Research into Jobcentre support for young people

What is this project about?

This research will help us understand young people’s experiences of the support they have received from the Jobcentre or their local Youth Hub. The aim of the research is to improve these services for young people looking for work.

We would like to hear your views on the support you have been offered, whether it has helped you, and how you feel it can be improved.  

Our team at the Institute for Employment Studies is completing this research for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). We are speaking to a range of people across Great Britain to gather their views.

A summary of our research findings will be shared with DWP. The findings will be anonymised, so you will not be identified. What you say will not be shared with anyone at DWP or your local Jobcentre and will not affect your benefits in any way.

What happens if I decide to take part?

We will arrange a private conversation by phone between yourself and someone in our research team. This will last between 30-45 minutes.

The conversation will cover:

• What support you have been offered by the Jobcentre or your local Youth Hub to help you find work;
• Your experience of receiving this support;
• What you got out of it and whether the support can be improved in any way.

If you do choose to participate, we offer a thank you gift for your time - a £30 Amazon, Tesco or Love to Shop voucher.

What are my rights if I take part?

It is up to you whether you take part. Whether you take part or not will not affect your relationship with the Jobcentre, or any other government agencies, and the benefits you may be claiming will not be affected in any way.

You have the right to privacy. We don’t share anything that would identify you (like name or address) with anyone outside the research team. When we share the findings with DWP, we might use quotes from you, but never with your name.

You have the right to decide how much you share and the pace of the conversation. You can choose not to answer questions that feel like too much - or take breaks - or stop if that feels right for you.

You have the right for your data to be held safely. We make sure there is no way you can be identified by taking part, and that your privacy is not compromised.

You have a right to change your mind if you no longer wish to take part. This can be before, during, or after the conversation.

If afterwards you decide you do not want us to use what you shared, please email jonathan.buzzeo@employment-studies.co.uk and ask us to delete your data, and where possible, we will not process this data. This can be done up to 2 weeks after the interview date.

What happens to the information I share, or ‘my data’?

If you take part, and with your permission, we’ll record our conversation (audio) and take notes. We will use the audio recording to create a written copy of our conversation (a transcript).

We only keep 1 file with your name and other identifying information (like your phone number) so we can reach you. Anything else you share is labelled anonymously (for example, as ‘Participant 1’). All this information is held securely on our IT server and is not shared with anyone outside the research team.

We will write a summary of the findings and share this with DWP. They will not know who we have spoken with, and we will not include anything that identifies you (like your name). This report may also be made publicly available on the gov.uk website.

To protect your privacy, we delete the audio recording of our conversation and the file with your name and other personal details after the project is complete. The transcript of our conversation will be securely deleted from the IES systems 6 months after the project is completed (currently estimated to be January 2024).

Further information on how your data will be used is available on our privacy notice for the project.

Who can I talk to about the research?

If you have questions about the study, or would like to remove the information you have provided, please contact:

Who can I contact with a query about how my data will be used?

Further information on the rights available to you is also available from the Information Commissioner’s Office - the independent body responsible for regulating data protection within the UK. They can also deal with any complaints you may have regarding our use of your data: Tel: 0303 123 1113, Email: casework@ico.org.uk,