The!scale!of!this!issue!is!unknown.!
It! should!also!be!noted! that! the! sum!of!participants! gaining!qualifications!at! level! 4!or! above!and!level!3!is!not!equivalent!to!the!‘participants!gaining!qualifications’!output!at!Table!5.5.!!This!is!purely!a! result!of!definitions.! ! Some!participants!have!achieved!qualifications!at! level!2! (i.e.! 8)! and! some!above!level!6!(i.e.!61).!!These!were!not!included!in!the!agreed!definition!of!level!4!and!above!which!was!actually! levels!4N6.! ! It! should!also!be!noted! that! if! a!participant!gained!multiple!qualifications!through!GO!Wales!support!they!were!only!counted!once,!for!the!highest!level!of!qualification.!!
!
!
!!
!24!
!
Table)5.6)Further)Business)Plan)Indicators)
Description) Target) Outputs)
%age)target)
achieved)Older!Participants! 169! 131! 78%!BME!Participants! 328! 258! 79%!Participants!with!disability!or!Work!Limiting!Health!Condition! 122! 128! 105%!Participants!accessing!Level!3!training! 232! 293! 126%!Participants!accessing!Level!4!and!above!training! 2,834! 2,686! 95%!SMEs!assisted!or!financially!supported! 1,850! 1,806! 98%!Participants!gaining!qualifications!at!Level!4!or!above! 1,889! 1,620! 86%!Participants!gaining!qualifications!at!Level!3! 252! 241! 96%!No!of!participants!undertaking!an!environmental!sustainability!focused!placement!or!specific!training!activity.! 262! 238! 91%!No!of!participants!undertaking!and!equality!or!diversity!!focused!placement!or!specific!training!activity! 98! 105*! 107%*!No!of!participants!receiving!environmental!and!equality!awareness!raising!training!! 469! 819! 175%!*"data"as"at"10th"February"2015"
5.2.3 Activity)by)Strand)
Performance!is!assessed!against!the!November!2014!reprofiled!targets.!!Table!5.7!and!Table!5.8!set!out!the!headline!participant!outputs!by!strand.!
The!tables!shows!the!majority!of!strands!running!close!to!target!in!both!the!Convergence!area!and!All!Wales!level.!!GTD!is!running!slightly!behind.!!!
Table)5.7)Outputs)–)Convergence)Area)
! Target) Output) Variance) %)achieved)Work!Placements! 3,244! 3,195! N49! 98%!Work!Tasters! 1,665! 1,798! +133! 108%!GTD! 983! 878! N105! 89%!Graduate!Academy! 274! 283! +9! 103%!Freelancer!Academy! 195! 218! +23! 112%!!Table)5.8)Outputs)–)All)Wales)
!ReNprofiled)target)November)2014) Output) Variance) %)achieved)
Work!Placements! 4,359! 4,321! N38! 99%!Work!Tasters! 2,522! 2,441! N81! 97%!GTD! 1,433! 1,361! N72! 95%!Graduate!Academy! 442! 442! 0! 100%!Freelancer!Academy! 391! 391! 0! 100%!Data"in"this"table"as"at"4th"November"2014"and"is"not"consistent"with"Table!5.7."""
!!
!25!
!
5.2.4 Strand)Activity)Time)Series)
Table!5.9! shows! the!number!of! interventions!by! strand!across! the! six! years!of!GO!Wales!Phase!5.!!This!shows!the!variance!in!delivery!across!time.!!Consistent!with!all!strands!is!the!time!taken!to!get!‘up! to! speed’! at! the! start! of! Phase! 5.! ! This! reflects! the! much! smaller! scale! programme! which!operated!between!the!previous!ESF!funded!activity!and!Phase!5.!!In!this!intervening!period!HEFCW!core!funded!a!small!amount!of!activity,!but!a!number!of!staff!left!the!GO!Wales!Programme!across!Welsh!HEIs!and!recruiting!and!bedding!in!new!staff!as!well!as!appointing!third!party!contractors!to!launch! new! strands! took! time.! ! From! 2010! onwards! some! different! factors! affected! the! varying!strands:!
• Work!Placement!activity!continued! to!grow!to!2011.! ! It!was! reported!by!project! staff! that! the!introduction!of!Jobs!Growth!Wales!led!to!challenges!in!securing!such!high!levels!of!activity!from!2012!onwards.!
• As!part!of!the!extension!of!GO!Wales!Phase!5! in!2012!the!Work!Taster!strand!was!adjusted!to!focus! on! longer! taster! experiences! to! increase! the! meaningfulness! of! activities.! ! There! were!some! further! adjustments! to!eligibility! criteria! in! addition.!As! a! result! targets!were! recast! and!activity!levels!reduced!in!this!strand.!
• GTD! activity! peaked! in! 2010.! ! From! this! point! onwards! it! was! clarified! that! all! eligible!interventions!would!need! to!achieve!Ofqual! registered!qualifications!at! the!appropriate! levels.!!!This! therefore! reduced! reported!activity! levels.! ! Figures! for!2014! fall! further!as!a! result!of! the!difficulty! in! starting! and! completing! GTD! compliant! qualifications,! many! of! which! require! a!period!of!study!beyond!a!single!year.!!!
• Graduate!and!Freelancer!Academy!outputs!reflect!the!number!of!courses!organised!in!any!given!year.!!There!was!a!peak!of!Freelancer!activity!in!2011!given!the!period!of!catch!up!from!2009N10.!!!
Table)5.9)All)Wales)Strand)Activity)Time)Series)
! 2009) 2010) 2011) 2012) 2013) 2014) Total)Work!Placements! 488! 783! 932! 820! 640! 747! 4410!Work!Tasters! 380! 560! 556! 358! 329! 384! 2567!GTD! 166! 461! 175! 225! 290! 113! 1430!Graduate!Academy! 18! 90! 88! 88! 88! 70! 442!Freelancer!Academy! 17! 48! 138! 59! 72! 59! 393!Figures"contained" in" this" table"will"not"align" to"other" tables" in" the" report." "These" report"all" started"interventions,"some"of"which"may"not"have"completed"or"been"deemed"ineligible"at"a"later"stage."
5.2.5 Activity)by)Institution)
Table! 5.10! shows! achievement! of! output! target! by! HEI! for! the!Work! Placement! and!Work! Taster!strands.! !For! the!vast!majority!of!HEIs,!performance! is!at!or!very!close! to! target.! ! It!was!stated!by!HEFCW!that!some!adjustment!to!output!data!was!anticipated!for!the!Work!Taster!strand,!so!these!should!not!be!considered!final!figures.!!
)
)
)
!!
!26!
!
Table)5.10)Institutional)Performance)Against)Target)
! Work)Placement) Work)Taster)Aberystwyth! 100%! 98%!Bangor! 100%! 97%!Cardiff!Met! 104%! 106%!Cardiff! 100%! 99%!Glyndŵr!! 100%! 84%!IT!Wales! 92%! N/A!Swansea! 99%! 97%!USW!(Glamorgan)! 102%! 96%!USW!(Newport)! 92%! 97%!UWTSD! 98%! 97%!UWTSD!(Swansea!Met)! 100%! 94%!Data"in"this"table"as"at"4th"November"2014"and"is"not"consistent"with"Table!5.7."""
5.2.6 Summary)
Performance!has!been!close! to! target! for! the!vast!majority!of! indicators!with!no!major! causes! for!concern.!However,!this!is!unsurprising!given!the!annual!reprofiling!of!targets,!with!the!most!recent!in!summer/autumn!2014.!!
) )
!!
!27!
!
6 Work)Placements)
The!Work!Placements!strand!is!at!the!heart!of!GO!Wales.!!More!than!3,000!Work!Placements!have!taken! place! within! Phase! 5.! It! is! the! most! recognised! element! of! GO! Wales! among! external!stakeholders.!!!
CASE)STUDY:))
Samantha!had!been!studying!Health!&!Social!Care!at!university,!and!was!looking!for!a!job!at!the!end!of!her!degree.!!She!was!applying!to!a!number!of!employers.!Her!university!advised!her!to!try!a!GO!Wales!placement.!!She!was!offered!a!placement!by!a!healthcare!training!&!consultancy!company.!
The!application!process!for!the!placement!was!straightforward.!She!filled!in!an!application!form!on!the!GO!Wales!website.!This!was!followed!by!a!formal! interview,!and!then!a!separate!presentation.!As!the!role!was!related!to!training,!the!employer!particularly!wanted!to!test!her!presentation!skills.!
The!supported!placement!was!for!10!weeks.!During!this!period!she!observed!other!trainers!and!took!part!in!some!of!the!training!courses!that!she!would!later!deliver,!but!was!not!involved!in!the!delivery!of!training.!She!also!undertook!some!City!&!Guilds!professional!development!training.!This!involved!writing!a!reflective!log!on!the!experiences!she!was!receiving,!and!discussing!this!with!GO!Wales!staff.!This!helped!her!to!identify!ways!in!which!her!work!could!be!improved.!
At!the!end!of!the!10!week!placement!period!Samantha!was!offered!a!job,!and!is!still!in!that!job!one!year!later.!Obtaining!a!job!was!a!major!benefit!of!the!GO!Wales!placement.!Other!benefits! include!receiving!training!and!getting!good!work!experience.!Since!the!end!of!the!GO!Wales!placement!she!has!also!obtained!a!teaching!qualification,!sponsored!by!her!employer.!
Samantha!found!the!GO!Wales!placement!a!very!positive!experience,!and!stated!that!it!would!have!been!very!helpful! even! if! she!wasn’t!offered!a! job!at! the!end!of! it.! She!does!not!believe! that! she!could!have! got! such! good!quality!work! experience! any!other!way,! and!work! experience! is! vital! in!obtaining!a!job!in!her!sector.!
6.1 Delivery)
The!delivery!structures!in!place!are!mature!and!no!substantial!concerns!have!been!raised!by!project!staff.!!It!is!the!largest!strand!of!GO!Wales!in!terms!of!the!number!of!interventions!and!appears!to!be!highly! valued! by! businesses,! with! very! positive! feedback! and! repeat! custom.! Around! 60%! of!telephone! survey! respondents! had! hosted! more! than! one! Work! Placement.! Consultations!throughout!all!three!phases!of!evaluation!within!Phase!5!provided!very!positive!anecdotal!evidence!in!respect!of!Work!Placements!and!the!outcomes!generated.!These!positive!views!are!backed!up!by!the! evidence! collected! from! participants! through! post! intervention! feedback! and! the! telephone!surveys!undertaken!independently!as!part!of!the!evaluations.!
6.2 Performance)against)Target)
As!discussed!in!the!preceding!chapter,!targets!were!reprofiled!downwards!by!3%!in!the!Convergence!Area! and! 6%! across! the! whole! of! Wales.! ! This! was! the! smallest! percentage! decrease! in! target!
!!
!
28!
!
reprofiling! across! the! strands! of! GO!Wales.! ! Latest! output! data! shows! 98%N99%! of! the! reprofiled!
target!has!been!achieved.!!!
The! most! significant! issue! relating! to! the! Work! Placement! strand! since! the! previous! evaluation!
exercises! is! the! emergence! of! Jobs! Growth! Wales10.! ! This! has! clearly! impacted! on! the! Work!
Placements!strand.!!Whilst!Jobs!Growth!Wales!offers!a!different!product!with!a!different!emphasis,!it!
was!raised!by!all! consultees!where!Work!Placements!were!discussed.! ! Jobs!Growth!Wales!offers!a!
longerNterm! (sixNmonth)!wage! subsidy! than! a! GO!Wales!Work! Placement! including! both! the! total!
cost!of!wages!(at!minimum!wage)!plus!onNcosts.!!This!compares!to!a!10!week!part!wage!subsidy!for!
GO!Wales! Placements11.! ! Jobs! Growth! Wales! was! also! widely! publicised.! ! Jobs! Growth! Wales! is!
clearly! viewed! by! project! staff! to! be! a! primary! factor! that! led! to! targets! for! the!Work! Placement!
strand!being!reprofiled!down!by!3%!in!the!Convergence!area.!!!
6.3 Participant)Views)
As! part! of! the! evaluations! of! Phase! 5,! a! total! of! 532! individual! participant! and! 559! employer!
participant! feedback! forms! have! been! analysed.! ! In! addition! 522! telephone! interviews! have! been!
completed! with! individual! Work! Placement! participants! and! 434! employer! participants12.! 115!
individuals! and!68!employers!were! also! followed!up!with!a! subsequent! short! telephone! survey! to!
gather!evidence!on!the!longerNterm!impacts!of!participation.!
The!evidence!points!to!GO!Wales!delivering!a!service!and!reaching!a!part!of!the!business!community!
that!would!not!be!reached!in!the!absence!of!the!programme!and!providing!a!quality!of!service!that!is!
not! otherwise! available.! Of! the! businesses! that! did! participate! around! 40%! did! not! employ! any!
graduates!before!participating!in!GO!Wales.! !25%!of!survey!respondents! indicated!that!they!would!
not!have!had!a!work!experience!placement! if! it!were!not! for!GO!Wales! and!a! further! 40%!would!
probably!not.!!The!percentages!are!higher!amongst!those!that!did!not!employ!graduates.!Less!than!
10%!indicated!that!they!would!definitely!have!hosted!a!work!experience!placement!in!the!absence!
of!GO!Wales.! ! ! For! those!businesses! that!did! think! they!would!potentially!host!a!work!experience!
placement!of!some!form!without!GO!Wales,!50%!indicated!that!they!did!not!expect!a!non!GO!Wales!
work!experience!placement!to!be!as!focused!or!to!have!such!a!clearly!defined!project.!!!
Feedback! from! individual!and!business!participants!provided!at! the!time!of! the!placements! is!very!
strongly!positive! in! terms!of! the!administration!of! the!programme!and! the!perceptions!of! success!
from! both! parties.! ! For! example,! 98%! of!Work! Placement! participants! indicated! that! it! had! been!
either!very!effective!or!effective!in!developing!and!enhancing!skills.!!98%!also!rated!it!very!successful!
or!successful.!!On!the!employer!side,!95%!reported!the!work!undertaken!by!the!placee!as!very!good!
or!good.!96%!reported!the!placement!as!either!very!successful!or!successful.!!Employers!reported!a!
range!of!positive! impacts! including!having!the!opportunity! to! try!out!a!graduate!or!student! (77%),!
giving!the!opportunity!to!freeing!up!owner/manager!time!to!focus!on!other!aspects!of!the!business!
(71%),!contributing!new!ideas!(69%)!and!bringing!additional!skills!to!the!organisation!(68%).!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!10! Jobs!Growth!Wales!offers!wage! subsidy! for! six!months! for!employers!offering!a!position! to!16N24!year!olds! that!meet! the!eligibility!
criteria.!!11!GO!Wales!also!operated!a!Graduate!strand!of!JGW.!!However,!this!also!had!less!favourable!incentive!terms!than!the!core!JGW!offer!and!
so!proved!challenging!to!deliver.!!!12!More!than!70%!of!completed!interviews!with!employer!and!individual!participants!were!from!the!Convergence!area.!!!
!!
!29!
!
A!key!feature!of!GO!Wales! is! its!work!with!SMEs.! !More!than!90%!of!the!analysed!feedback!forms!from! Work! Placement! participants! were! those! that! were! placed! within! SMEs.! Of! these,! 58%!indicated! that! they! were! now! more! interested! in! working! within! an! SME! than! they! had! been!previously.!!Only!8%!reported!that!they!would!be!less!interested.!!When!this!question!was!put!to!the!participants!again!as!part!of! the! telephone!survey,! some!57%! indicated! that! they!were!a! lot!more!likely!to!consider!or!pursue!employment!within!an!SME!and!23%!a!little!more!likely.!!!
Job! creation! as! a! result! of! Work! Placements! is! considered! in! more! detail! below.! Based! on! the!telephone! survey! evidence! around! 60%! of! placements! resulted! in! a! job! offer.! ! As! with! similar!schemes!such!as! Jobs!Growth!Wales,! this! type!of! intervention!provides!employers!with!a! route! to!test!a!new!role!or!a!new!employee.!However,!40%!of!employers!that!made!a!job!offer!indicated!that!they!had!no! intention!of!making! such!an!offer!before!embarking!on! the!Placement.! !The! figure! is!slightly! higher! (44%)! for! those! employers! that! did! not! previously! employ! graduates.! The! primary!reason!for!changing!their!minds!was!the!calibre!of!the!individual!(80%).!!
