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ABSTRACT
Using a matching framework and high-quality administrative longitudinal and survey data, we evaluate the effectiveness of a second-chance education opportunity scheme, the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA), in assisting jobseekers to find employment on completion of their course. The results from two separate datasets indicate that BTEA scheme participation had large negative consequences for subsequent employment transitions. Further analysis revealed the negative impacts are likely to be related to flaws in the BTEA scheme framework rather than deficits in the quality of the education received. These results hold when tested against the influences of sample selection and unobserved heterogeneity bias.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Based on work by Kuddo (Citation2009), public sector job creation schemes can also act as a poverty/safety net program for very disadvantaged groups. For example, older workers and the long-term unemployed.
2. Second chance measures | CEDEFOP (europa.eu)
5. Expenditure on this programme has fallen since 2012, but in terms of activation measures that have the intention of increasing peoples’ education and skill levels so that they can access the labour market, the BTEA is still Ireland’s largest scheme, in terms of both expenditure and numbers (DEASP, 2017).
6. IES is an independent centre for research and evidence-based consultancy in the UK, which provides insights on employment and human resource management topics to help improve policy and practice. For more information, see https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/
7. In Ireland, the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP), managed by Pobal, aims to assist a subset of those who are furthest away from the labour market. This programme has recently developed a tailored distance travelled tool (My Journey) to measure soft skills relevant to employment, education and personal development for service beneficiaries. It aims to support service users and staff to work together to identify personal goals for the client and show progress over time. My Journey measures five soft-skill areas: (i) literacy and numeracy confidence; (ii) confidence, goal setting and self-efficacy; (iii) communication skills; (iv) connection with others; and (v) general work readiness. For more information see: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/8dee88-my-journey-distance-travelled-tool/.
8. For jobseekers, the two qualifying payments are Jobseeker’s Allowance (a means tested payment) and Jobseeker’ Benefit (a social insurance contribution payment).
9. A Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) accreditation.
10. In May 2014, some amendments were made to the progression rule. However, the described progression rule applies to the BTEA recipient cohort examined in this study. Other changes were made to the scheme in May 2014 as well: see Kelly, McGuinness, and Walsh (Citation2015) for further details.
11. Social welfare claimant office.
12. We excluded control group individuals who subsequently undertook a SLO or TLO course during the evaluation time period (i.e., post-September/October 2008). Individuals in the control and treatment groups who subsequently undertook other forms of labour market activation training were dropped from the sample as well, as were individuals who participated in programmes in the three months prior to September/October 2008. Given that ‘progressing in educational qualifications’ is one of the BTEA eligibility criteria, the majority of BTEA applicants will have less than a third-level qualification; thus, we also excluded individuals whose previous occupation was one of the top three, predominantly graduate occupation categories – Managers, Professionals and Associate Professionals – on the basis that the majority of such claimants will have a higher education qualification and should not typically have been eligible for the programme.
13. The Department of Social Protection (DSP) is now known as the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).
14. In this analysis, we are assessing participants’ economic status (i.e., unemployed or not) at least one year (assuming three-year duration courses) post-programme completion in our June 2012 analysis, and at least three years post-course completion date in our June 2014 analysis.
15. The two main data sources used are the CSS dataset and the DEASP’s administrative unemployment data file known as ISTS.
16. Results available from the authors on request.
17. These results were consistent across the two models that were estimated for June 2012 and June 2014: results for the June 2014 model are available from the authors on request.
18. The majority of the PSM stage one probit model results were consistent across the two time point specifications that were estimated, June 2012 and June 2014. However, there was some variation, mainly in the regional and previous occupation results, which can be attributed to the inclusion of those who completed their TLO course over four to six years in the June 2014 specification: all PSM results available from the authors on request.
19. Results available from the authors on request.
20. The detailed probit model and PSM SLO and TLO results are available from the authors on request.
21. Results available from the authors on request.
22. In Ireland, points are calculated for students on the basis of their performance in their best six subjects in the Leaving Certificate examination. The range for point is from 0 to 600 and our data is based on 6 equally spaced band categories.
23. The results indicate that beneficiaries of SICAP pre-employment supports were approximately 18 percentage points more likely to progress into employment, relative to the control group, in the short to medium term (after 3 to 6 months).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Elish Kelly
Elish Kelly is a Senior Research Officer at the ESRI, Dublin. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) in the University of Bonn. Her main research interest is in labour economics, with a particular focus on unemployment, active labour market programmes and evaluations, migration, wages and pay bargaining institutions. She has also undertaken research on equality and on education issues, along with sports economics.
Seamus McGuinness
Seamus McGuinness is Research Professor in the ESRI, Dublin. He is also an Adjunct Professor in Trinity College Dublin and a Research Fellow at IZA. Most of his published research has been in the areas of labour economics and the economics of education, he has a particular expertise in the areas of education and skill mismatches.
Adele Bergin
Adele Bergin is an Associate Research Professor at the ESRI, an adjunct Professor at Trinity College Dublin and a Research Fellow at IZA Bonn. Her research interests are in labour economics and macro-economic modelling.
Adele Whelan
Adele Whelan is a Senior Research Officer at the ESRI and an adjunct Associate Research Professor at Trinity College Dublin. Her research interests are in labour market economics, economics of education, programme evaluation, industrial organisation, community development and social inclusion.