DevelopMentor – about the Randomised Controlled Trial

As well as expanding throughout England, our DevelopMentor programme will be evaluated through a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) – the gold standard of scientific evaluation – generating much-needed evidence about what works to support young apprentices to succeed in the workplace.

Two research organisations - Verian and the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) - are working with Workwhile to evaluate DevelopMentor.

What is a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT)?

A Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) is a robust way of testing whether a programme (in this case, the DevelopMentor line management training programme) has a causal, measurable impact on outcomes. RCTs work by randomly assigning participants to either receive the programme (the treatment group), or to be part of a control group that does not. By comparing outcomes between the two groups, the RCT shows whether any differences in outcomes are due to the programme itself, rather than other factors. As a result, RCTs are widely considered the “gold standard” for generating evidence on what works in policy and practice.

What is the focus of this trial?

This trial will explore whether dedicated training for line managers within SMEs leads to an improvement in their confidence, skills and knowledge as line managers. The trial will also seek to understand the effect on progression outcomes for young apprentices, as well as exploring the impact and benefits to employers - from retention to employee satisfaction.

This is the first time a programme like this, focussed on managers, SMEs and apprentices, has been evaluated through a ‘gold standard’ RCT. By signing up, you’ll not only benefit from fully funded, high-quality support; you’ll also help to generate unique and much-needed evidence to improve employment outcomes for disadvantaged young people.

What does that mean for my business if I sign up?

Every SME who signs up will have access to a high-quality support programme from Workwhile. For us to evaluate the impact of the DevelopMentor programme through a Randomised Controlled Trial, each SME will be randomly allocated one of two support programmes:

• Half of the SMEs who sign up will receive a place on the DevelopMentor programme for someone in their organisation who is line managing or supervising a young apprentice.
• The other half will be invited to access Workwhile’s ‘Good Work Health Check’ - a self-service tool to assess your current practices across four areas of 'good work', with a bespoke follow-up report containing recommendations for further improvements.

Why should I get my business involved?

By signing your SME up to be part of the RCT, you'll join a leading ‘What Works for Recruitment and Retention’ network, helping to influence wider employer and legislative change. You'll be at the forefront of generating vital new evidence to help us better enable young people to thrive in work. And whichever group you're assigned to, you'll be able to access one of our high-quality support programmes.

What's the cost?

There is no financial cost of getting involved in the RCT, no matter which group your business is assigned to, thanks to the funding the programme receives from Youth Futures Foundation. All that we ask is that you support your nominated line manager to participate in the DevelopMentor training if applicable, and that you support them and their apprentice/s to participate in the relevant evaluation activities.

What will the research involve for line managers and apprentices?

By signing up to the RCT, you agree that your organisation will support the evaluation activities: surveys, observations, and interviews.

All line managers taking part in the RCT will be asked to complete a short (5–10 minute) survey after which your organisation will be randomly allocated to one of the support options. Line managers will also be asked to complete a similar short survey about four months later, which will help us understand the medium-term impacts of the support. The apprentices of those line managers will also be asked to complete a short survey, about five months after the line manager joins the RCT. Surveys will be administered by Verian. Line managers and apprentices who complete surveys and individuals who take part in interviews will receive a gift voucher as a thank-you.

Line managers taking part in the DevelopMentor programme may be observed by researchers from IES during the facilitated learning sessions. IES will observe around five training sessions overall.

People taking part in this RCT at your business, including decision makers involved in sign up, line managers and the apprentices they manage, may also be invited to take part in an interview (taking up to one hour). These interviews will be conducted by researchers from IES.

We kindly ask that the individual completing the sign-up form shares this information page and the privacy notice with their nominated line manager at the point of sign-up. Where line managers are selected to take part in the DevelopMentor programme, we kindly ask that they share this information page and privacy notice with their apprentices before they begin the facilitated learning sessions.

What will happen with the information shared by participants?

All information collected for this research will be securely held. Nothing line managers or apprentices say will be shared with their employer. While a report will be produced, data will be aggregated and any featured quotes or comments will not be attributed to individuals. We will not include any information which we believe would identify any individuals.

About our funder, Youth Futures Foundation

Youth Futures Foundation is the national What Works Centre for Youth Employment, with a specific focus on marginalised young people. Their vision is a society where every young person can achieve good work. We do that by finding out what works and driving change in policy and practice.

About the evaluators, Verian and IES

Verian is a world leading, independent research, evidence, evaluation and communications agency, providing services to government and the public realm. Combining expertise in human understanding with advanced technologies and data science, Verian’s work with clients creates policy interventions, designs better public services, and unlocks behaviour change.

The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) is a leading UK independent centre for research and evidence-based consultancy in employment, labour market and human resource policy and practice. It is not-for-profit, its activities being funded through research and consultancy commissions, and from its corporate membership programme.