Figure!6.1!sets!out!the!main!skills!and!experiences!gained!through!participation!in!Work!Placements.!!Employers! were! asked! to! comment! on! the! placees! they! hosted.! 72%! of! business! respondents!indicated!a!significant!impact!on!the!placee.!!Interestingly!the!hosts!reported!a!greater!impact!on!the!individuals!understanding!of! the!working!environment!and! the! industry.! ! In! addition! to! these! two!categories,!other!important!categories!were!job!specific/technical!and!communication.!!!As!would!be!expected,!many! participants! believed! they!would! have! acquired! these! skills! at! some! point! in! the!future,!but!GO!Wales!brought!forward!that!learning.!
Figure) 6.1) What) were) the) main) skills) and) experiences) acquired) through) Work) Placements) as)reported)by)the)individual)and)the)host)employer)
!
!
0%# 10%# 20%# 30%# 40%# 50%# 60%# 70%# 80%# 90%#
Asser1veness#
Communica1on#
Confidence#
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Understanding#of#an#industry#
Understanding#the#working#environment#
Employer#
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!!
!30!
!
Figure!6.2!provides!an!indication!of!the!impact!on!employers’!attitudes!as!a!result!of!participating!in!the!Work!Placement!strand.!This!shows!impacts!on!attitudes!to!recruiting!graduates,!to!offer!work!experience! and! to! engage!more!widely!with!Universities.! ! 16%! of! business! respondents! indicated!that!they!had!explored!a!Knowledge!Transfer!Partnership!(KTP)!and!of!these,!more!than!a!third!had!set!one!up.!!This!equates!to!around!one!in!every!20!placements!leading!to!a!KTP.!!!
It!also! indicates! that!more! than!70%!reported!a! significant!positive! impact!on! the!business.!When!asked! more! specifically! around! a! third! of! businesses! reported! impacts! on! turnover! and/or!employment!levels!with!a!little!over!half!indicating!the!introduction!of!new!products!and!processes.!!The! success! for! businesses! is! evident! with! 97%! indicating! they! would! use! GO! Wales! again! and!recommend!GO!Wales!to!others.!
Figure)6.2)Employer)Survey)N)Participating)in)GO)Wales)has)…)(n=434))
!
A! new! element! to! the! Work! Placement! strand! in! Phase! 5! was! the! addition! of! the! Professional!Development! Award! (PDA).! ! This! provided! an! accredited! City! &! Guilds! Level! 4! Short! Award! to!formalise! the! learning! that! takes!place!on! the!Placement.! !Previous!evaluation!exercises! identified!that!takeNup!of!the!PDA!was!below!expectation.!!HEFCW!project!managers!have!indicated!that!takeNup!has!improved,!however,!whilst!the!initial!aim!was!to!achieve!around!70%!completion!of!the!PDA,!final! outturn! is! closer! to! 50%.! ! Various! reasons! have! been! cited! for! this,! including! challenges! in!convincing!participants!of!the!value!of!the!PDA!and!hence!to!commence!the!award,!and!a!failure!of!some!of! those!who!start! to!complete! the!award,!particularly! those!who!are!offered!a! job!by! their!host!employer.! !These!suggestions!are!supported!by!the!telephone!survey!evidence!on!reasons!for!nonNparticipation.!!The!telephone!survey!with!participants!indicated!75%!had!taken!part!in!the!PDA!and!70%!of!these!had!completed!the!award.!!Of!those!that!did!participate!some!two!thirds!believed!the! award! enhanced! their! placement! experience! and! three! quarters! believe! it! will! increase! their!employability! now! and/or! in! the! future.! ! Whilst! only! indicative,! participation! in! the! PDA! had!
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...#made#me#more#likely#to#recruit#graduates#either#now#or#in#the#
future#
...#made#me#more#aware#of#what#
UniversiCes#can#offer#
...#made#me#more#likely#to#draw#on#the#resources#of#
UniversiCes#in#Wales#
...#made#me#more#likely#to#offer#work#experience#
opportuniCes#in#the#future#with#GO#Wales#
...#made#me#more#likely#to#offer#work#experience#
opportuniCes#in#the#future#even#if#it#was#not#organised#by#GO#
Wales#
...#had#a#posiCve#impact#on#the#business#
Yes,#Significantly#
Yes,#A#liPle#
Don't#know#
No#
!!
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increased!from!73%!during!the!early!survey!phases!to!77%!in!the!most!recent!survey!wave.!This!may!suggest!a!positive!response!to!efforts!made!to!increase!take!up!of!the!PDA.!Completion!rates!have!increased!marginally!from!70%!to!71%.!
CASE)STUDY:)
Arwyn! was! a! student! before! his! GO!Wales! work! placement.! ! He! undertook! a!Masters! degree! in!marketing.! ! Following! his!Masters! degree,! he! was! doing! unpaid! work! experience.! ! He! applied! to!undertake! a! Knowledge! Transfer! Partnership! placement,! but! was! not! successful.! His! tutor! at!university! informed!him!about!GO!Wales! as! an! alternative!way! to! get! good!work!experience.! !He!found!the!application!process!for!a!work!placement!quite!easy.!!In!addition!to!an!online!application!process,!he!was!interviewed!and!had!to!give!a!presentation!about!a!marketing!campaign.!
Arwyn!was!successful!in!gaining!a!work!placement!with!a!marketing!agency!in!2011.!!He!thought!that!the!placement!was!good,!and!gave!him!very!good!work!experience.!!He!was!offered!a!full!time!job!at!the! end! of! the! placement.! He! stayed! in! this! job! for! three! years! but! eventually! decided! that! he!wanted!to!be!an!accountant!rather!than!work!in!marketing,!so!left.!
Arwyn!believes!that!he!may!eventually!have!got!a!paying!job!without!the!GO!Wales!work!placement,!but!it!would!have!taken!him!a!lot!longer.!The!main!benefit!of!the!work!placement!was!gaining!work!experience,!which!he!has! found! to!be! essential! in! getting! a! job.! ! In! 2011!when!he!undertook! the!work!placement,!there!were!few!graduate!jobs!available,!particularly!good!quality!graduate!jobs!in!North! Wales.! If! Arwyn! had! not! been! successful! in! finding! the! GO! Wales! work! placement! and!subsequent! job,!he!believes!he!would!definitely!have! left!Wales.!At! the!time!he!was!considering!a!move!to!London!because!of!the!greater!employment!opportunities!there.!
Arwyn!did! a!City!&!Guilds!qualification! as!part! of! his!work!placement.!He! found! this! a! distraction!whilst! undertaking! the! worst! placement,! as! he! had! to! take! time! out! of! work! or! undertake! this!qualification!in!his!own!time.!!The!qualification!was!in!marketing,!and!probably!would!have!been!of!benefit!to!him!had!he!chosen!to!continue!his!career!in!marketing.!
Arwyn!described! the!GO!Wales! placement! as! brilliant,! and!did! not! fault! it! at! all.!He! found! it! very!helpful!in!starting!his!working!career.!
Arwyn!expressed!disappointment!that!GO!Wales!work!placements!are!not!available!at!present.!He!described!himself!as!very!lucky!that!he!was!able!to!benefit!from!this!support,!as!it!helped!him!to!get!a!graduate!level!job.!
6.4 Impact)Assessment)
The! evaluation! data! allow! the! calculation! of! a! number! of! impact! indicators! relevant! to! the!Work!Placement!strand.!!!The!following!assessment!takes!account!of!additionality.!!This!ensures!that!these!impacts! that! would! have! occurred! without! GO! Wales! are! discounted,! and! the! wider! knock! on!impacts!of!activity!are!also!considered.!!!
!!
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6.4.1 Job)and)Employment)Creation))
Job!creation!is!not!an!explicit!ambition!of!GO!Wales.!!GO!Wales!is!not!primarily!a!business!support!centred! initiative.! ! Rather,! it! is! an! ESF! funded! skills! based! programme,! which! involves! the!participation!of!businesses!to!provide!hands!on!experience!through!Work!Placements.!!However,!the!evidence!points!to!job!creation!and!job!acquisition!as!direct!and!indirect!consequences!of!GO!Wales!participation:!
1. Businesses! hosting! work! placements! offer! jobs! to! the! placee.! ! For! some! of! these! host!organisations!there!was!either!an!embryonic!or!perhaps!well!developed!intention!to!offer!such!a!post! at! the! culmination! of! the! placement,! subject! to! the! performance! of! the! individual.! ! For!others,! there! was! no! intention! to! offer! a! permanent! post! but! the! experience! of! offering! the!placement! convinced! the! host! of! the! value! to! the! organisation! and!hence! a! job! is! created.! ! In!terms!of!attribution,!the!latter!is!significantly!a!result!of!participation!in!GO!Wales.!!The!former,!is!still!partly!related!to!GO!Wales!activity.!!For!example,!the!host!organisation!may!be!entering!into!the! world! of! graduate! recruitment! for! the! first! time! and! lacks! confidence! to! press! ahead!unsupported.!!A!programme!such!as!GO!Wales!enables!them!to!venture!into!a!new!activity!with!some!assistance!through!the!recruitment!process!as!well!as!to!have!a!period!of!probation.!!There!may!well!be!other!cases!where!the!individual!placee!was!not!the!right!fit!for!the!organisation!but!the!placement!convinced!the!host!of!the!value!of!taking!on!a!new!member!of!staff.!!
2. Individuals!may!not!be!offered!a!permanent!position!by! their!host.! !The!host!organisation!may!not!have!a!permanent!post!to!offer.!!However,!the!experiences!gained!by!the!individual!may!be!a!critical!element!in!that!person!securing!an!alternative!role.! !This!may!not!be!a!new!job!created,!but!it!is!a!positive!employment!outcome!attributable!at!least!in!part!to!GO!Wales.!
3. Further! jobs! might! be! created! in! the! host! organisation! which! are! in! part! attributable! to! the!growth!in!the!business!arising!from!participation!in!GO!Wales.!!!
4. Wider!indirect!and!induced!multiplier!benefits!accruing!as!a!result!of!direct!job!creation.!!This!is!applied!to!each!of!the!categories!outlined!above.!
6.4.1.1 Host)Offer)
The! evidence! indicates! clearly! that! 60%! of! placements! result! in! a! job! offer! to! the! placee13.! By!comparison! only! 17%! of! the! control! group! that! undertook! work! experience! of! 6N52! weeks! in!duration!were!offered!a!job!with!their!host!employer.!!Based!on!4,321!Work!Placements!completed!within!GO!Wales! Phase! 5! the! evidence! suggests! 2,593! jobs!were! offered! to! placees! by! their! host!employer.!!1,917!of!these!are!within!the!Convergence!area!of!Wales.!
It!is!necessary!to!discount!deadweight,!those!outputs!that!might!have!been!anticipated!to!take!place!in!the!absence!of!GO!Wales.! !The!evidence!suggests!around!30%14!of!work!experience!placements!might!take!place!in!the!absence!of!GO!Wales.!!However,!the!evidence!also!clearly!indicates!that!the!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!13!Business!survey!data!shows!that!60%!of!placements!result!in!a!job!offer.!!Individual!participant!survey!data!indicates!62%!received!a!job!offer.! This! aligns! to! the! evidence! from! feedback! forms! reporting! that! 60%! of! businesses! offered! the! placee! further! employment!immediately.!!This!broadly!aligns!with!57%!of!individual!participants!reporting!that!they!were!employed!by!their!host!when!completing!the!feedback!form.!!For!the!purposes!of!this!analysis!a!figure!of!60%!is!adopted.!14! Individual! participants! were! asked! to! indicate!whether! they!would! have! undertaken!work! experience! in! the! absence! of! GO!Wales.!!Application!of!a!weighting!to!gathered!responses!indicated!around!50%!believed!they!would!have!undertaken!work!experience.!!A!similar!question!was!asked!to!employers.! !A!figure!of!around!40%!was! identified.! !When!asking!the!control!group,!only!30%!of! individuals!had!undertaken!any!work!experience,!despite!50%!attempting!to!do!so.!!This!suggests!an!element!of!optimism!bias!among!the!core!sample.!!Whilst!a!similar!share!of!the!control!group!had!sought!work!experience,!they!had!not!all!been!able!to!arrange!such!experience.!!!
!!
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quality! of! the! work! experience! and! the! resulting! impact! outcomes! would! most! likely! be! lower!without!GO!Wales.! !As! such,! this! figure! is!discounted!by!a! third15.! !A! figure!of!20%! is!applied!as!a!measure!of!deadweight.!
The!evidence!also!points!to!the!fact!that!60%!of!host!employers!expected!to!make!a!job!offer!at!the!outset.!!For!example,!the!host!may!have!been!operating!on!a!‘try!before!you!buy’!basis.!!However,!40%! of! these! job! offers!were! not! anticipated.! Of! those! that! changed! their!mind,!more! than! 70%!reported!this!change!was!at! least! in!part!because!of! the!quality!of! the!candidate!and!seeing!them!prove!their!worth.!These!unexpected!jobs!should!be!counted!as!fully!additional!and!attributable!to!GO!Wales.!!Whilst!it!is!likely!that!some!of!the!60%!of!jobs!which!were!expected!to!be!offered!are!at!least!partly!attributable!to!GO!Wales!no!allowance!is!made!for! it!within!the!impact!assessment!for!reasons!of!prudence.!The!results!should!therefore!be!viewed!as!a!downside!estimate16.!!!
Leakage! is! assessed! as! zero! as! all! interventions! take! place! in! the! identified! impact! zone.!!Displacement!is!assessed!as!low!(12.5%)17.! !Standard!average!regional!multipliers!are!assumed!(1.5!for!Wales!and!1.3!for!Convergence!area).! ! !This! leads!to!net! impacts!of!1,087!jobs!at!the!all!Wales!level!with!698!of!these!attributable!to!the!Convergence!programme.!!
6.4.1.2 Placee)secures)employment)
The!evidence!suggests!a!number!of!placees!that!were!not!offered!a! job!by!their!host!were!able!to!secure! employment! which! is! influenced! by! their! participation! in! GO!Wales.! ! Detailed! analysis! of!survey! responses! has! been! undertaken! to! avoid! any! double! counting.! ! Deadweight! of! 20%! is!included!as! identified!above.!Some!33%!of!work!placement!participants!report!having!a! job!that! is!not!with!their!placement!host.! !Of!these!54%!are!discounted!to!avoid!double!counting!as!they!had!previously! been! employed! with! their! host.! ! Of! the! remainder,! 61%! are! assessed! to! have! jobs!attributable!to!participation!in!GO!Wales.!!This!is!based!on!their!reporting!of!the!significance!of!GO!Wales!upon!their!securing!employment.!!!Leakage!is!based!on!reported!data!for!the!location!of!the!job,!with!51%!of!Convergence!participants!now!working!outside!the!Convergence!area.! !28%!of!all!valid! working! participants! are! working! outside! Wales.! ! Displacement! is! assessed! as! low! and!multipliers!applied!as!above.!!The!final!results!indicate!275!net!additional!individuals!in!employment!in! Wales! of! which! 100! are! attributable! to! the! Convergence! Programme! and! working! in! the!Convergence!area.!!!These!are!in!addition!to!the!jobs!based!with!host!organisations.!
