Evaluation of Traineeships

The Department for Education has published a research report that evaluates the Traineeships programme.

The evaluation explored the views and experiences of:

•   Year Two Survey of Trainees: 2,153 trainees who commenced a traineeship programme between August 2014 and July 2015.

•   Trainee’s Follow Up Survey: 416 trainees who were interviewed as part of the Year One evaluation programme and then interviewed again between 18-30 months after the traineeship (December 2015 and January 2016).

•   Providers, trainees, employers and local referral agents who were interviewed as part of six qualitative case studies between November 2015 and February 2016. 

Traineeships are an education and training programme that provide young people aged 16-24 with an intensive period of work experience and work preparation training, as well as offering them support in improving their English and maths to give them the best opportunity of entering an apprenticeship or employment.

Traineeships were introduced in August 2013 and the findings in this report explore:

•   Trainees’ motivations, attitudes and experiences of traineeships in the second year of the programme (August 2014-July 2015).

•   The extent to which any early impacts seen after the initial evaluation are sustained over the longer term. This was achieved by re-contacting trainees who took part in the initial year one evaluation and agreed to be re-contacted.

•   Key stakeholder perceptions of set up, referral pathways and delivery of the programme.