Rhys Davies, Jennifer Alstrom, Kathryn Helliwell, Tom Smithson

European Structural and Investment Funds Journal, Jahrgang 5 (2017), Ausgabe 2, Seite 155 - 160

This article explores the use of a large scale telephone survey to evaluate the ESF Programmes in Wales. It firstly describes the structure of the ESF Programmes in Wales. It then describes the survey (known as the ‘ESF Leavers Survey’) and the Counterfactual Impact Evaluation (CIE) undertaken using data from it. Finally, the article discusses the CIE findings and links these to wider research and evaluation evidence on the effectiveness of interventions aimed at assisting people to find employment. The article suggests that, in the short-term, Employability Support and Engagement Signposting can be very effective types of support. It also suggests that support for those recently made redundant can result in high deadweight in terms of entry to employment but can help such people find better paid work than they would otherwise have done. The article suggests that the impact of Basic Skills Training may take a while to materialise but that it is worth persevering with this kind of support given other evidence on its longer-term effectiveness. The article concludes by discussing some of the weaknesses in the analysis and the steps being taken to improve this work in the future.