6.4.1.3 Additional)Employment)Effects)
As!part!of!the!telephone!survey!host!employers!were!asked!whether!they!had!taken!on!additional!employees!as!a!result!of!the!positive!impacts!of!GO!Wales!on!their!organisations.!!32%!of!businesses!indicated!that!this!was!the!case,!indicating!an!average!of!1.8!FTE!jobs!per!employer!attributable!to!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!15!Individual!GO!Wales!Work!Placement!participants!were!asked!about!the!likely!nature!of!work!experience!arranged!in!the!absence!of!GO!Wales!(a!perceived!counterfactual).!50%!indicated!they!thought!it!would!be!for!a!shorter!duration,!60%!less!focused,!40%!deriving!fewer!skills!and!experiences!(only!5%!generating!greater!skills!or!experiences).!!When!host!employers!were!asked!50%!believed!work!experience!in! the! absence!of!GO!Wales!would!be! less! focused.! ! The! control! group! indicated! that! only! one! third!of! those!undertaking! some!work!experience!were!able!to!make!a!contribution!to!the!business!and!only!22%!worked!on!a!defined!project.!!The!evidence!also!indicates!value!attributed! to! the! PDA!which!would! not! be! a! feature! of! non!GO!Wales!work! experience.! This! evidence! clearly! indicates! that! both! the!perceptions!and!reality!of!work!experience!outside!the!GO!Wales!environment!would!be!of!a!lower!quality.!!It!is!not!possible!to!generate!a!robust!quantitative!assessment!of!the!extent!to!which!this!quality!difference!will!affect!outcomes.!!A!qualitative!assessment!is!therefore!required.!!On!the!basis!of!the!evidence!a!discount!to!the!deadweight!assumption!of!50%!would!appear!too!great.!!A!much!lower!figure!of!10%!would!appear!too!conservative.!!A!figure!of!around!one!third!is!believed!to!be!appropriate.!16!If!all!jobs!offered!were!included!the!all!Wales!figure!would!increase!to!more!than!2,700!jobs!created.!17!Assumptions!for!displacement!and!multipliers!taken!from!Additionality!Guide!(Fourth!Edition),!HCA!2014!
!!
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GO!Wales.! ! This! equates! to! around! 5%! of! employment! based! on! the! average! size! of! businesses!providing!data18.! !Deadweight!of!20%!was!discounted!as! set!out!above.! ! Leakage!was!assessed!as!zero,! displacement! as! low! (12.5%)! and!multipliers! in! line! with! best! practice! guidance! (1.3! in! the!Convergence! area! and! 1.5! at! the! all! Wales! level).! ! The! resulting! analysis! indicates! an! additional!1,08719!FTE!jobs!attributable!to!GO!Wales!of!which!758!are!attributable!to!the!Convergence!funded!programme.!
6.4.1.4 Total)
These!three!elements!combine!to!show!the!Work!Placement!strand!of!GO!Wales!has!supported!the!creation!or!securing!of!2,450!net!additional!jobs!of!which!1,485!are!attributable!to!the!Convergence!Programme.!
6.4.2 Wage)Uplift)
In!addition!to!the!pure!employment!effects!measured!above!the!evaluation!has!found!evidence!of!a!wage! effect! upon! the! 71%!of!Work! Placement! participants! that! have! a! paying! job.! ! 35%!of! these!employed!participants! stated! that! they!believed!participation! in!GO!Wales!had!an! impact!on! their!salary.! ! The! average! reported! uplift! was! £4,65020.! ! This! equated! to! 25%! of! salary! for! the! 63!respondents!that!provided!full!data!for!analysis!to!be!undertaken.!!!
Comparison! with! the! Control! Group! found! average! salaries! were! £2,650! higher! for! GO! Wales!participants! than! the! control! group,! whether! they! had! or! had! not! undertaken! other! work!experience.!!Clearly!this!is!only!indicative!as!it!does!not!control!for!many!other!factors,!but!provides!some!support!for!the!idea!of!wage!uplift.!!!The!following!analysis!is!undertaken!on!the!basis!of!wage!uplift!of!£2,650!N!£4,650.!
Deadweight! of! 20%! is! applied! in! line! with! the! evidence! set! out! under! the! job! creation! impact!assessment! above.! Leakage! is! applied! based! on! the! location! of! employment! (i.e.! those! working!outside! Wales! or! outside! the! Convergence! area).! ! Displacement! is! assessed! as! low! (12.5%)! and!standard!multipliers!are!applied!as!described!previously.!!!
The!total!net!additional!wage!effect!is!assessed!as!£2.2!million!N!£3.9!million!at!the!all!Wales!level!of!which!£0.8!million!N!£1.3!million!is!attributable!to!the!Convergence!area.!!!
These!figures!are!shown!as!a!one!off!annual!impact.!!It!would!be!anticipated!that!attributable!wage!effects!would!reduce!over!time,!as!the!skills!and!experiences!acquired!through!participation!in!a!GO!Wales!placement!are!acquired!through!the!first!year!in!employment.!
6.4.3 Business)Turnover)
34%!of!host!employers! indicated!an! impact!on! turnover.!The!average! reported! impact!was!a! little!more!than!£67,000.!!The!uplift!was!therefore!4.4%!of!average!turnover!which!has!been!measured!at!just!over!£1.5!million!for!those!that!provided!complete!data!for!analysis!purposes.!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!18!A!total!of!136!businesses!provided!full!data!to!enable!analysis!to!take!place.!19! Further! information! collected! from! host! employers! suggests! 624! of! these! jobs! are! further! graduate! recruitment! attributable! to! GO!Wales.!!!20!This!includes!a!small!number!of!participants!attributing!their!full!salary!to!GO!Wales!but!the!vast!majority!indicating!just!a!portion!of!the!salary!as!attributable.!Clearly!these!figures!are!estimates!made!by!the!respondent.!!
!!
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In!gross!terms,!the!total!impact!on!business!turnover!is!estimated!at!£40.4!million.!!!
Net!additional!impacts!are!calculated!on!the!basis!of!20%!deadweight.!!Leakage!is!assessed!as!zero,!displacement! as! low! (12.5%)! and!multipliers! as! average.! ! ! This! provides! a! net! additional! turnover!boost!for!Welsh!businesses!of!£42.3!million.!!Of!this!£28.7!million!is!attributable!to!the!Convergence!Programme.!!
This!impact!could!be!felt!in!more!than!one!year,!as!businesses!reported!a!range!of!new!products!and!processes!as!a!result!of!GO!Wales!Work!Placements.!!However,!for!the!purposes!of!this!assessment!it!is!assessed!as!a!one!off!impact.!!
6.4.4 Longer)term)impacts)
Follow! up! telephone! interviews! with! host! employers! found! a! lasting! effect! of! beneficial! impacts!arising! from!Work!Placements.! !A! small! sample!of!68!host!employers!was! followed!up! to! test! the!longerNterm!impacts!of!GO!Wales.!!!This!included!a!short!telephone!interview!at!least!two!years!after!their!initial!telephone!survey!interview.!!!This!found!that:!
• A!high!proportion!continued!to!state!that!participating! in!GO!Wales!had!positive! impacts!upon!their!attitudes!to!and!likelihoods!of!engaging!with!universities,!graduates!and!work!experience.!!!
• 95%! continued! to! report! that! participation! in! GO! Wales! had! a! positive! impact! upon! their!business.!
• There! had! been! negligible! changes! in! responses! from! the! initial! survey! wave,! indicating! the!impacts!were!lasting.!The!only!notable!change!related!to!awareness!of!what!Universities!had!to!offer.!!This!showed!a!reduction!in!the!number!of!employers!stating!they!were!significantly!more!aware!and!an!increase!in!those!a!little!more!aware.!!
• More! than! 60%! of! employers! had! recruited! graduates! since! the! previous! survey! and! three!quarters!indicated!that!this!was!at!least!to!some!extent!influenced!by!involvement!of!GO!Wales.!!!Whilst! the! data! is! based! on! a! small! sample! of! 36! employers! providing! full! data,! the! evidence!indicates! an! average! of! two! further! graduates! per! business! attributable! to! GO!Wales.! !When!considering! that! some! businesses! have! not! taken! on! additional! graduates! the! figures! suggest!around!4!additional!graduates!recruited!for!every!three!businesses!that!were!supported!through!the!Work!Placement!programme.!!
• A!third!of!employers!indicated!that!they!had!made!use!of!other!support!from!a!university.!!Almost!70%!of!these!indicated!that!participation!in!GO!Wales!had!influenced!this!decision!to!some!extent!(29%!significantly).!!
• 64%!had!offered!further!work!experience!opportunities.!!• 28%!reported!that!GO!Wales!impacted!upon!the!business!turnover,!40%!on!employment!and!37%!on!
new!products!and!processes.! !This!suggested!slightly! lower!levels!of!reported!impacts!for!turnover!and! new! products! and! processes! than! at! the! original! survey! point,! but! a! higher! impact! for!employment.!!!
• For!turnover!impact!the!sample!providing!full!valid!data!is!too!small!to!provide!robust!results.!!• For!employment!impact!25!businesses!provided!valid!data.!!This!suggested!an!average!impact!of!2!
FTEs!per!employer.!!This!is!slightly!higher!than!the!1.8!FTEs!reported!in!the!main!survey!on!a!much!larger!sample.!!!
!
!!
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PARTICIPANT)QUOTES)
The!following!are!quotes!made!by!respondents!to!the!various!telephone!survey!elements.!!These!are!responses!to!open!questions,!unprompted,!inviting!further!comment.!
“It's" taught"me"that"to"run"a"successful"business"you"need"to"employ"younger"brighter"people"than"me.”"
“I"recommended"GO"Wales"to"my"clients"and"my"clients"have"had"placements"from"GO"Wales.”"
“All"positive"bringing"new"skills"and"fresh"ideas"enthusiastic,"morale.”"
“Positives"the"new"skills"that"they"bring"as"graduates"are"fresh"and"new"and"we"all"learn"from"them.”"
“It's"helped"us"fill"'impossible'"roles"in"a"way"that"traditional"recruitment"methods"aren't"able"to"do.”"
“One"of"the"best"government"schemes"out"there."It"is"useful"to"employers."Cracking"scheme"N""couldn't"recommend" them" any" higher." It" gives" graduates" a" chance" and" as" an" employer" it" gives" me" the"opportunity"to"give"work"placement"to"possible"future"employees.”"
“Very"helpful"and"easy"and"a"really"good"scheme,"website"design"was"greatN" input"your"skills,"tailor"make"personal"statement,"easy"website"was"really"good"aspect.”"
“I"experienced"GO"Wales"from"both"sides"and"I"think"it"is"very"good.”"
“I"found"it"all"brilliant,"great"way"of"getting"into"a"small"business.”"
6.5 Summary)
The!Work!Placement!strand!is!mature!and!is!delivered!effectively.! !Performance!against!target!has!been! good,! particularly! given! the! challenges!which! have! arisen! following! the! introduction! of! Jobs!Growth!Wales.!!!
There! is! very! positive! feedback! from! business! and! individual! participants! and! clear! indicators! of!positive!impact!on!both!groups.!!!
The! evidence! points! towards! achievement! of! the! target! objective! to" help" students" and" graduates"make" the" best" start" to" their" career" in" Wales" and" at" the" same" time" enable" SMEs" and" other"organisations"to"access"higher"level"skills,"knowledge"and"innovative"potential.""!
A!series!of!target!outcomes!are!listed!at!Table!2.1!of!this!report.!!The!evidence!clearly!points!to!these!being!achieved.!!Not!only!are!there!hard!outcomes!in!terms!of!qualifications!achieved,!jobs!created,!higher!wages! and! increased! business! turnover;! but! also! clear! evidence! of! improved! employability!and! changed! attitudes! towards! working! in! SMEs! and! of! SMEs! willingness! to! employ! graduates.!!There!is!also!evidence!that!these!impacts!last!into!the!long!term.!!!
! !
!!
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!
7 Work)Tasters)
Work!Tasters!offer! shortN! term!employment!opportunities.! ! Initially!within!Phase!5! they!could! last!from!one!day!to!two!weeks.!!Within!the!Phase!5!period!the!minimum!length!was!increased!to!three!days.!!!
7.1 Delivery)
Work!Tasters!are!a!tried!and!tested!strand!within!the!GO!Wales!Programme.!!Consultations!have!not!raised! any! concerns! regarding! the! delivery! element! of! Work! Tasters! from! an! operational!perspective.!!Feedback!from!individual!participants!and!host!employers!is!strongly!positive!in!terms!of! operational! arrangements.! ! This! has! been! consistently! reported! both! at! the! time! of! the!interventions!and!via!the!telephone!surveys!undertaken!as!part!of!the!evaluation!exercises.!
7.2 Performance)against)Target)
As!set!out!in!chapter!5!of!this!report,!targets!for!Work!Tasters!were!revised!down!by!14%!as!part!of!the! project! reNprofiling! exercises.! ! A! total! of! 2,441!Work! Tasters! have! been! completed,! 1,798! of!these! fall! within! the! Convergence! Programme.! ! Within! the! Convergence! area! final! targets! were!exceeded!by!8%.!!As!a!result!the!original!January!2012!targets!have!been!missed!by!only!7%.!!!
7.3 Participant)Views)
A!telephone!survey!of!490!Work!Taster!participants!and!275!host!employers!has!been!undertaken.!In!addition!572!individual!participants!and!498!host!employer!feedback!forms!have!been!analysed.!!
The! Taster! strand! differs! from! other! strands! within! GO! Wales! given! the! high! proportion! of!undergraduate! students! that! take! part.! ! Evidence! from! the! telephone! survey! suggests! 71%! of!individual! participants! were! undergraduates.! ! This! compares! with! 27%! of! Work! Placement!participants.! !The!primary!reasons! for!participation!were!wanting! to!get!experience!of!a!particular!type!of!work! (62%)!and!wanting! to! improve!employment!prospects/CV! (53%).! !Around! two! thirds!reported!achieving!these!objectives!substantially!with!around!a!third!reporting!some!achievement.!Very!few!reported!failure!to!achieve!their!objectives.!
For!the!majority!of!host!employers!the!reasons!for!participation!are!altruistic!with!69%!wanting!to!provide! a! student! or! graduate! with! an! opportunity! to! get! work! experience.! ! Some! 70%! of! host!employers!already!hosted!graduates!(30%!did!not).!!Around!a!third!indicated!that!if! it!were!not!for!GO!Wales!they!probably!or!definitely!would!not!have!hosted!a!Taster.!The!figure!was!closer!to!50%!for!businesses!that!did!not!already!employ!graduates.! !Very!high!levels!of!satisfaction!are!reported!by!host!employers! through!both! the! feedback! forms,!at! the! time!of! the! intervention,!and! through!the!telephone!survey!at!a!later!date.!!!
The! impacts! of! these! shorter! Taster! experiences! are! in!many!ways! similar! to! the!more! extensive!Placements,! but! to! a! lesser! degree! as! would! be! expected! given! the! shorter! duration.! ! Most!surprisingly,!as!found! in!the!earlier!evaluation!phase,!there!are!positive!business!benefits!reported!by! the! host! employers.! ! These! were! not! anticipated! given! the! short! duration! and! typical! work!shadowing! nature! of! the! Tasters.! ! Figure! 7.1! shows! the! reported! impact! upon! host! employer!
!!
!38!
!
attitudes!and!perceptions.! !More!than!60%!of! respondents!provided!positive!responses! to!each!of!these! questions.! ! For! those! that! had! never! previously! employed! graduates! the! scale! of! positive!response!was!typically!greater!than!for!those!that!did!employ!graduates.!!For!example!75%!of!host!employers! that! did! not! employ! graduates! indicated! that! they! were! now! more! likely! to! recruit!graduates!and!were!more!aware!of!what!Universities!had!to!offer.!!This!compares!with!less!than!60%!of! hosts! that! already! employed! graduates.! 45%! of! host! employers! reported! a! significant! positive!impact!on!the!business!and!a!further!32%!reporting!some!positive!impact.!!!
Figure)7.1)Participating)in)GO)Wales)has…)(Work)Taster)Strand))
!
For! individual! participants! there!were! also!positive! impacts! as! a! result! of! acquiring!new! skills! and!experiences.! Figure! 7.2! shows! the! main! skills! and! experiences! acquired! as! report! by! both! the!individual!and!the!host!employer.!!This!tells!a!similar!story!to!that!of!Figure!6.1!for!Placements,!but!with!a!lower!reported!level!of!impact.!!A!similar!pattern!was!reported!by!the!control!group.)
!
) )
0%#
10%#
20%#
30%#
40%#
50%#
60%#
70%#
80%#
90%#
100%#
...#made#me#more#likely#to#recruit#graduates#either#now#or#in#the#
future#
...#made#me#more#aware#of#what#
UniversiCes#can#offer#
...#made#me#more#likely#to#draw#on#the#resources#of#
UniversiCes#in#Wales#
...#made#me#more#likely#to#offer#work#experience#
opportuniCes#in#the#future#with#GO#Wales#
...#made#me#more#likely#to#offer#work#experience#
opportuniCes#in#the#future#even#if#it#was#not#organised#by#GO#
Wales#
...#had#a#posiCve#impact#on#the#business#
Yes,#significantly#
Yes,#a#liNle#
Don't#Know#
No#
!!
