Only one in four skills bootcamp participants in the third year of the programme were offered a “guaranteed” job interview, a new survey has suggested.
An evaluation of outcomes from ‘wave three’, which ran through the 2022-23 financial year, surveyed more than 500 learners who completed the intensive courses focused on sectors such as digital, HGV driving and construction.
About half of learners answering the survey said they were promised a job interview, which are supposed to be a mandatory part of the course offer, at the start of the training but only about 24 per cent said they were actually offered the job interview or had one lined up.
Although learners reported feeling “dissatisfied” when the promised interview “did not materialise”, about half still agreed that the course was essential to securing a new job.
The evaluation was based on a learner surveys sent to 546 of the 27,730 who completed the course in the 2022-23 wave.
As reported by FE Week in November, there were 42,430 starters on skills bootcamps in 2022-23. Of those, 65 per cent completed the course and 37 per cent recorded a positive outcome such as moving into a new job or apprenticeship.
The research report comes days after the Department for Education announced an additional £132 million for skills bootcamps “across a range of priority sectors” in 2025-26, which is alongside £100 million already announced to extend the courses in the construction sector.
Here are key findings from the report by CFE Research on wave three bootcamps, which was published yesterday…
‘Tick-box’ interviews
Researchers called the guaranteed interview and employment support included in skills bootcamps “integral and unique” elements that all eligible participants should be offered.
But only 20 per cent of learners who answered the survey were offered an interview, with another 4 per cent reporting a “scheduled” interview in the future.
One learner said they had no support or job interview and were back in their previous career “having wasted all that time and energy for nothing”.
Those who weren’t offered an interview were “especially dissatisfied” although some “appreciated the challenges” their target sector was having with vacancies.
The report said that wave two completion and outcome findings “indicated that some respondents perceived the guaranteed interview process as a ‘tick-box’ exercise for the providers”, and this “sentiment continued at wave three with some respondents perceiving that the guaranteed interview was not for a legitimate job and that the training had been ‘mis-sold’ to them”.
One digital skills bootcamp learner told researchers: “The guaranteed interviews arranged by the programme seem questionable…. after discussing with my peers, it became evident that none of us have successfully landed a job through these guaranteed interviews.”
Job interviews are a key plank of the short courses and are a requirement for training providers to claim the second of three available “milestone” payments, worth 35 per cent of the £3,591 average cost per learner in London.
This milestone approach is part of the reason the government only spent £82 million of the £150 million was budgeted for wave three, despite the Department for Education (DfE) and local bodies managing the courses overshooting their 36,000 national starts target by 6,340.
Better off bootcamping
Learners on skills bootcamps had “better” employment outcomes than those who couldn’t get a place on a course, researchers concluded by carrying out a “comparator” survey of 289 adults who “unsuccessfully” applied.
Three in five (60 per cent) of survey respondents said their job title changed after completing the course, compared to 33 per cent in the comparator survey.
Who studied and what sectors?
Similar to wave two, more than half (60 per cent) of learners enrolled on digital skills courses and the next largest sector was heavy goods vehicle driving (16 per cent).
But the courses expanded into construction, green, engineering and other sectors that mayors and local authorities had freedom to prioritise, such as health and social care.
Learners were 35.5 years old on average, two thirds were male, they were a variety of ethnicities, there was an even spread across the country and about one fifth were on Universal Credit.
Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, said that while the report showed some “positives”, only 20 per cent of learners were qualified at GCSE level or below.
He said: “This might sound like a techy point, but it isn’t. There’s £1 billion less skills funding in England than in 2010.
“The government is spending an increasing chunk of what’s left on those qualified to A level or degree equivalent, rather than the nine million adults with low literacy or numeracy.”
Local, ethnic and sectoral outcomes
Groups with higher completion and positive outcome rates included those not on benefits, white British people, people living in the north east of England and those on construction, rail or green skills courses.
White British people had 49 per cent outcome rate, such as a new or better paid role, compared to 20 per cent for black, Caribbean or African and 25 per cent for Asian or British Asian.
Learners in the north east of England had the best outcome rate at 51 per cent while London had the lowest, at 25 per cent.
Employed learners reported a 41 per cent positive outcome rate, 13 per cent higher than unemployed people.
Wider benefits
Outcomes are tied to strict definitions of a positive employment outcome required to receive the third ‘milestone’ payment, worth 20 per cent of the total available funding.
But behind these figures, learners reported benefits including gaining useful knowledge and skills, increased confidence about work or further study, or moving off benefits.
About two thirds (68 per cent) agreed that the course gave them new skills and knowledge that were useful for employment, although this was a slight drop from the 74 per cent in wave two.
Three in five (59 per cent) reported improved problem-solving skills, half agreed they worked better in a team, and 59 per cent felt their confidence had increased.
Drop outs and completions
The main reasons for the one in five (19 per cent) learners dropping out – which was a three percentage point increase since wave two – were because the quality of delivery “did not meet their expectations”.
One learner said they quit “from frustration” as their tutor did not stick to the course content.
Other reasons included struggles to fit the course around other commitments, it taking longer than expected, or failing to pass essential parts such as medical assessments or theory tests.
Simon Ashworth, deputy CEO of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said the findings are “encouraging” for a programme that is “yet to reach maturity”.
“The continued evolution of the programme, particularly the growing role of Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Authorities in commissioning provision, should help sharpen local delivery”, he added.
“More timely data from government would also help skills bootcamps to become even more effective at supporting people into well-paid, meaningful work while meeting employers’ skills needs.”
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