Education scheme hinders job-seeker prospects

Further research is being carried out into why participants in a back-to-education scheme that has cost €1.5bn over 17 years are less likely to move into jobs than other unemployed people.

An Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) study found the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) programme does not appear effective in its core objective of helping the unemployed into work.

Compared to similarly unemployed people, jobseekers who started a course supported by BTEA in 2008 were up to 38% less likely to have got a job by June 2012. By 2014, they were still between 14% and 29% less likely to have left unemployment to go into work.

The Department of Social Protection spent €162.5m supporting 22,700 BTEA students last year, but the figure was €201m in 2012 for nearly 25,000 participants. It was set up in 1998 for jobseekers, lone parents and people with disabilities, who continue to receive income support equivalent to their jobseeker payment.

The range of courses covered includes Junior Certificate to post-Leaving Certificate programmes, and third-level courses up to postgraduate level.

The ESRI did not assess why these results on BTEA’s effectiveness emerged, but said their work needs to be complemented by qualitative research. For comprehensive policy conclusions on the factors, it should collect detailed evidence from BTEA participants, education providers, employers, and the social protection and education departments.

Lead author, ESRI research officer Elish Kelly, said schemes like BTEA which support access to education are a vital part of any life-long learning strategy.

“However, the evidence presented in this report, which is consistent with the findings from past reviews of the programme, raises concerns about the effectiveness of the BTEA scheme as an employment support programme for assisting jobseekers to transition from unemployment to employment,” she said.

While there was some success in redirecting participants to further study or training, the authors had concerns about the degree of progress.

“In 2012 and 2014, many of these individuals appeared to have been transitioning into programmes that were at the same level as the courses that they entered into when they first commenced a BTEA course in 2008, as opposed to them having moved on to a more advanced education or training programme,” Ms Kelly said.

Tánaiste and Social Protection Minister Joan Burton said her department has already made changes, including vetting BTEA applications to assess their labour market relevance, and is acting on Labour Market Council recommendations made in light of the ESRI study.

“These include, for example, a recommendation to commission a qualitative evaluation of BTEA participants and practitioners to explore the factors giving rise to the results, and a recommendation to develop linkages between Department of Social Protection and education sector IT systems to enable better tracking of BTEA participant progress,” Ms Burton said.

She said the department has previously used independent evaluations of the National Employment Action Plan and of JobBridge to inform policy. Although the latter showed very positive outcomes, the Tánaiste said, it still informed some changes to the detail of the JobBridge scheme.