!39!
!
Figure)7.2)Main)Skills)and)Experiences)Acquired)Through)Participation)in)Work)Taster)
!
The!responses!to!the!telephone!survey!indicate!that!some!activities!would!likely!have!taken!place!in!the! absence! of! GO! Wales.! ! However,! the! control! group! survey! suggests! fewer! work! experience!activities!would!take!place!in!reality!than!might!be!assumed!by!participants.!!This!is!a!similar!picture!to! the!Work!Placement! strand.! ! !Notwithstanding,! a! quarter!of! respondents! indicated! they!would!have!acquired!none!of!the!skills!and!experiences!without!GO!Wales.!!More!than!two!thirds!of!those!that!did!believe!some!or!all!of!the!skills!and!experiences!could!have!been!attained!in!the!absence!of!GO! Wales! they! indicated! that! it! would! have! taken! longer! (36%! a! lot! longer).! ! More! than! 90%!reported!that!participating!in!GO!Wales!has!had!a!positive!impact!on!their!employability,!has!given!them! a! greater! insight! into! their! planned! career! path! and! has! made! them! better! able! to! make!informed!and!realistic!choices!about!careers.!
7.4 Impact)Assessment)
Whilst! Work! Tasters! are! relatively! short! interventions,! the! evidence! collected! as! part! of! this!evaluation! suggests! there! are! positive! impacts! that! can! be! quantified! on! both! the! individual!participant!and!the!business.!
7.4.1 Jobs)Created)
7.4.1.1 Host)Offer)
Whilst!surprising,!around!10%!of!work!taster!participants!reported!being!offered!a!job!by!their!host!employer.!!This!appears!to!be!broadly!consistent!with!the!outcomes!reported!by!the!control!group!(small! sample).! ! ! 80%! are! reported! to! be! a! direct! result! of! the!work! experience! activity.! ! !When!
0%# 10%# 20%# 30%# 40%# 50%# 60%#
Asser.veness#
Communica.on#
Confidence#
Industry#Contacts#
Interpersonal#
IT/Computer#
Job#Specific/Technical#
Leadership#
Planning#
Presenta.on#
Project#Management#
Teamwork#
Time#Management#
Understanding#of#an#industry#
Understanding#the#working#environment#
Employer#
Individual##
!!
!40!
!
considering!the!host!employer!responses!a!similar!rate!of! job!offers! is! found21,!with!45%!reporting!that!they!expected!to!offer!a!position!in!advance!of!the!work!experience.!!!
On! the!basis! that!one! in!every! ten!Tasters! generates! a! job!offer! a! total! of! 266! jobs! (gross)!would!have!been!created!in!Wales,!of!which!180!are!attributable!to!the!Convergence!Programme.!!!!
It! is!necessary!to!take!account!of!additionality!factors.! !The!evidence!suggests!around!40%!of!work!taster!related!work!experience!would!have!taken!place!in!the!absence!of!GO!Wales.!!This!is!based!on!data! from! the! individual,! employer! and! control! group! surveys.! ! Whilst! around! 55%N60%! of!participants! (individuals! and!employers)!believed! they!would!have!undertaken!work!experience! in!the! absence! of! GO!Wales! the! control! group! indicates! that!whilst! indeed! 60%! of! failed! applicants!tried!to!arrange!work!experience,!just!under!40%!were!successful!in!arranging!such!a!period!of!work!experience.! !This!finding!is!common!with!the!Work!Placement!strand.! ! It! is!this!figure!that! is!taken!forward.!!!
A!further!deadweight!allowance!is!made!for!those!host!employers!that!thought!they!may!offer!a!job!before!the!work!taster!commenced.!!Based!on!the!employer!survey!evidence!this!figure!is!assessed!as!45%.!!!
Leakage! is! assessed! as! zero,! as! all! interventions! took! place! in! the! respective! impact! zones.!!Displacement!is!assessed!as!low!(12.5%)!and!average!multipliers!are!used!(1.3!for!Convergence!Area!and!1.5!for!Wales).!!!
On! this! basis! the! net! additional! job! creation! is! assessed! as! 115! jobs! in! Wales! of! which! 67! are!attributable!to!the!Convergence!Programme.!!
7.4.1.2 Placee)Secures)Employment)
A!further!32%!of!Taster!participants!are!in!employment!(not!with!the!host).!Of!these,!it!is!assessed!that!up! to!35%!of! these! jobs!have!been! secured!as! a! result! of!participation! in! a!GO!Wales! Taster!(calculated!on!the!same!basis!as!with!Work!Placements).!!This!is!a!lower!level!of!attribution!than!was!reported!by!Work!Placement!participants!which! is! consistent!with! the! lesser! level!of! intervention.!!Combined!this!equates!to!11%!of!Taster!participants.! ! !Deadweight! is! included!at!20%.! !Leakage! is!based! on! the! location! of! employment! (56%! for! Convergence! participants! and! 41%! for! all!Wales).!Displacement!is!assessed!as!low!and!average!multipliers!are!used.!!
This!analysis! suggests!a! total!of!112!attributable! jobs! in!Wales!of!which!48!are!attributable! to! the!Convergence!Programme.!!
) )
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!21! There! has! been! a! revision! to! the! way! in! which! the! survey! question! was! asked! in! order! to! reduce! the! survey! time! for! business!respondents.! !As!such,!the!results!from!multiple!waves!of!the!survey!are!not! identical.! !The!first!two!waves!of!survey!work!found!a! job!offer!rate!of!around!6%.!!The!most!recent!wave!provides!a!headline!estimate!of!19%!which!appears!very!high!for!this!strand!of!activity.!!The!most!recent!wave!of!individual!participant!telephone!survey!indicates!a!higher!rate!of!job!offers!from!Work!Tasters!than!previously,!so!some!uplift!is!plausible.!!Given!a!rate!of!10%!from!individuals,!a!similar!figure!(9%)!from!the!control!group!and!a!figure!upwards!of!6%!from!employers,!but!unlikely!to!be!as!high!as!19%!the!10%!assumption!has!been!adopted!for!analysis.!!
!!
!41!
!
7.4.1.3 Additional)Employment)Effects)
The! employer! survey! also! suggests! some! further! graduate! recruitment! that! is! attributable! to! GO!Wales!participation.!!Around!a!third!(35%)!of!employers!indicated!that!they!had!recruited!additional!graduates! since! participation! in! GO! Wales.! ! 77! employers! provided! details! of! the! additional! job!
creation.!!The!average!per!employer!was!3.75!FTEs.!!Employers!were!asked!to!comment!whether!this!additional! recruitment!was!attributable! to!GO!Wales.!The!data!suggests!around!85%!of! these! jobs!are! not! attributable.! ! On! this! basis,! an! average! of! 0.6! jobs! per! relevant! employer! is! used! for! the!
impact! assessment.! !Deadweight! remains!at!40%! for! activities! that!would!have! taken!place! in! the!absence!of!GO!Wales.!!Leakage!is!zero,!displacement!is!low!and!average!multipliers!are!applied.!!The!result! is! net! additional! employment! of! 130! FTEs! attributable! to! GO! Wales! based! on! the! levels!
reported!by!employers!of!which!89!are!relevant!to!the!Convergence!Programme.!
7.4.1.4 Total)
Combined!this!analysis!suggests!net!additional!job!creation!as!a!result!of!work!tasters!of!357!FTEs!in!
Wales!of!which!204!are!attributable!to!the!Convergence!Programme.!!!
7.4.2 Wage)Uplift)
Evidence!from!the!individual!participant!survey!indicates!a!wage!premium!as!a!result!of!participation!in!Work!Tasters.! !This! is!more!modest! than!reported!by!Work!Placement!participants!as!would!be!expected!given!the!shorter!duration!of!the!work!experience.!!
39%! of! respondents! had! a! paying! job,! with! 18%! reporting! a! wage! premium! as! a! result! of!
participation!in!GO!Wales.! !The!average!premium!reported!by!respondents!was!around!£3,340!per!annum22.!!This!equated!to!around!20%!of!total!reported!salaries.!!There!is!insufficient!evidence!from!the!control!group!survey!to!test!the!validity!of!this!reported!impact.!!!
Deadweight!is!applied!at!40%,!leakage!is!applied!based!on!the!location!of!employment!(52%!leakage!for! Convergence! and! 33%! leakage! for! all! Wales).! ! Displacement! is! assessed! as! low! and! average!multipliers!are!used.!!This!results!in!a!net!additional!aggregate!wage!premium!of!!£272,000!for!Wales!
of!which!£115,000!is!attributable!to!the!Convergence!Programme.!!
This!is!considered!to!be!a!one!off!impact!as!the!skills!and!experience!gained!through!the!work!tasters!would!be!obtained!within!the!first!year!of!working.!!
7.5 Summary)
The!Work!Tasters! strand! is!well! established!and! there!are!effective!delivery!mechanisms! in!place.!!Targets!were!reprofiled!downwards,!partly!as!a!result!of!a!shift!towards!focusing!on!higher!quality!
Tasters!of!longer!duration.!!The!reprofiled!targets!have!been!exceeded.!!!
There!are!very!positive!views!of!the!scheme!from!business!and!individual!participants.!!There!is!clear!evidence!of!impact!upon!both!groups!in!terms!of!hard!outcomes!and!upon!skills!and!attitudes.!!!
The! evidence! suggests! the! objective! of!Work! Taster! strand! has! been! achieved! and! the! outcomes!listed!at!Table!2.1!have!been!delivered.!!! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!22!This!is!based!on!a!sample!of!20!respondents!that!provided!full!data.!
!!
!42!
!
8 Graduate)Training)and)Development)
Graduate! Training! and! Development! (GTD)! provides! funding! support! for! the! training! and!development!of!graduates!within!SMEs!in!Wales.!!!
8.1 Delivery)
Issues!relating!to!the!delivery!of!GTD!have!been!discussed!at!section!4.1!of!this!report.!!In!particular,!the! inNProgramme! changes! to! the! design! of! GTD! in! response! to! identified! challenges! in! the! early!years!of!Phase!5.!!As!highlighted!in!this!report!and!earlier!evaluation!reports,!there!have!been!both!operational!and!market!facing!challenges!for!GTD.!!
Nevertheless,! both! individual! and! employer! responses! via! both! feedback! forms! and! telephone!surveys!have!reported!very!high!levels!of!satisfaction!with!the!administration!of!the!strand!and!the!support! received! by! GO!Wales! staff.! ! The!major! complaints! relate! to! the! issues! of! eligibility! and!paperwork!which!are!features!of!the!overall!ESF!Programme!rather!than!GO!Wales!specifically.!!
8.2 Performance)Against)Target)
A!total!of!878!reportable!GTD!interventions!have!been!completed!in!the!Convergence!area,!rising!to!1,361!in!all!Wales.!
As!a! result!of! some!of! the!challenges! faced!by! the!GTD!strand! it!has!been! subject! to! the!greatest!proportional! reprofiling! of! targets,! with! Convergence! area! target! reduced! by! 20%! and! all! Wales!targets!reduced!by!16%.!!!!Outputs!against!target!are!below!target,!at!89%!in!the!Convergence!area!and!95%!at! the!all!Wales! level.! !However,! there!are!substantial! ‘non!reportable’!outputs! including!part!qualifications!and!activities!which!are! ineligible!to!be!counted!as! formal!ESF!outputs.! !Activity!levels!are!therefore!higher!than!full!reported!qualifications!data!suggests.!!
8.3 Participant)Views)
Feedback!forms!from!436!individual!participants!and!409!supported!employers!have!been!analysed.!!In! addition! telephone! interviews! have! been! undertaken! with! 377! individual! participants! and! 317!supported!employers.!Figure!8.1!shows!the!reported!views!of! individual!participants.! !As!would!be!hoped,!a!very!high!proportion!of!respondents!indicated!that!the!training!undertaken!was!helpful!in!their! job!but!also!that! it!will!be!useful! in!future!roles!and!outside!work.! !More!than!50%!indicated!that! the! training! played! at! least! some! part! in! them! retaining! their! job.! ! For! more! than! half!participating! in! GTD! has! influenced! their! attitudes! to! training! in! the! workplace! and! almost! 90%!report!being!more!likely!to!undertake!further!training!and!development!as!a!result!of!participating!in!GTD.!!!
) )
!!
!43!
!
Figure)8.1)Individual)Participant)Reported)Impacts)
!
Figure!8.2!shows!the!reported! impacts!on!attitudes!and!perceptions!of!the!employers.! !More!than!95%!report!a!positive! impact!on!the!business!and!more!than!50%!that!participation!has!helped!to!retain!graduates!within!the!business.!!!There!are!also!large!proportions!of!employers!reporting!that!participation!has!increased!the!likelihood!of!future!training!of!staff,!more!aware!of!what!Universities!can!offer!and!more!likely!to!call!on!those!resources.!!!
Figure)8.2)Participating)in)GTD…)(Employers))
!
0%#
10%#
20%#
30%#
40%#
50%#
60%#
70%#
80%#
90%#
100%#
The#training/qualifica<on/skills#has#helped#me#in#my#
job#(the#job#being#undertaken#at#<me#of#
GTD)#
The#training/qualifica<on/skills#gained#has#helped#
me#retain#my#job.##
The#training/qualifica<on/skills#will#help#me#in#future#
employment#roles.##
The#training/qualifica<on/skills#will#help#me#in#other#areas#of#my#life#outside#my#
work.##
Par<cipa<ng#in#GTD#has#changed#my#aNtudes#to#training#and#development#
in#the#workplace#
As#a#result#of#par<cipa<ng#in#GTD#I#am#now#more#
likely#to#undertake#further#training#and#development#in#my#career#in#the#future.##
Yes#significantly#
Yes,#a#liTle#
Don't#know#
Not#at#all#
0%#
10%#
20%#
30%#
40%#
50%#
60%#
70%#
80%#
90%#
100%#
...#has#made#me#more#likely#to#train#my#staff#in#the#
future#
...#has#made#me#more#aware#of#what#UniversiBes#can#
offer#
...#has#made#me#more#likely#to#draw#on#the#resources#of#
UniversiBes#in#Wales#
...#has#had#a#posiBve#impact#on#the#business#
…#has#helped#you#to#retain#graduates#in#the#organisaBon?#
Yes,#Significantly#
Yes,#A#liOle#
Don’t#Know#
No#
!!
!44!
!
Deadweight! is!a! risk! in!all!publicly! funded!programmes.! !Consultations!with!project! staff! indicated!
that!they!closely!follow!procedures!to!ascertain!the!validity!of!all!funding!applications.!!However,!in!
all! cases! the! application! process! is! reliant! on! the! accuracy! of! information! provided! by! applicants.!!
The! telephone! survey! of! employers! and! control! sample! have! been! used! to! ascertain! the! likely!
counterfactual.!!Of!the!control!group!(failed!applicants)!34%!proceeded!with!the!training.!!Some!of!
these!previous!GTD!applicants!are! likely!to!have!failed!the!application!process!because!of!the!very!
issues! deadweight! is! seeking! to! measure.! For! example,! it! was! reported! by! some! control! group!
respondents!that!they!had!already!commenced!training!and!as!such!their!application!was!refused.!!
This! is! not! pure! deadweight,! but! evidence! that! the! application! process! is! working! correctly.!!
Nevertheless,! this! evidence! suggests! that! at! least! 66%! of! failed! applicants! did! not! pursue! the!
training.!!!Actual!participant!employers!were!asked!whether!they!would!have!undertaken!the!same!
training!without!GTD!support.! !Based!on!responses! it! is!assessed23! that!deadweight!may!be! in! the!
order! of! 45%.! ! ! !When! comparing! the! perceived! counterfactual! of! the!GTD!beneficiaries!with! the!
control! group! there! is! some! indication!of! optimism!bias.! ! This! is! a! consistent! finding! across!Work!
Placement,! Work! Taster! and! GTD! strands! where! more! beneficiaries! believe! they! would! have!
undertaken!the!GO!Wales!supported!activity!than!are!actually!shown!to!do!so!by!the!control!group.!!
On! this!basis,! the! self! reported!45%!deadweight! is! likely! to!be!an!over!estimate.! !A! figure!of!35%!
based! on! the! control! group,! which! is! also! considered! to! be! an! upside! estimate! is! used! for! the!
purposes!of!this!assessment.!!
