To ask the Minister for Employment and Learning to detail how Pathways to Success projects collect data at an individual level regarding (i) participant characteristics; (ii) the forms of support they receive; and (iii) their destinations, both within projects and following their completion.

Pathways to Success project mentors capture data, directly from clients availing of the respective programme, when clients join the project and when they progress to positive destinations. The information obtained from initial mentoring sessions is confidential and remains with the organisation, as very often young people in the NEET (not in employment, education or training) category have multiple barriers to employment. A broad spectrum of support is tailored to suit individual needs e.g. personal advice and mentoring, job search, interview preparation, one to one and group work, short accredited training courses, pre employment programmes and ongoing work placement opportunities.

NEET interventions are intended to guide young people towards playing a full role in their communities and to support the economy, with the skills needed for the future. Project mentors supported young people while they were in training and, afterwards, followed up with the young people into their new destinations and continued to provide mentoring support. Going forward, European Social Fund (ESF) project providers will use Richter scales and other methodologies to track clients. Those who leave and return to the benefit system will be tracked through the Client Management System and with the support of Careers Service staff.

The outcomes achieved from previous Pathways interventions were collected by project organisations and were as follows. The Collaboration and Innovation Fund supported 6,017 young people aged 16 to 24 years who were in the NEET category. During the period January 2013 to March 2015 4,719 young people completed the programme with 692 (12%) moving into employment, 622 (10%) commenced education and 1,702 (28%) started training, representing an overall positive outcome of 3,016 (50%).

The Community Family Support Programme, was designed as a signature project for Delivering Social Change, and was piloted from January to June 2013. It successfully engaged 44 families and, subsequently, was up scaled to 720 families in 2013-15.

Between 2013-2015, a total of 610 families attended a Family Learning Component intervention session, and 458 young people participated on the programme with 293 entering education, training or employment. Further data was captured on those starting (341) and completing (74) essential skills, short accredited training courses (179) and other positive outcomes.

The Local Employment Intermediary Service (LEMIS) supported 1,156 young people in 2014/15. A total of 480 young people moved to positive destinations of education, training or employment. Personal advice and mentoring support and ongoing support 13 weeks after a client secured employment was given to ensure job retention.

My Department’s aim is to continue the delivery of customer focused provision through the new NI ESF Investment for Growth & Jobs Programme from April 2015 to March 2018. Good practices delivered under previous Pathways projects will be continued under the new ESF strand to ensure support for the most disengaged young people continues.