Supporting Highly Qualified Participants: Exploring Routes to Success

The DWP-commissioned evaluation of Restart identified that individuals with higher qualifications, or who had been working in higher-paid jobs prior to joining the programme, were less likely to be satisfied with their experience, reporting a lack of useful, relevant support tailored to their needs. This research explores in more depth how highly qualified and experienced participants are supported by Restart, what is working across a range of approaches, and identifies recommendations for improving the quality of service to individuals in this cohort.

This research includes interviews with providers and participants across the Prime Providers with Restart contracts, in which both current provision and experience of delivery were explored. Of the eight Primes delivering the 12 Restart contracts across England and Wales, more than half are now exploring a differentiated approach for this cohort. Inclusion in differentiated provision is voluntary, but those organisations offering additional support have identified key criteria for identifying suitable participants and this has commonly emerged as important for securing engagement and success within the differentiated programmes.

Commonality of approach was observed within the differential offers, which evidenced the identification of similar gaps in the standard Restart offer. At the heart of many approaches is a focus on greater depth and detail in a range of job search skills, from CV and cover letter writing to presentation and interview skills, in recognition of the potentially more complex and often multi staged application processes faced by this cohort. 

The research identified a range of recommendations to aid Primes in designing additional support or in wanting to better support this cohort within their mainstream Restart offer. The key findings in terms of how best to support highly qualified participants are discussed in detail in the report. Significantly, given that a number of changes are in the pipeline for the employment services sector, and that this may affect the profile of participants over the coming years, understanding how to work best with this group is both important and timely.