8.4 Impact)Assessment)
The!survey!evidence!points!to!a!number!of!positive!impacts!for!individuals!and!employers.!!
8.4.1 Jobs)Created))
26%!of!business!reported!an! impact!on!employment!as!a!result!of!participating! in!GTD.! !For!those!
reporting!an!impact,!an!average!of!1.7!FTEs!per!employer!was!indicated.!!This!equated!to!7%!of!total!
employment! in! those! organisations.! ! ! Deadweight! has! been! assessed! at! 35%,! leakage! is! zero,!
displacement!assessed!as!low!and!average!multipliers!are!used.!!On!this!basis!it!is!assessed!that!321!
net! additional! jobs! are! created! in! Wales! of! which! 194! are! attributable! to! the! Convergence!
Programme.!
8.4.2 Jobs)Safeguarded)
35%!of!respondents!indicated!that!participating!in!GTD!had!significantly!influenced!the!safeguarding!
of! their! job.! A! further! 22%! indicated! it! had! some! influence.! ! Only! those! reporting! significant!
influenced!are!counted!for!this!element.!Deadweight!of!35%!is!discounted.!!It!is!therefore!assessed!
that!300!jobs!have!been!safeguarded!of!which!200!are!attributable!to!the!Convergence!Programme.!
8.4.3 Wage)Uplift)
40%! of! individual! respondents! indicated! a! positive! impact! upon! their! salary.! ! The! average! salary!
uplift! was! just! below! £4,900! per! annum.! ! This! equates! to! 18%! of! salary! and! is! based! on! 89!
respondents! that! provided! full! data.! ! After! discounting! deadweight,! displacement! and! applying!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!23! The! following! weighting! factors! were! applied! in! order! to! assess! the! level! of! additional! (non! deadweight! activity).! ! 100%! of! those!reporting!they!would!definitely!not!have!gone!ahead!without!support.!!75%!of!those!indicating!they!would!‘probably!not’!go!ahead.!!50%!of!those!who!may!have!gone!ahead!but!GTD!allowed!them!to!undertake!more!or!better!quality!training.!!25%!of!those!who!indicated!they!would!probably!go!ahead!and!0%!of!those!that!indicated!they!would!definitely!go!ahead.!
!!
!45!
!
average!multipliers! the!net!additional!effects!are!assessed!as!£1.9!million!at! the!all!Wales! level!of!which!£1.1!million!is!attributable!to!the!Convergence!Programme.!
8.4.4 Business)Turnover)
26%! of! employers! reported! an! impact! on! business! turnover.! The! average! uplift! in! turnover! was!indicated!as!a!little!over!£27,000!per!employer!for!those!reporting!an!effect.!!This!equated!to!11%!of!turnover.! ! !After!allowing! for!deadweight,!displacement!and!multipliers! the!net!additional! impacts!are! assessed! as! £5.1! million! at! the! all! Wales! level! of! which! £3.1! million! is! attributable! to! the!Convergence!Programme.!!!
8.4.5 Long)Term)Impacts)
A!longitudinal!element!to!the!telephone!survey!was!undertaken,!following!up!47!GTD!employers!and!75!individual!participants!that!took!part!in!the!earlier!waves!of!evaluation!survey!fieldwork.!Some!of!the!key!findings!include:!
• 73%!of!individual!participants!have!found!the!training!received!via!GTD!increasingly!useful.!Only!5%!have!found!it!to!be!of!little!use.!
• Both!individual!and!employer!follow!up!surveys!found!60%!N!65%!of!GTD!beneficiaries!were!still!with!the!same!employer.!!
• 47%!of! individuals! reported! the!GTD! training!having!an! impact!on! their! salary.! !The!estimated!figure!was! around! £4,800! and! represented! 15%!of! salary.! ! This! is! broadly! consistent!with! the!main!survey!findings!on!salary!impact.!!!
• It! was! possible! to! compare! the! original! answers! to! those! provided! in! the! follow! up! for! 10!respondents.!!For!this!small!cohort!there!was!a!slightly!lower!reported!impact!on!salary!!(£6,100)!compared!to!the!original!survey!wave!(£6,800).!!This!may!indicate!a!slightly!reduced!impact!over!time.!
Employers!were!asked!about!the!impact!of!GTD!participation!on!various!attitudes!and!perceptions!as!set!out!in!!
• Figure!8.2.!!This!showed!higher!proportions!reporting!significant!impact!upon!likelihoods!to!train!staff,! awareness! of! what! Universities! offer! and! the! likelihood! to! draw! on! these! University!offerings.! ! A! slightly! lower! proportion! reported! a! significant! impact! on! the! business! but! also!fewer! reported!no! impact,!as!a! result! the!proportion! indicating!a! little! impact!on! the!business!rose!by!14%!points.!!!!
• 25%!of!businesses!had!made!some!use!of!University! support.! !Of! the!12!businesses! indicating!they!had!drawn!on!universities!two!(16%)!reported!that!this!was!significantly!influenced!by!GO!Wales!participation!and!three!(25%)!was!influenced!to!some!extent.!
• 32%!of!employers!indicated!that!GTD!had!an!impact!on!turnover,!higher!than!the!28%!reported!in!the!original!survey.!17%!reported!an!impact!on!employment,!compared!to!9%!in!the!original!survey.!!36%!reported!new!products!or!processes!compared!with!42%!in!the!original!survey.!!
In! combination! these! figures! suggest! there! are! lasting! impacts,! given! that! at! least! two! years! had!passed!between!survey!points.!!
!
!!
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!
PARTICIPANT)QUOTES:)
“It"allowed"me"to"do"a"big"training"course"that"I"wouldn't"have"been"able"to"do"otherwise"and"it"has"lead"to"a"big"increase"of"turnover"in"the"business.”"
“I" was" really" impressed" with" the" organisation" and" everyone" I" dealt" with" was" so" helpful." I" would"recommend"it.”"
“Warm" spot" in" my" heart" for" Go" Wales" as" I" secured" a" good" job" from" it" myself," the" funding" for"graduates"allows"us"to"bring"them"in"and"offer"training"without"delays.”"
“It's"a"huge"contribution"to"Welsh"skills"development.”"
“It" is" really"nice"and"encouraging" that"WAG" is"demonstrating" that"graduates"and" small" businesses"matter"in"Wales.”"
There!were! also! a! lot! of! comments! indicating! awareness! that! the! scheme! is! now! closed! for! new!business!and!expressions!of!disappointment!that!this!is!the!case!given!its!positive!impact!and!hope!that!it!might!continue.!
8.5 Summary)
The! GTD! strand! has! been! the! greatest! area! of! challenge! within! the! suite! of! GO!Wales! activities.!!However,!the!HEFCW!management!has!sought!to!tackle!challenges!as!they!became!apparent.!!This!has!included!inNProgramme!changes!which!have!been!implemented.!!!
Nevertheless,! targets! have! been! reprofiled! downwards! and! these! targets! have! not! been! fully!achieved.! ! There! are! various! reasons! for! this,! the! primary! being! the! focus! on! higher! level!qualifications! which! create! challenges! due! to! the! length! of! time! to! complete! as! well! as! their!alignment!to!the!needs!of!employers.!!!
However,! there! are! clear! positive! outcomes! as! a! result! of! those! completed! interventions.!!Participant! feedback! is! very! positive.! ! The! evidence! indicates! that! the!business! plan!objective! has!been! achieved! and! the! outcomes! summarised! in! Table! 2.1! have! been! delivered! with! improved!attitudes! as!well! as! improved! skills.! ! There! is! evidence! that! these! impacts! are! felt! into! the! longer!term.!
! !
!!
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!
9 Graduate)Academy)
The!Graduate!Academy!was!a!new!strand!within!Phase!5!of!GO!Wales.! !A! total!of!442! individuals!
participated!in!a!Graduate!Academy,!314!of!these! in!the!Convergence!Area.! !Reprofiled!targets!for!
the!Convergence!area!are!higher!than!originally!set!in!January!2012.!!
9.1 Delivery)
Previous! evaluation! exercises! indicated! that! there! were! some! delays! relating! to! establishing! the!
Academy!at!the!start!of!the!funding!period,!but!once!established!the!Academy!has!performed!well!
with!no!major!concerns!reported.!!There!has!been!some!evolution!to!the!delivery!and!operation!of!
the!Academy,!learning!lessons!from!early!stage!experience.!!Participant!feedback!is!strongly!positive!
and! the! Academy! is! now! firmly! established! and! embedded.! However,! it! was! reported! that!
recruitment! to! the! Academy! can! be! challenging24! at! times.! ! External! stakeholder! consultation!
indicated! that! it! is! often! not! until! after! someone! has! graduated! that! they! really! engage!with! the!
reality! of! the! job!market.! ! ! It! was! therefore! highlighted! that! a! programme! to! provide! additional!
support!to!those!that!are!finding!challenges!6N12!months!after!graduation!is!really!helpful.!!!
It!was!reported!that!there!has!been!an!increase!in!Academy!applicants!with!additional!needs.!!These!
are! often! individuals! that! have! received! substantial! additional! support! through! their! degree!
programme!and! find! the!step! into! finding!work!challenging.! ! It!was!noted! that! the!Academy! in! its!
current! format! is! very! intense! and! not! always! appropriate,! particularly! the! qualification! related!
assessments.!!It!was!noted!that!there!is!substantial!strength!in!having!a!range!of!abilities!within!each!
Academy!cohort! in!order!that!the!group!is!able!to!support!one!another!and!‘high!flyers’!setting!an!
example!to!others.!!Focusing!entirely!on!individuals!in!more!challenging!circumstances!would!require!
a!substantial!change!to!the!Graduate!Academy!as!it!is!currently!conceived.!!This!view!was!reinforced!
through!analysis!of!participant!feedback!data!that!showed!some!participants!found!the!assessments!
as! part! of! the! Academy! challenging! and! others! finding! the! level! at!which! the! course!was! pitched!
comfortable.!
9.2 Participant)Views)
A! total! of! 188! Graduate! Academy! participants! completed! the! telephone! survey! as! part! of! the!
evaluation.! !Around!80%!reported!that!they!wanted!to!improve!their!employment!prospects.! !21%!
reported!wanting!to!continue!learning!whilst!being!underemployed.!!!
Participants! reported! the! acquisition! of! a! range! of! skills,! particularly! softer! skills! including!
confidence,! leadership,! communication! and! presentation! skills.! ! Nearly! 40%! of! respondents!
indicated!that!they!would!not!have!acquired!any!of!these!skills!without!the!Graduate!Academy.!!Only!
9%!indicated!that!they!would!have!gained!all!these!skills.!!!For!those!that!reported!that!they!would!
have!acquired!some!or!all!of!the!skills!without!the!Graduate!Academy!54%!reported!it!would!have!
taken!a!lot!longer!without!participating!and!41%!a!little!longer.!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!24!For!each!cohort!around!70!applications!are!required!to!fill!an!18!place!course.!!This!is!due!to!issues!around!ineligibility,!suitability!and!applicants!finding!work!before!commencement!of!the!Academy.!
!!
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!
Table) 9.1) Percentage) of) respondents) indicating) main25) skills) and) experiences) gained) from) the)Graduate)Academy)
) %)of)total)Confidence! 41%!Leadership! 28%!Communication! 27%!Presentation! 21%!Understanding!the!working!environment! 21%!Project!Mgt! 20%!Teamwork! 18%!Understanding!of!an!industry! 15%!Time!MGt! 11%!Job!Specific/Technical! 9%!Interpersonal! 9%!Support!Network! 7%!Industry!Contacts! 5%!Assertiveness! 5%!Increased!focus!on!job!search! 4%!Planning! 4%!Renewed!enthusiasm!for!job!search! 4%!IT/Computer" 1%"!
Respondents!were!asked!if!they!had!arranged!any!further!work!experience!following!the!Graduate!Academy,!18%!reported!that!they!had.!!Survey!responses!indicated!these!ranged!from!one!week!to!one!year!in!length,!with!the!majority!up!to!one!month!in!length!and!more!than!90%!on!a!voluntary!basis.! 40%! indicated! that! they!would! definitely! or! probably! not! have! organised! this! had! they! not!participated!in!GO!Wales.!
21%! of! Graduate! Academy! respondents! indicated! that! they! had! been! offered! a! job! by! their! GO!Wales!placement!host!following!the!period!of!work!experience.!!Of!these,!more!than!three!quarters!indicated!that!the!job!offer!was!a!direct!result!of!the!placement.!This!is!a!finding!of!note!given!that!the!short!(approximately!three!week)!work!experience!placements!were!primarily!intended!to!allow!the! Academy! participant! an! opportunity! to! complete! the! requirements! of! the! ILM! qualification.!!Along!with!the!findings!of!the!Work!Taster!and!Work!Placement!strands!this!indicates!the!impact!of!work! experience! opportunities,! no! matter! how! short,! upon! the! host! businesses.! ! Providing! an!opportunity!for!the!placee!to!demonstrate!their!capability!to!their!host.!
When!surveyed!26!of!the!188!respondents!were!still!working!with!the!host!organisation!on!either!a!full!or!part!time!basis.!!!A!total!of!72%!of!Graduate!Academy!participants!were!in!some!form!of!paid!work!(50%!within!the!Convergence!area!of!Wales).!!13%!reported!that!they!were!unemployed.!!8%!had! returned! to! study! and!of! the! remainder! a!number!were!on! further!work!placement!or! taster!experiences!or!other!voluntary!working.!Around!half!of!all!those!in!employment!reported!being!in!a!graduate!job.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!25!Respondents!were!free!to!indicate!as!many!of!the!stated!answers!as!they!wished.!!However,!the!use!of!the!term!main!was!intended!to!focus!on!those!skills!and!experiences!thought!to!be!most!significant!to!the!respondent.!!
!!
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!
Of!those!in!employment!43%!reported!that!participation!in!GO!Wales!had!significantly!contributed!to!them!gaining!their!current!job.!!A!further!32%!reported!some!impact.!!!!
90%!of! respondents! indicated! that! participation! in! the!Graduate!Academy!would! help! them! (46%!significantly)!in!securing!employment!in!the!future.!!
CASE)STUDY:)
After!graduating,!Rhys!went!travelling.!When!he!returned!from!travelling,!in!2010,!he!was!unable!to!find! a! job.! ! He! was! aware! of! GO!Wales! from! his! time! at! university.! He! was! able! to! find! further!information,!and!apply!for!support!from!GO!Wales!via!the!website.!He!found!a!Work!Placement!with!a!Local!Authority!in!Wales.!!!
This!Work!Placement!gave!Rhys!experience!of!working!in!an!office!environment,!and!helped!him!to!understand! the!world!of!work.!He! found! this!very!helpful.!During!his!Work!Placement,!he!worked!towards!a!City!&!Guilds!qualification,!but!didn’t!take!the!final!qualification.!Following!completion!of!the!Work!Placement!Rhys!took!up!a!place!on!the!GO!Wales!Graduate!Academy.!!
During! the! Graduate! Academy,! Rhys! spent! two! weeks! on! a! residential! course! learning! about!leadership!and!management,!which!gave!him!lots!of!practical!experience!and!relevant!skills.!He!was!awarded!a!qualification!from!the!Institute!of!Leadership!&!Management!at!level!five.!He!found!this!very!helpful.!
On! the! completion! of! the! Graduate! Academy,! Rhys! undertook! a! number! of! temporary! jobs.! He!eventually! found! a! fullNtime! job! as! an! Operations! Manager! for! a! software! and! risk! assessment!company.! He! credits! both! his!Work! Placement! and!Graduate! Academy! skills! and! experience!with!helping!him!to!find!this!permanent!job.!Since!starting!this!permanent!job!he!has!had!further!funding!from!GO!Wales!to!get!qualified!in!occupational!health!and!safety.!
Rhys!does!not!believe!that!he!could!have!got!the!combination!of!skills!and!experience!that!he!gained!from!GO!Wales!any!other!way.!He!was!not!able!to!find!funding!for!work!related!training!from!any!other!source.!
Rhys! has! a! very! positive! view! of! the! GO! Wales! programme,! and! (unprompted)! expressed!disappointment!that!it!is!not!supporting!graduates!at!present.!
