‘What works?’ is a simple question with complex answers. The evidence for the effectiveness (or otherwise) of interventions that aim to help young people facing the greatest challenges to get good quality jobs is plentiful. But it’s often hard to navigate, and the studies that are available vary in their quality, relevance, and reliability.
Relatively few use the kind of ‘experimental’ methodology that provides a robust assessment of whether a particular programme or activity makes a difference—by comparing people who take part with similar people who don’t. Where this kind of evidence is available, it may be reported in a format that is difficult to interpret or apply to a new context.
And of course, some of the things that might work haven’t been evaluated, or sufficiently evaluated, to see whether they do. Finding the gaps in the research can take up as much time as finding the best available answers.
