Training Opportunities: Exploring what happens two months later

Credit attainment per week

The rate of National Qualification Framework (NQF) credits attained in each placement, measured by the average number of credits attained each week they participate, was the largest predictor of programme outcome. The more credits learners attain on average each week, regardless of the length of time they are placed, the greater propensity they have to move into employment or further training.

This variable illustrates the effect of a change in the category of credits attained on two month outcomes. It is the most important influence on outcomes. Learners who participate in Training Opportunities attain an average of 1.5 credits per week involved. We could speculate that the credit attainment variable may capture a number of things. It may reflect the ability of learner, at least in part.⁴ It may also reflect the quality of teaching in Training Opportunities, that is, the way that teaching can enable skills acquisition to occur. Unfortunately, a principal cause cannot be inferred from this analysis, as this sort of inference is beyond the scope of a simple model. All this variable can impart is what may occur, for whatever reason, when a certain level of skills are attained, in a set period of time.

Slower skills acquisition is associated with a lower level of ‘success’ two months after leaving the programme. The corollary of this is that the more credits attained each week, the higher the odds that a ‘positive’ outcome will occur over a ‘negative’ outcome.

Figure 1 shows that for learners who attained no credits, or 1 or fewer credits a week on average over the length of their placement, an other outcome (i.e. unemployment/out of the labour force) was the more likely to occur over any of the other outcome categories.

For learners gaining 2 credits a week on average, the odds of any outcome are higher than the odds of an other outcome. The odds of further progressive training are higher than the odds of employment or a return to Training Opportunities.

Learners who gained 3 credits per week on average in their placement were most likely to go on to further training, followed by employment and a return to Training Opportunities. Learners attaining 4 or more credits on average per week were most likely to be in employment within two months of leaving Training Opportunities, and the odds of a further training outcome or a return to Training opportunities over an other outcome are approximately even.

Figure 1: Odds ratio of labour market outcome to other outcome category by average credits attained  per week on placement

Note: points above 1 indicate more likely to occur than an other outcome, while points below 1 indicate the outcome is less likely to occur than an other outcome.

Footnote

4. it is hoped that other variables in the model, such as prior education attainment, would capture the bulk of ability effects.