9.3 Impact)Assessment)
9.3.1 Wage)Premium)
One!third!of!all!those!in!employment!reported!an!impact!on!their!salary!as!a!result!of!participation!in!GO!Wales.!!!Valid!data!was!received!from!23!respondents!indicating!an!average!salary!of!just!under!£20,000! and! an! estimated! salary! impact! of! around! £4,000! per! annum,! equivalent! to! 20%!of! total!salary.!!The!gross!wage!premium!when!scaled!to!take!account!of!all!participants!is!£376,700.!!
!!
!50!
!
78%! of! employed! participants! are! currently!working! in!Wales,! 50%!within! the! Convergence! area.!!The!net!additional26!benefit!to!Wales!is!therefore!assessed!at!£366,000!and!to!the!Convergence!area!£140,000.!
9.3.2 Job)Creation)
No! assessment! of! job! creation! has! been! undertaken! as! this! strand! is! not! intended! as! a! direct!business! support! activity.! 15%! of! individual! participants! reported! being! offered! a! job! by! their!placement!host!as!a!direct!result!of!the!Academy!(equivalent!to!66!jobs!in!Wales!and!47!jobs!in!the!Convergence! area).! ! However,! there! is! insufficient! data! from! the! employer! side! to! understand!whether!these!jobs!are!net!additional!or!whether!the!employer!was!planning!to!recruit!in!any!case.!!Nevertheless,! the! responses! of! participants! indicate! a! direct! positive! impact! as! a! result! of!participation.!!The!indicative!figures!are!quoted!above.!
PARTICIPANT)QUOTES:)
As!part!of! the! final! conference!within! the!Graduate!Academy!each!participant! is! asked! to!provide!comment!on! their!experience.! ! Is! follows!a! time!of! reflection!on! the!earlier! residential!course!and!work!experience!placement.!!A!selection!of!quotes!from!participants!is!set!out!below.!!These!bring!to!life!the!experiences!found!through!the!quantitative!evidence.!
“Before"I"came"to"the"Graduate"Academy"I"felt"trapped"in"my"mundane"pub"job.""I"knew"I"didn’t"want"to"be"there"forever,"but"the"months"were"just"rolling"into"each"other"and"I"didn’t"have"the"confidence"to"get"myself"out.""But"the"last"6"weeks"have"changed"that.""The"Graduate"Academy"has"made"me"see"my"potential"and"shown"me"how"to"market"myself"so"that"employers"can"see"my"potential"too.”"
“What"I"have"gained"from"the"Graduate"Academy:"increased"confidence"in"my"abilities"and"skills,"new"skills,"and"recent"practical"experiences"that"I"can"talk"about"in"applications;"taught"me"about"the"type"of" environment" I" would" like" to" work" in;" now" feel" like" an" employable" graduate" rather" than" an"inexperienced"graduate.”"
“Participating"in"the"Graduate"Academy"has"given"me"confidence"in"my"abilities"as"an"arts"graduate."Through"the"experience"I"have"realised"that"I"do"have"skills"to"offer"employers"whereas"before"I"did"not"feel"I"was"capable"of"getting"a"graduate"level"job."I"have"also"gained"more"focus"in"my"job"search"and" feel"much"more"positive"about"my" future"and"career"–" I" feel"excited"about" finding"work" that" I"enjoy," rather" than"anxious"and"uncertain." The"experience"has"been"extremely"beneficial," especially"for"me"as"a"graduate"who"was"underemployed"–"a"huge"boost"to"my"confidence.”"
“Before:"dead"end"job,"going"nowhere,"lacked"direction,"stuck,"lost,"no"selfNworth,"low"confidence"and"frustrated"about"future"and"career."Now:"gained"confidence"with"self"and"CV,"gained"direction"and"a"support"network;"realised"my"strengths"and"weaknesses,"what"I"need"to"work"on"etc;"refocused"my"determination"and"got"me"back"on" track" and"more"passionate" about"my" career;" found"my" ‘trump"card’" –" opened" new" doors" and" provided" me" with" a" solid" foundation" for" business," leadership" and"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!26!Deadweight!is!based!on!the!control!survey.!14%!had!undertaken!some!form!of!work!experience.!!Less!than!2%!had!undertaken!training!in!any!way!similar!to!the!Graduate!Academy.!!Deadweight!is!therefore!assessed!as!5%!to!make!some!allowance!for!those!that!would!have!undertaken! some! work! experience! in! any! case.! ! This! is! discounted! due! to! the! lack! of! the! training/residential! course! element! of! the!Graduate!Academy.!!Leakage!is!based!on!the!proportion!of!jobs!outside!the!impact!zones.!!Displacement!and!Multipliers!are!based!on!best!practice!assumptions.!
!!
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management;" made" me" realise" what" I" want" to" achieve," set" goals," can’t" go" back," can" only" move"forward"–"excited"about"the"future."Future:"apply"for"more"jobs"with"confidence"and"a"new"approach,"excited," lifeNlong"friends,"stronger"as"a"person,"work"harder"than"before."Recommend"this"course"to"anyone,"it’s"been"brilliant"and"so"well"organised,"so"thank"you!”"
“Before"Lampeter:" I"graduated" in"2010" in"Sociology"from"Bangor;"worked" in"dead"end" jobs"with"no"progression" or" future" prospects" for" next" to" no" money;" unemployed" for" six" months;" I" felt" sad,"worthless," unmotivated;" gave" up" on" people" and" life." After:" I" felt" motivated," confident," worth"something,"excited"for"future;"I"would"recommend"it"to"anyone,"amazing"experience"both"socially"and"academically;" it" has" really" helped"me" to" grow"as" a" person" or" rather" reNgrow"back" into"my" former"confident" self;" excellent" team"of"people"who"make" this"possible," i.e."Gwen" (and"all" the" teachers)." I"came"to"Lampeter"with"a"suitcase"and"a"crushed"spirit;"I"am"leaving"with"a"new"and"improved"spirit,"reNfound" confidence," sense" of" selfNworth," excitement"when" looking" to" the" future," amazing" lifelong"friends,"knowledge"(thanks"to"Sue," Jane," the"teachers);"hunger" for"something"new." It’s"been"such"a"positive"experience"and"in"turn"it’s"having"such"a"positive"influence"and"effect"on"my"life."Thank"you"all"for"everything.”"
9.4 Summary)
The! Graduate! Academy!was! a! new! strand! that! has! become! established! and! operates! effectively.!!There!are!very!positive!views!from!participants,!particularly!towards!the!staff!that!run!the!Academy!strand.!!!
The!Graduate!Academy!has! clearly! benefited! its! participants! in! terms! of! hard! and! soft! outcomes.!!This! has! included! direct! job! offers! as! a! result! of! the! short! term!work! experience! placements! and!particularly! in! terms! of! building! confidence.! ! The! participant! quotes! clearly! indicate! the!transformation!that!has!taken!place.!
The!evidence!collected! indicates! the!outcomes! summarised! in!Table!2.1! for! this! strand!have!been!delivered!to!the!participants27.!!!
"
"
) )
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!27!Business!impacts!of!this!strand!have!not!been!tested!as!part!of!the!evaluation!and!so!cannot!be!validated.!
!!
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!
10 Freelancer)Academy)
10.1 Delivery)The!Freelancer!Academy!was!a!new!strand!within!GO!Wales!Phase!5.!!As!a!result!it!took!some!time!to!establish!and!‘bed!down’.!!At!the!time!of!the!first!phase!of!evaluation!(2011!report)!the!Freelancer!Academy! had! focused! on! initial! set! up! activities.! ! By! the! time! of! the! 2012! evaluation! report! the!Freelancer! Academy! strand! had! become! far! more! established! and! was! clearly! in! the! operational!phase.!!This!has!continued!despite!a!change!in!personnel!managing!the!strand.!!No!major!concerns!in! respect! of! the! Freelancer! Academy! were! reported! at! any! stage! of! the! evaluation.! However,! a!number! of! participants! indicated! that! they! would! have! welcomed! additional! follow! up! after! the!Academy!had!completed.!!
10.2 Performance)against)Target)
Some! issues! with! the! balance! of! Convergence/Non! Convergence! outputs! achieved! were! cited! in!consultations.!!This!is!reflected!in!the!adjustments!to!target!discussed!at!section!5.1.!!!!It!was!noted!that!this!was!primarily!due!to!the!quality!and!quantity!of!applicants!in!the!respective!areas.!!A!total!of!391!individuals!have!participated!in!Freelancer!Academies,!this!is!10!more!than!the!target!set!in!January! 2012! when! the! programme!was! extended.! ! 232! participants! fell! within! the! Convergence!Area.!!286!participants!completed!the!ILM!Level!3!qualification,!substantially!more!than!the!January!2012! target! of! 191! but! slightly! behind! the! reprofiled! target! of! 298.! ! This! indicates! a!much! higher!completion! rate! of! qualifications! than! was! initially! anticipated,! currently! at! around! 73%! of! all!participants.!
CASE)STUDY:))
Kate! had! previously! run! a! soft! toy!manufacturing! business.! ! However,! due! to! failing! eyesight! she!decided! to! close! that! business! and! look! for! a! change! of! career.! ! She! had! already! selfNpublished! a!book!of!short!stories.!!To!further!her!ambition!to!establish!a!career!as!an!author!and!illustrator,!Kate!took!a!Masters!degree!in!creative!writing!and!screenwriting.!At!the!end!of!the!Masters!degree!she!became! aware! of! the! Freelancer! Academy! through! one! of! her! disability! support! workers.! ! She!followed!this!up!with!a!web!search! to! find!out!more! information,!and!then!dealt!directly!with! the!Freelance!Academy!hub.!
Before! undertaking! the! Freelancer!Academy,! Kate! had! an! idea! about! developing! a! business! as! an!author!and!illustrator,!but!not!a!business!plan.!During!the!Freelancer!Academy,!Kate!looked!at!every!aspect!of!running!a!business.!In!particular,!this!course!helped!her!to!focus!on!her!business!plan!and!give!her!a!sense!of!purpose!to!her!business.!Despite!having!run!a!small!manufacturing!business,!Kate!had!never!developed!a!business!plan!before.!
As! part! of! the! Freelancer! Academy,! Kate! had! to! present! the! business! plan! to! an! audience.! This!helped!her!to!refine!the!business!plan,!and!she!is!still!using!it.!Kate!found!the!tax!and!legal!support!particularly! helpful,! and! has! found! it! useful! in! dealing!with! the! US! tax! authorities,! as! part! of! her!income!is!derived!from!publishing!in!the!US.!!!Kate!is!not!aware!of!any!other!way!in!which!she!could!have!gained!the!knowledge!and!support!that!she!obtained!from!the!Freelancer!Academy.!Without!
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the! Freelancer! Academy! it! would! have! been! obtained! through! trial! and! error.! This! would! have!required!a!lot!more!effort!and!would!have!taken!significantly!longer.!
Since!completing!the!Freelancer!Academy,!Kate’s!career!has!progressed.!She!has!had!two!short!story!collections! published!by! a! publisher! (rather! than! selfNpublished),! she! has! two! further! books! being!appraised!by!a!publisher,!and!she!is!currently!writing!a!novel.!
The! Freelancer! Academy! has! helped! Kate! to! create! a! new! career.! After! the! Freelancer! Academy,!Kate!had!further!support!from!Business!Eye!to!finalise!her!business!plan.!
10.3 Participant)Views)Analysis!of!220!feedback!forms!submitted!by!Freelancer!Academy!participants!have!been!analysed.!!This! shows! very! high! levels! of! satisfaction! with! the! administration! and! operational! side! of! the!scheme!and!99%!indicating!they!would!recommend!the!Academy!to!others.!!All!100%!reported!their!participation!as!very!successful!or!successful.! !Again!100%!reported!the!Academy!was!either!a!very!effective!or!effective!learning!experience!and!98%!reported!that!it!was!very!effective!or!effective!in!developing!and!enhancing!skills.!!
208!Freelancer!Academy!participants!took!part!in!a!telephone!survey!as!part!of!the!three!evaluation!exercises.! ! ! Analysis! of! survey! responses! indicates! that! around! 50%! of! participants! are! exploring!freelancing! in! the! creative! industries.! ! A! further! 25N30%! are! interested! in! activities! within! the!business!and!professional!services!sector.!!!
Participants!reported!a!range!of!positive!impacts!which!suggest!substantial!value!is!derived!from!the!Freelancer!Academy!by!those!participating!(see!Table!10.1).!
Table)10.1)Participating)in)the)Freelancer)Academy)…)
! Yes,)significantly) Yes,)A)little)
Not)at)all)
Don’t)Know)
Added! to! my! knowledge! and! understanding! of! a!freelance!career! 69%! 29%! 1%! 1%!
Gave! me! practical! skills! to! develop! a! freelancing!career! 59%! 38%! 2%! 1%!
Gave!me! skills! and! knowledge! to! pursue! a! freelance!career! 72%! 26%! 1%! 0%!
Has!provided!me!with!contacts!and!networks! 37%! 41%! 19%! 3%!)
Feedback! forms! indicated! participants! acquired! a! range! of! skills! relevant! to! the!workplace/freelancing,! the! top! five! were! Planning! (86%),! Teamwork! (72%),! Confidence! (70%),!Presentation! (65%)! and! Time!Management! (65%).! ! The! full! results! are! set! out! in! Table! 10.2.! The!telephone!survey!asked!respondents!to!indicate!the!‘main’!skills!acquired.!!As!a!result!the!reported!levels!appear!lower.!However,!similar!skill!areas!dominate.!!!
) )
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Table)10.2)Percentage)of)respondents)indicating)skills)acquisition)from)the)Freelancer)Academy)
) Feedback)Forms)(Individuals)) Survey)(Individuals))
Assertiveness! 42%! 4%!Communication! 54%! 13%!Confidence! 70%! 27%!Interpersonal!Skills! 44%! 5%!IT!User!Skills! n/a! 2%!Job!Specific!Technical!Skills! n/a! 7%!Leadership! 34%! 3%!Planning! 86%! 19%!Presentation! 65%! 13%!Project!Management! 22%! 8%!Teamwork! 72%! 5%!Time!Management! 65%! 8%!Business!Planning! 33%! n/a!Marketing! 46%! n/a!Market!Research! 60%! n/a!Networking! 60%! n/a!Understanding!of!an!industry! n/a! 25%!Understanding!the!working!environment! n/a! 19%!Sample"Size" 220" 208"
Whilst!three!quarters!of!survey!respondents!indicated!that!they!would!have!acquired!some!or!all28!of!these!skills!and!experiences!without!participating!in!GO!Wales,!47%!reported!it!would!have!taken!a!lot!longer!and!42%!a!little!longer.!!!
At! the! time! of! joining! the! Academy! around! one! quarter! of! surveyed! participants! (47! persons)!indicated! that! they! were! certain! they! would! become! a! freelancer! and! three! quarters! uncertain.!!When!surveyed!around!one!third!(31%)!were!now!freelancing.!!A!further!7%!were!undertaking!some!form!of! freelancing!work!with!some!mixing! this!with!part! time!employment.! !Of! those! freelancing!three!quarters! (50!persons)! indicated! that! they!would!be! freelancing! in!any!case.! !This! is!a! similar!number! to! those! that! stated! they!would! be! freelancing! before! they! participated! in! the!Academy.!!Around!a!quarter!(22%)!indicated!that!they!would!not!be!freelancing!if!it!was!not!for!the!Academy.!!
Of!those!not!freelancing!10%!indicated!that!the!Academy!had!helped!them!to!decide!not!to!pursue!a!freelancing!career.!!This!is!a!positive!outcome.!
Other!than!those!freelancing!40%!were!employed,!13%!unemployed!and!7%!studying.!
Respondents!were!asked!about! the! impact!of! the!Freelancer!Academy!on!their! freelancing!career.!!54%!reported!that!participation! in! the!academy!had!brought! forward!the!start!of! their! freelancing!career.! ! 62%! indicated! that! they! had! been!more! successful! as! a! freelancer! than! they!would! have!expected.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!28!15%!all,!32%!some!and!20%!few!of!the!skills.!
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Table)10.3)Impact)on)Freelancing)Career)(based!on!145!respondents))
How$would$ you$ rate$ the$ following$ statements$ in$ terms$of$how$the$programme$has$helped$you?$
Yes,)significantly)
Yes,)A)little)
Not)really)
No) Don’t)Know)
Started!a!career!in!freelancing!sooner!than!you!would!have!otherwise?! 30%! 24%! 17%! 24%! 5%!
