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Description
At Tr@ck-IN, we aim to deliver an evaluation model of the effectiveness of Public Employment Services (PES) tracking support types - digital, human-mediated, or mixed - in improving employability among rural NEETs aged 25-29. We aim to broaden knowledge of the effects of employment initiatives targeting rural NEETs, by creating a cross-country model of how policies influence PES tracking deliverance. Another goal is to enlarge the capacity of evaluating the effects of employment initiatives for NEETs in rural areas, by validating impact assessment protocols for the most replicable programs of on-the-ground PES tracking support types, considering overall and specific groups of NEETs. A further target is to increase the transnational use of impact studies among policymakers and researchers, by supporting their participation in developing/incorporating evidence-based impact methods for PES tracking evaluation.
We address the Fund objectives by focusing on rural NEETs. These youths are often ignored by research, hard to engage with, and challenged by multiple structural risk factors. We will concentrate on their vulnerabilities in the short term by establishing a baseline for PES support types’ effectiveness in their employability indicators and, in the long run, by setting an evaluation framework for effective PES tracking development. The consortium will rely on a sound multidisciplinary, theoretical, and methodological approach, by concentrating on Baltic, South, and Southeastern States with disparate rural NEETs’ proportions and different degrees of PES digitalization, adding meaningful variability to comparative analyses. Our outputs will be streamed into a working group dedicated to PES tracking impact evaluation to tie in with a parallel initiative, the Rural NEET Youth Observatory, by 2024.
Summary of project results
The Track-In project aimed at delivering an evaluation model of Public Employment Services (PES) effectiveness for improving the employability of rural NEETs aged 25-29. The project addressed three main challenges: (1) a mismatch between policy aims, on-the-ground PES quality, and rural NEETs’ needs; (2) a lack of studies for understanding PES support impact on vulnerable youths; and (3) the pressure for PES digitalization by States, in the aftermath of COVID-19, regardless of how this would affect vulnerable young people.
The project involved over 5.000 NEETs across 6 countries and about 600 researchers, reaching three main findings. At the policy level, NEET definitions across Europe remain contradictory, individual-level factors as much as contextual variables and policies determine the likelihood of individuals entering the NEET status, and rural young people are more exposed to becoming and remaining in the NEET condition. At the services level, the digitalization of rural PES increased after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, effective PES digitalization for rural NEETs must account for trust in institutions and digital tools, balance face-to-face and digital support strategies, and adopt a co-design lens for PES development.
At the individual level, the results show that stronger emotional, interpersonal, and practical PES support received from PES staff is associated with stronger odds of rural youths transitioning from the NEET status to active work status. Overall, the Track-IN project reached three key outcomes. Firstly, through an extensive international scientific collaboration, the project set a new knowledge ground about rural PES processes and their impact on rural NEETs. This cooperation led to the publication of seven scientific journal articles and one special issue entitled Active Labour Market Policies and Youth Employment in European Peripheries. Secondly, the Track-IN team initiated an intense collaboration with key stakeholders, particularly with PES staff/managers and decision-makers. This was met through international workshops or parliamentary hearings organized across all beneficiary countries. Thirdly, the project streamed this collaboration between academic and non-academic stakeholders into the newly established European Rural Youth Observatory, a research-led association involving about 80 members from 25 European countries committed to moving rural young people forward through knowledge development and collaboration.