Been!more!successful!as!a!freelancer!than!you!would!have!expected!to!be!without!the!academy?!! 36%! 26%! 10%! 17%! 12%!
!
10.4 Impact)Assessment)
10.4.1 Earnings)Premium)
31%!of!those!working!or!freelancing!indicated!that!participation!in!GO!Wales!had!an!impact!on!their!earnings.! !Respondents!were!asked!to! indicate!the!scale!of! impact.! !A!total!of!19!valid29!responses!were! received,! so! a! relatively! small! sample.! ! The! average! uplift! in! earnings! reported!was! £4,100,!equivalent! to! 20%! of! total! earnings.! ! ! Scaling! this! up! to! take! account! of! all! participants! in! the!Freelancer!Academy!strand!a!gross!earnings!premium!of!£335,400!is!estimated.!
Based! on! the! 100! person! control! group! survey! for! the! Freelancer! Academy! some! 15%! reported!undertaking! some! form! of! training.! ! Following! investigation! around! two! thirds! are! relevant! to!starting!a!business!or!becoming!self!employed.! !Deadweight! is! therefore!assessed!as!around!10%.!!For!the!purposes!of!this!assessment!the!impact!of!this!other!training!is!assumed!to!be!equivalent!to!participation! in! the! GO! Wales! Freelancer! Academy.! Leakage,! displacement! and! multipliers! are!assumed! to! be! in! line! with! other! strands.! ! ! After! allowance! for! all! additionality! factors! the! net!additional! earnings! premium! is! estimated! at! £396,000! at! the! all! Wales! level.! ! ! £199,000! is!attributable30!to!the!Convergence!area.!
10.5 Summary)
The! Freelancer! Academy! took! time! to! establish! as! a! new! strand! of! GO! Wales.! ! However,! the!evidence!suggests!it!has!operated!effectively.!!
Participants!have!provided!positive!feedback!of!the!Academy!and!reported!positive!impact!on!their!skills,!attitudes!and!freelancing!activities.!!!
The!evidence!collected! from!survey!participants!would! suggest! there! is!an!emphasis!on!careers! in!the! creative! industries,! but! this! is! not! exclusive.! ! There! are! graduates! from! a! range! of! disciplines!considering!freelancing!in!a!range!of!sectors.!!!
Overall! the! evidence!would! suggest! the! objectives! for! the! Academy! as! set! out! in! the! Programme!Business!Plan!have!been!achieved!and!the!outcomes!set!out!at!Table!2.1!of!this!report!delivered.!!
! !
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!29!A!valid!response!required!information!on!the!estimated!increase!in!earnings!and!the!current!earnings!level.!30!Adjusted!to!take!account!only!of!Convergence!area!participants!and!multiplier!effects!reduced!to!1.3.!
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11 CrossNCutting)Themes)
The! Convergence! Programme! includes! two! crossNcutting! themes:! Equality! and! Diversity;! and!Environmental! Sustainability.! ! A! series! of! indicators! relate! to! the! crossNcutting! themes,! identifying!the!mix!of!participants,!but!also!specific!activities!relating!to!the!themes.!!
11.1 Priority)Participant)Groups)Table! 5.2! earlier! in! this! report! considers! the! target! reprofiling! for! indicators! relating! to! the! crossNcutting!themes.!!The!figures!in!Table!5.6!set!out!achievement!against!target!for!the!same!indicators.!!!
In! terms!of!engaging!with!priority!participant!groups,! targets! for!older!and!BME!participants!were!revised!upwards!over!the!course!of!GO!Wales!Phase!5.!!However,!output!figures!suggest!that!these!revised!targets!have!been!missed.!!Notwithstanding,!achievement!has!exceeded!expectations!set!out!within!the!project!business!plan!at!January!2012!when!targets!for!the!extended!GO!Wales!Phase!5!were! set.! ! !With! regards! to!participants!with!a!disability!or!work! limiting!health! condition,! targets!have!been!revised!downwards,!but!achievement!is!slightly!ahead!of!the!reprofiled!target.!!As!noted!previously,! there! was! a! suggestion! that! there! may! be! some! underNreporting! as! a! result! of!participants!not!disclosing.!!It!was!clear!from!discussions!with!project!staff!within!HEIs!as!part!of!the!evaluation!fieldwork!that!these!participant!group!indicator!targets!have!not!been!actively!pursued.!Rather!they!are!purely!a!record!of!those!that!participate!in!the!programme.!
Further!detailed!data!has!been!analysed!to!consider!the!participation!of!specific!participant!groups!by!strand.!!This!reveals!some!differences!by!group.!
• The!proportion!of!those!disclosing!a!disability!or!work!limiting!health!condition!participating!in!a!Work!Placement!is!some!40N50%!lower!than!the!all!programme!average.!!!
• This! is! counterbalanced! by! much! higher! levels! of! participation! in! the! Freelancer! Academy! –!around! three! times! the! proportion! of! the! all! programme! average,! and! some! higher! levels! of!participation!in!Work!Tasters!(Convergence!Only)!and!GTD!(non!Convergence!only).!
• The!participation!of!BME!participants! shows!more!modest!differences! to! the!all!Wales!profile.!!Lower!proportions!participated!in!GTD!activities!(25%N30%!lower)!and!outside!the!Convergence!area!a!lower!proportion!participated!in!Work!Placements!(20%!lower).!!!
• These! effects! are! counterbalanced! by! higher! rates! of! participation! in! the! Graduate! and!Freelancer! Academies! (60%N70%! higher)! and! a! higher! proportion! of! Tasters! in! the! non!Convergence!area.!
• A! higher! proportion! of! female! participants! took! part! in! the!Work! Taster! strand! (almost! 30%!higher),!but!a!lower!proportion!in!the!Work!Placement!strand!(15%!lower).!!
• A!much!higher!proportion!of!older!graduates!participated! in! the!GTD!strand! than! the!average!(four! times! the! all! programme!average),! and!nearly! double! the!proportion!participated! in! the!Freelancer! Academy.! There! were! much! lower! levels! of! older! participants! within! the! Taster,!Placement!and!Graduate!Academy!strands.!!These!results!are!not!entirely!surprising.!!However,!there!were!older!participants!within!every!strand!of!GO!Wales.!!!!
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In! addition! to! the! indicators! reported!above,!Work!Placement!participants!were!asked! to! indicate!whether! they! believed! their! placement!was! in! a! nonNtraditional! gender! role.! ! 3%! of! respondents!indicated!that!this!was!the!case.!!Of!these!around!threeNquarters!were!female!and!oneNquarter!male.!!!
11.2 Participant)Activities)The!targets!for!the!number!of!participants!undertaking!activities!(placements!and!training)!specific!to! the! crossNcutting! themes! have! both! been! revised! upwards! through! reprofiling! activities.! The!number! of! participants! undertaking! an! environmental! sustainability! focused!placement! or! specific!training!activity!has!delivered!outputs! at!91%!of! reprofiled! target!but! almost!160%!of! the!original!target.! All! participants! in! the! Graduate! and! Freelancer! Academies! received! specific! training! on!environmental!and!equality!awareness.!!This!target!was!substantially!exceeded!(174%).!!!
11.3 Wider)Promotion)of)Cross)Cutting)Themes))
All!participating!businesses!were!offered!the!opportunity!to!receive!follow!up!advice!to!improve!or!develop!equality!and!diversity!and!environmental!sustainability!strategies!and!monitoring!systems!as!part!of!their!engagement!with!GO!Wales.!!In!the!Convergence!area!410!employers!indicated!a!desire!to! have! further! assistance! in! adopting! or! improving! an! equality! and! diversity! strategy! and! action!plan.! 468! wanted! further! assistance! in! respect! of! adopting! or! improving! an! Environmental!Management! system.! A! further! 134! and! 161! respectively! requested! this! advice! in! the! Non!Convergence!area.!!Those!that!requested!further!assistance!were!signposted!to!areas!where!further!support!could!be!accessed.!
The!GO!Wales!marketing!team!was!tasked!with!following!up!with!businesses!which!had!expressed!an!interest!in!learning!more,!via!their!GO!Wales!registration!forms.!!A!pilot!telephone!survey!of!20!employers!was!undertaken!within!each!field.!Of!the!20!employers!surveyed!who!had!said!that!they!wanted!to!adopt!or!improve!an!equality!and!diversity!strategy!none!indicated!that!they!had!adopted!such!a!system!or!strategy.!50%!said!they!intended!to!do!so!in!the!future!and!50%!said!they!did!not!intend! to! do! so! in! the! future.! Of! those! who! were! intending! to! adopt! an! equality! and! diversity!strategy!or!monitoring!system,!15%!said!they!were!looking!to!do!so!within!six!months,!40%!in!a!year!and!45%!were!not!sure!of!a!timeframe.!When!asked!if!they!had!improved!their!equality!and!diversity!strategy,!only!10%!said!yes,!with!90%!saying!no.!
All! organisations! stated! a! commitment! and! support! towards! equality! and! diversity.! Organisations!tended! to! see! it! as! something! that! was! better! embedded! as! an! attitude! rather! than! requiring! a!particular!strategy!or!plan.!Many!organisations!felt!they!already!did!enough!to!attract!and!retain!a!diverse!workforce.!Most! felt! that!economic!drivers!were!far!more! important!on!a!dayNtoNday!basis!and!were!not!minded! to! create!a! specific!policy.!All! stated!a! commitment!to!developing!a!diverse!workforce!but!either! felt! they!were!already!doing!all! they!could,!or! that!a!particular!policy!wasn’t!needed.! The! organisations! felt! pressures! of!work! and! ensuring! that! the! organisation! remained! in!business/profit!was!more!important!and!more!of!a!pressing!concern.!
A!similar!followNup!exercise!was!undertaken!with!employers!who!had!indicated!a!desire!to!improve!or!adopt!an!Environmental!Management!System.!Of!the!20!employers!surveyed!who!had!said!that!they!wanted!to!adopt!an!Environmental!Management!System,!no!employers!indicated!that!they!had!adopted!such!a!system!or!strategy.!No!employers!said!they!intended!to!do!so!in!the!future.!!Lack!of!
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time! was! the! reason! given,! most! often! followed! by! questioning! the! need! for! such! systems.! No!companies! who! had! said! that! they! wanted! to! improve! their! environmental! management! system!indicated!that!they!had!done!so,!but!40%!said!that!they!did!still!want!to!but!had!no!further!specific!information!to!offer.!!!
This! evidence! would! suggest! a! more! focused! signposting! approach! may! be! required.! Within! GO!Wales! Phase! 5! further! information! was! provided! via! a! leaflet! with! signposting! information.!!Potentially!a!referral!to!another!project!with!specialist!advice!should!be!considered.!!!!
11.4 Summary)
In!terms!of!delivering!against!the!cross!cutting!themes!there!is!a!mixed!picture.! ! It! is!clear!that!the!differing!strands!of!GO!Wales!have!varied!participation!from!target!groups.!!!!This!is!a!strength!of!the!broad!offering!of!GO!Wales,!creating!opportunities!to!meet!the!needs!of!all!participant!types.!
Whilst!performance!against! target!has!been! fair,! the!evidence! suggests!activities! to! target!priority!groups!are!limited!and!the!reported!outcomes!are!not!due!to!focused!and!proactive!engagement.!!
The! GO! Wales! Programme! has! sought! to! embed! the! cross! cutting! themes! within! its! activities,!including! specific! training!on! the! themes!within! the! two!Academy!strands!and! through! registering!interest!of!business!participants! to! implement! improved!behaviours,!practices!and!policies!around!the! cross! cutting! themes.! ! Whilst! this! engagement! with! businesses! has! generated! interest! the!evidence!suggests!there!is!need!for!more!direct!follow!up!or!a!clear!referral!process!to!capitalise!on!this!interest.!!This!is!a!potential!issue!for!WEFO!to!follow!up!in!future!Programming!rounds.!!
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12 Conclusions)and)Recommendations)
This!chapter!provides!a!summary!of!the!main!findings!structured!around!the!six!aims!set!out!for!this!evaluation.!!Each!is!considered!in!turn.!
12.1 Achievement)of)Aims)and)Objectives)
Chapter!2!of!this!report!sets!out!the!aim!of!GO!Wales!to:!
“support"the"deployment,"development"and"retention"of"graduates’"high"level"skills,"knowledge"and"innovative"potential"in"businesses"in"the"Convergence"areas"of"Wales,"particularly"small"and"medium"sized"businesses”"
At! the! same! time! GO!Wales! is! badged! as!Wales’! graduate! employability! programme.! ! Therefore,!whilst!GO!Wales!is!badged!as!a!graduate!employability!programme,!it!also!has!a!strong!element!of!business!support!activity!running!through! it,!particularly! in!terms!of!encouraging!the!adoption!and!utilisation!of!higher!level!skills!into!SMEs.!!!
Deployment"
Numerous! strands! of! GO! Wales! contribute! to! the! deployment! of! graduates’! skills! in! Welsh!businesses.! !Work!Placements!are!the!largest!scale!activity!which!puts!higherNlevel!skills!to!work!in!the!Welsh!economy.! !40%!of!participant!businesses!had!not!previously!employed!graduates.! ! !Not!only! has! this! taken! place! through! the! delivery! of! the! 4,300! placements,! but! through! ongoing!employment,! with! 60%! of! placements! resulting! in! an! offer! of! employment! and! a! further! 15%! of!placees!securing!employment!that! is!attributable!to!GO!Wales.! ! !The! impact!of! the!deployment!of!graduates’! skills! is! evident! through! further! job! creation,! increased! business! turnover! and! the!introduction!of!new!products!and!processes.!!!
Development"
All!strands!contribute!to!the!development!of!graduates’!skills,!either!through!formal!learning!or!‘on!the! job’! skills! development.! ! GO! Wales! Phase! 5! has! also! included! accreditation! of! much! of! the!informal! skills! development,! for! example! through! the! Professional!Development!Award! as! part! of!the! Work! Placement! strand.! ! More! than! 2,000! individuals! have! gained! qualifications! in! the!Convergence!area!alone.!!!
Retention"
The! participant! survey! indicated! some! degree! of! graduate! retention! as! a! result! of! the! Work!Placement! and!Work! Taster! strand.! !On! the!basis! of! responses! from! these! two! strands! some!890!graduates!have!remained!in!Wales!that!would!not!have!anticipated!doing!so!without!participating!in!GO!Wales.!This!is!some!15%!of!participants!across!the!two!strands.!!!
The!strand!reviews!have!demonstrated!that!each!individual!component!is!delivering!against!its!core!objective!and!target!outcomes.!!
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12.2 Design,)Delivery)and)Management)
The! evidence! collected! and! collated! as! part! of! this! evaluation! has! found! the! vast!majority! of! GO!Wales!to!be!a!robustly!designed!and!delivered!programme.!!GO!Wales!Phase!5!included!new!strands!of! activity,! and! these! took! some! time! to! become! established,! but! once! maturity! was! reached!performance!has!been!strong.!!!!
The!most!substantive!issues!have!surrounded!the!GTD!strand.!In!addition,!as!would!be!anticipated!in!a!programme!of!this!scale!and!scope,!there!have!been!some!minor!issues.!!Previous!evaluations!have!explored!these! issues,!coupled!with!additional! internal!audit!and! investigation.! !Wherever!possible!such! issues! have! been! addressed,! either! through! inNprogramme! changes! to! the! design! of! the!activities!(e.g.!GTD)!or!through!improvements!to!operational!processes.!!!The!changes!to!GTD!have!been!explored!within! the!main! report! and! found! to!be!an! improvement.!However,! this! remains! a!strand!of!activity!that!faces!challenges.!
Consultations!with! project! staff! have! found!evidence!of! progress! in! the! areas! that!were! raised! as!potential!areas!of!weakness!in!earlier!evaluation!exercises.!!At!all!times!the!perceptions!of!individual!and!employer!participants!have!been!positive!to!the!operational!elements!of!the!scheme.!!!
12.3 Effectiveness)and)Impact)
This! evaluation! has! found! GO! Wales! Phase! 5! to! be! effective.! ! Output! achievement! and! target!reprofiling!has! led! to! some!downward! revisions!of! targets!during! the!Programme’s! lifeNtime.! ! This!has!been!in!part!a!result!of!uncertainty!when!setting!original!targets,!particularly!for!new!activities,!and!in!part!a!result!of!external!factors!relating!to!the!broader!economic!climate.!!!There!have!been!some!issues!with!the!GTD!strand,!which!are!explored! in!the!main!report,!and!of!which!the!project!management! team!has!been!well!aware.! !There!have!been!efforts! to! improve!performance! in! this!strand! throughout! Phase! 5.! ! Operationally! these! have! been! successful,! although! there! remain!uncertainties!as!to!whether!the!design!of!this!strand!best!serves!employer!needs.!
Evidence! collected! from! individual! and!employer! participants! consistently! shows!positive! views!of!both!scheme!satisfaction,!its!effectiveness,!and!reported!impacts.!!!
Impacts!include!both!soft!and!hard!outputs.!!The!evidence!points!to!a!range!of!positive!impacts!upon!participant! attitudes! and! perceptions! as! well! as! through! skills! acquisition,! job! creation,! business!turnover!and!wage!uplift.!!!
The!preceding!chapters!explored! in!detail! the!quantitative!assessment!of! impact!by!strand.! !These!are!summarised!in!Table!12.1!and!Table!12.2!below.!!This!presents!net!additional!impacts!based!on!evidence!provided!by!participants! and! the! control! group! sample.! ! It! is! assessed! that! almost!2,000!jobs!have!been!created!and!200! jobs!safeguarded,!a!wage!uplift!of!£2.4!N!£2.9million!and!business!turnover!uplift!of!more!than!£30!million!attributable!to!the!activities!supported!in!the!Convergence!Programme!area.!!When!considering!the!allNWales!position!the!figures!are!higher.!!!!
) )
!!
!61!
!
Table)12.1)Summary)Impact)Analysis)–)Convergence)Area)
! Work)Placements)
Work)Tasters)
GTD) Graduate)Academy)
Freelancer)Academy)
Total)
Job!Creation! 1,485! 204! 194! n/a! n/a! 1,883)Jobs!Safeguarded! n/a! n/a! 200! n/a! n/a! 200)Wage!Uplift! £0.8m!N!£1.3m! £0.12m! £1.1m! £0.14m! £0.2m! £2.36m)N)£2.86m)Business! Turnover!Uplift!
£28.7m! n/a! £3.1m! n/a! n/a! £31.8m)
!
Table)12.2)Summary)Impact)Analysis)N)Wales)
! Work)Placements)
Work)Tasters)
GTD) Graduate)Academy)
Freelancer)Academy)
Total)
Job!Creation! 2,450! 375! 321! n/a! n/a! 3,146)Jobs!Safeguarded! n/a! n/a! 300! n/a! n/a! 300)Wage!Uplift! £2.2m!N!£3.9m! £0.27m! £1.9m! £0.37m! £0.4m! £5.14m)N)£6.84m)Business! Turnover!Uplift!
£42.3m! n/a! £5.1m! n/a! n/a! £47.4m)
!
Longitudinal! surveys! of! individual! and! employer! participants! have! found! evidence! of! longN! term!benefits! being! reported.! ! ! Follow!up! interviews!more! than! two! years! after! the! original! telephone!survey!found!employers!and!individuals!reporting!impact!in!broadly!equal!measure!to!at!the!original!survey.!!!
12.4 Value)for)Money)
Determining!value!for!money!is!a!complex!matter!with!regards!to!GO!Wales.!!This!is!due!to!the!range!of! activities! and! outputs! that! fall! within! the! Programme.! ! It! is! also! a! feature! of! the! delivery!mechanism.!!As!a!result!of!the!delivery!structures!in!place!it! is!not!easy!to!determine!exact!budget!lines!for!each!strand.!!As!part!of!this!evaluation!HJA!has!worked!with!the!HEFCW!project!managers!to!determine!best!estimates!of!public!sector! funding!for!each!activity!strand31.!Table!12.3!sets!out!the!results!of!this!exercise.!!!
Table)12.3)Estimated)public)funding)by)strand)
! Work)Placements)
Work)Tasters)
GTD) Graduate)Academy)
Freelancer)Academy)
Total)
Convergence! 9.77m! 2.28m! 1.36m! 0.87m! 0.52m! £14.33m)Non!Convergence! 3.42m! 1.27m! 0.66m! 0.31m! 0.33m! £5.99m)Total) £13.19m) £3.55m) £2.02m) £1.19m) £0.85m) £20.79m)Note:"Figures"in"this"table"do"not"exactly"align"to"the"levels"of"public"funding"set"out"at"Table!2.5.""Figures"may"not"sum"due"to"rounding."
Value!for!money!can!be!considered!from!a!number!of!perspectives.!!Economy!–!the!means!by!which!inputs!are!utilised!and!the!associated!cost!of!inputs;!Efficiency!–!the!costs!of!generating!outputs;!and!!Effectiveness!–!the!means!by!which!investment!is!transformed!into!outcomes!within!the!economy.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!31!Different!HEIs!implemented!differing!delivery!arrangements.!!As!a!result!estimates!for!staff!costs!by!strand!were!based!upon!available!data! for! those! HEIs! which! clearly! apportioned! staff! time! to! particular! strands.! ! These! estimates! were! then! applied! to! all! HEIs.! Other!participant!costs!by!strand!were!known.!!Overheads!were!distributed!based!on!a!percentage!uplift!to!estimated!costs.!!Whilst!not!a!perfect!assessment!it!was!agreed!to!be!the!best!available!estimate.!
!!
!
62!
!
This!evaluation!has!not!undertaken!a!detailed!financial!audit!of!GO!Wales.! !However,!the!evidence!
collected! throughout! this! evaluation! (and! earlier! phases)! has! not! uncovered! areas! of! concern! in!
terms!of!the!delivery!structures!that!would!suggest!costs!of!inputs!are!higher!than!they!reasonably!
should! be.! ! ! GO!Wales! has! been! running! for!many! years! and! for! those!mature! strands! of! activity!
there! are! established! mechanisms! for! delivery! which! appear! efficient.! ! One! slight! concern!
commented!upon!within!this!evaluation!is!the!quality!of!staff,!and!the!implications!of!losing!skilled!
staff! between! funding! rounds.! ! This! is! not! a! problem! unique! to! GO!Wales,! but! will! impact! upon!
overall!economy.!
In!terms!of!effectiveness,!this!evaluation!has!not! identified!any!major!areas!of!concern!in!terms!of!
translating!inputs!to!outputs.!!Some!minor!issues!have!been!discussed!elsewhere!in!this!evaluation!
report.!!There!was!some!degree!of!‘getting!up!to!speed’!with!new!activities!at!the!start!of!Phase!5,!
but!for!the!new!Academy!strands!this!was!not!a!concern!across!the!whole!funding!period!as!outputs!
were!delivered!in!years!2!and!3.!!!!
In! terms! of! effectiveness,! there! are! various! impact! outcomes! upon! the! Welsh! economy.! ! The!
headline!measures! are! summarised! in! Tables! 12.1! and! 12.2! above.! ! Clearly! for! every! £1! of! public!
investment!there!are!a!range!of!net!additional!impacts!upon!the!Convergence!area!and!wider!Welsh!
economy.!However,!they!are!neither!mutually!exclusive!nor!mutually!inclusive.!!It!therefore!creates!
some! challenges! in! estimating! detailed! value! for! money! indicators.! ! As! with! many! projects,! the!
public! investment!‘buys’!a!basket!of!outcomes!including!jobs!created,! jobs!safeguarded,!new!skills,!
additional! business! turnover! and! a!whole! range! of! softer! outcomes! upon! business! and! individual!
participants.!!For!simplicity!the!following!indicators!have!been!used:!
• Cost!per!net!additional!FTE!job!
• Cost!per!£1!of!net!additional!business!turnover!
These!indicators!are!fairly!crude!in!that!cost!per!job!is!not!able!to!fully!capture!the!quality!of!those!
jobs,!many!of!which!are!graduate!level!employment!opportunities.!!The!figures!are!also!based!on!full!
public!sector!contribution,!not!just!ESF!monies.!!
The!core!messages!that!emerge!from!the!evidence!are!that!costs!per!net!outcome!are!lower!in!the!
non!Convergence!Area!than!the!Convergence!Area.!!This!should!not!be!a!surprise!given!the!weaker!
overall!economic!environment!in!the!Convergence!area!which!is!the!raison"d’etre!for!the!Programme!
itself.! ! Table! 12.4! provides! estimated! value! for! money! indicators.! These! should! be! treated! with!
appropriate! caution,! but! provide! a! sufficient! level! of! detail! to! draw! broad! conclusions.! ! The! data!
suggest!an!overall!cost!per!net!additional!FTE!of!around!£7,000!in!the!Convergence!Area!and!£6,000!
across!all!Wales.!!The!figure!is!lower!for!Work!Placements.!! !It!should!be!remembered!that!the!net!
job!creation!figure!is!eavily!discounted!as!a!result!of!potential!deadweight.!!Gross!job!creation!would!
be!far!lower!than!these!estimated!levels.!
Cost! per! additional! £1! of! business! turnover! is! in! the! order! of! 30! –! 40! pence.! ! ! This! assumes! a!
turnover! impact! in! only! a! single! year.! ! It! is! likely! there! will! be! some! ongoing! legacy! impact! of!
increased!turnover!and!therefore!this!figure!would!fall.!
!!!
!!
!63!
!
Table)12.4)Estimated)value)for)money)indicators)
! Work)Placements)
Work)Tasters)
GTD) Graduate)Academy)
Freelancer)Academy)
Total*)
Cost)Per)Job)Convergence! £6,580! £11,180! £7,010! n/a! n/a! £7,120)All!Wales! £5,380! £9,470! £6,290! n/a! n/a! £5,960)) ) ) ) ) ) )Cost)per)£1)of)Business)Turnover)Convergence) £0.34! n/a! £0.43! n/a! n/a! £0.35!All!Wales) £0.31! n/a! £0.40! n/a! n/a! £0.32!*!Total!figures!are!averages!based!on!all!relevant!strands,!not!the!total!Programme!expenditure.!
12.5 Cross)Cutting)Themes))
Chapter!11!considered!the!crossNcutting!themes!in!some!detail.!This!found!mixed!results!in!terms!of!
activity!targets!and!engagement!with!older,!BME!and!disabled!participants.!!Consultations!indicated!
that!these!targets!were!not!actively!pursued!by!GO!Wales!staff!but!the!output!data!reflect!those!that!
came! forward! to! participate.! ! It! was! also! suggested! that! there! may! be! some! underNreporting! of!
disabled!participants,!as!a!result!of!individuals!choosing!not!to!disclose.!!!
GO! Wales! also! provided! an! opportunity! for! participating! employers! to! find! out! more! about!
establishing!Equality!and!Diversity!strategies!and!Environmental!Management!Systems.! !This! led!to!
the!dissemination!of!further!information,!but!follow!up!research!has!indicated!this!was!rarely!acted!
upon.! ! This!would! suggest!more! active! referral! and! follow!up! by! specialist! advisors! is! required! to!
capitalise!on!such!opportunities.! !This! is!an!issue!that!should!be!considered!by!WEFO!as!part!of! its!
implementation!of!future!funding!rounds.!!
12.6 Recommendations)
The!following!recommendations!have!emerged!from!the!evidence!collected!and!collated!as!part!of!
this!evaluation.!!!
12.6.1 Strategic)Issues)
GO!Wales!has!historically!been!partNfunded!through!ESF!as!a!skillsNbased!programme.!However,!it!is!
clearly!delivering!benefit!to!both!the!individual!and!businesses.!!Consideration!could!be!given!as!to!
how!GO!Wales!might!be!positioned!in!the!future.!!Whilst!there!are!clear!ESF!related!skills!elements!
there!may!also!be!opportunities!to!explore!the!role!of!GO!Wales!type!activities!within!ERDF!funded!
business!support!activity.!!
Discussions!with!Programme!Managers!have!indicated!that!in!the!coming!years!GO!Wales!will!be!a!
smaller!scale!project!with!a!greater!focus!on!students!and!graduates!with!barriers!to!employment.!!
On! the! basis! of! this! evaluation! there! will! be! a! need! to! be! clear! as! to! whether! GO! Wales! is! an!
employability! related!programme!for!undergraduates!and!graduates,!or!whether! it! is!an!economic!
growth!programme!that!is!focused!on!ensuring!graduate!level!skills!are!effectively!employed!in!the!
Welsh!economy,!particularly!within!SMEs!and!organisations!that!would!not!otherwise!employ!high!
level! skills.! !The!approach!one!might! take!would!be!quite!different!under!each!of! these! two!aims.!!!!
On! this! basis! a! clear! set! of! objectives! should! be! developed! against! which! performance! can! be!
measured.!!
!!
!
64!
!
This!evaluation!has!found!continuing!issues!related!to!the!design!of!GTD.!In!particular,!this!highlights!
the!disconnect!between!skills!and!qualifications.!!If!GTD!is!to!continue!there!is!a!need!to!be!clear!on!
the!overarching!aim!of!this!strand!of!activity.!!Is!it!the!effective!employment!of!graduate!level!skills!
in! the! Welsh! economy?! ! If! so,! the! current! approach! to! GTD,! seeking! to! deliver! higherNlevel!
qualifications!to!those!already! in!possession!of!higherNlevel!skills!may!not!be!the!most!appropriate!
route.!!It!may!be!that!if!the!ESF!funding!route!is!not!suited,!another!approach!may!be!required.!!For!
example,! it! was! suggested! that! often! the! barrier! to! employers! effectively! utilising! graduate! level!
skills!are!actually!the!need!for!practical!training!rather!than!more!higherNlevel!qualifications.!!There!
was!also!a! suggestion! to!develop!a! type!of! ‘graduate! training!programme’! for!SMEs!on!a!modular!
basis.!!Many!of!the!challenges!which!are!reported!by!GTD!staff!relate!more!to!the!criteria!of!the!ESF!
Convergence!Programme!than!the!GO!Wales!Programme!per!se.!!!
12.6.2 Operational)Issues)
A!recurring!issue!through!the!evaluation!exercises!undertaken!as!part!of!GO!Wales!Phase!5!are!the!
implications! of! a! delivery! approach! which! includes! a! substantial! scope! for! institutional! variation!
rather! than! a! prescriptive! model! cast! down! from! the! centre.! ! There! are! pros! and! cons! of! both!
approaches.! ! The! current!model! has! been! used! and! adapted! for!many! years! and! clearly! provides!
great!benefits!given!the!differing!institutional!cultures!and!structures!in!Wales.! !The!evidence!from!
the!evaluation!as!a!whole!suggests!no!major!complaints!as!to!delivery!arrangements!and!structures.!!
However,!there!are!some!issues!which!have!been!identified!as!part!of!the!evaluation.!!A!continued!
commitment!to!reduce!inconsistencies,!particularly!for!project!beneficiaries!is!encouraged.!
Whilst!this!evaluation!has!not!looked!in!detail!at!variable!performance!by!institution,!it!is!clear!that!
this!is!an!issue.!!It!is!an!issue!that!project!staff!are!aware!of,!and!have!opinions!on.!!The!point!that!is!
consistently!made!is!that!successful!achievement!of!targets!is!heavily!reliant!on!the!quality!and!skills!
of!project!delivery!staff.! ! In!particular!the!need!for!dynamic!staff!with!a! ‘sales!and!marketing’!type!
approach!to!engaging!with!employers!and!who!‘own’!targets!has!been!highlighted.!!When!discussing!
HEIs!that!are!able!to!achieve!targets,!it!is!regularly!the!quality!of!staff!that!are!highlighted.!!In!early!
evaluation! stages! it!was! clearly! evident! that! the! loss! of! quality! staff! through! the! break! in! project!
funding!was!a!hindrance!to!delivering!outputs!in!the!early!stages!of!Phase!5.!!Whilst!GO!Wales!may!
continue! to! allow! flexibility! of! approach!by!HEIs,! it! is! recommended! that! consideration! should! be!
given! to! providing! stronger! encouragement! or! guidance! to! HEIs! about! the! nature! of! successful!
delivery!of!GO!Wales!activity,!particularly! in!respect!of!staffing.!A! further!element!of! this!could!be!
provision!of!more!central!training!to!project!staff!to!ensure!consistency!of!vision!and!approach.!!!
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