Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) regional groups: formative evaluation

Annex E: Survey questions

Survey of DYW Regional Group Board Members

Profile

Q1. Which of the following best describes the organisation you work for?

• Private sector employer
• Employer representative body
• School
• College
• Local authority
• Charity / third sector
• Other public sector body
• Other (please specify)

Q2. Approximately how many hours per month do you spend on activities relating to the operation and governance of the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Board? This includes attendance at all Board and sub-group / committee meetings.

• Number of hours

Engagement with DYW Regional Group

Q3. How important are the following factors as motivators for your ongoing membership of the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group?

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Not important / Moderately important / Very important / Don't know

• Alignment to your corporate objectives
• To put something back into the local community
• To address skills shortages in the region
• To help develop the future pipeline of skills for the region
• To improve links between employers and education
• To improve the employability skills of young people
• To improve the work-readiness of young people
• To improve the job outcomes of young people
• An opportunity for personal development
• Other (please specify)

Q4. To what extent are your expectations from membership of the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Board being met?

• Expectations are not being met
• Expectations are being partly met
• Expectations are being fully met
• Don't know / not sure

FILTER: If expectations are not being fully met:

Q5. Can you explain in what way your expectations are not being fully met?

• Open Question

Q6. What would need to change to enable them to be met?

• Open Question

Governance and operation of DYW Regional Group

Q7. To what extent do you agree with the following statements relating to the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group?

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Strongly disagree / Disagree / Agree / Strongly Agree / Don't know

• I am clear on the strategic objectives of the Group
• I am clear on the priority areas of activity for the Group
• The Regional Board takes the lead on key decisions for the Group
• The Regional Board signs off on key decisions for the Group
• The sub-committees of the Board take the lead on key decisions for the Group
• The DYW Executive Team take the lead on key decisions for the Group
• There are good lines of communication between the Regional Board and the Executive Team
• There are good lines of communication between the Regional Board and its Sub-Committee(s)
• There are good lines of communication between the Executive Team and the Sub-Committee(s) of the Regional Board

Q8. To what extent do you agree with the following statements relating to the DYW National Group?

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Strongly disagree / Disagree / Agree / Strongly Agree / Don't know

• I am clear on the strategic objectives of the DYW National Group
• The National Group provides the right level of guidance on which activities the Regional Group should be prioritising
• I am clear on how the Regional Group contributes to the wider DYW policy agenda
• There are good lines of communication from the National Group to the Regional Groups
• There are good lines of communication from the Regional Groups to the National Group
• The Link Member model works effectively

Q9. Overall, how effective do you think the current governance arrangements are for the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group?

• Very ineffective
• Not effective
• Effective
• Very effective
• Don't know

Q10. FILTER IF NOT EFFECTIVE / VERY INEFFECTIVE:

Q11. How do you think the governance arrangements for the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group could be improved?

• Open Question

Q12. How effective do you think the current performance monitoring and reporting arrangements are for the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group?

• Very ineffective
• Not effective
• Effective
• Very effective
• Don't know

FILTER IF NOT EFFECTIVE / VERY INEFFECTIVE:

Q13. How do you think the performance monitoring and reporting arrangements for the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group could be improved?

• Open Question

Effectiveness and impact of DYW Regional Group

Q14. How would you rate the effectiveness of the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group in relation to:

• Creating a single point of contact for employers to engage with education
• Creating a single point of contact for schools / colleges to engage with employers
• Co-ordinating employer engagement with education
• Encouraging more employers to offer work experience placements
• Improving the quality of work experience placements
• Encouraging more employers to deliver work inspiration activities
• Improving the quality of work inspiration activities
• Encouraging more employers to take on apprentices
• Encouraging more young people to pursue vocational career pathways
• Encouraging employers to change their recruitment practices
• Encouraging the education sector to engage with employers

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Not effective / Effective / Very effective / Don't know

Q15. How far has the culture within schools and colleges in the region has changed as a result of engagement with the DYW Regional Group?

• A lot for the worse
• A little for the worse
• Not at all
• A little for the better
• A lot for the better
• Don't know

Q16. How far has the behaviour of schools and colleges in the region has changed as a result of engagement with the DYW Regional Group?

• A lot for the worse
• A little for the worse
• Not at all
• A little for the better
• A lot for the better
• Don't know

Q17. How far do you think the culture of employers in the region has changed as a result of engagement with the DYW Regional Group?

• A lot for the worse
• A little for the worse
• Not at all
• A little for the better
• A lot for the better
• Don't know

Q18. How far has the behaviour of employers in the region has changed as a result of engagement with the DYW Regional Group?

• A lot for the worse
• A little for the worse
• Not at all
• A little for the better
• A lot for the better
• Don't know

Success factors / Areas for improvement

Q19. How would you rate the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group in terms of:

• Clearly communicating their aims and objectives to others in the region
• Engaging senior leadership within schools / colleges
• Engaging senior leadership within employers
• Adding value to the existing landscape of provision
• Tailoring their offer to meet the needs of employers
• Tailoring their offer to meet the priorities of schools / colleges
• Responding to local needs / priorities
• Getting all of the relevant partners on board
• Reaching disengaged young people
• Reaching young people with additional support needs
• Demonstrating impact

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Very poor / Poor / Good / Very good / Don't know

Q20. Of those elements of the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group that you think are working particularly well, what are the success factors?

• Open question

Q21. Of those elements of the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group that you think are not working well, how do you think they be improved?

• Open question

Q22. How effective do you think each of the following would be in helping to improve the operation of the DYW Regional Groups?

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Not effective / Effective / Very effective / Don't know

• Access to shared services
• National DYW marketing campaign
• A more streamlined and consistent set of KPIs
• More opportunities to share best practice
• Access to a bank of toolkits and resources
• Guidance on measuring impact

Survey of schools / colleges

Profile

Q1. Which of the following best describes your organisation?

• Early Years Establishment
• Primary School
• Secondary School
• Special Educational Needs School
• College

Q2. Approximately how many students are in your school / college?

• Number

Q3. Which of the following best describes your MAIN job role?

• Headteacher / Deputy Head Teacher
• Primary classroom teacher
• Secondary classroom teacher / PT
• Lecturer
• Guidance teacher
• Careers adviser
• DYW Co-ordinator
• Support staff
• Other (please specify)

Q4. What is your role in relation to DYW? (tick all that apply)

• Engagement and communication with DYW Regional Group
• Managing programme of DYW activities
• Co-ordinating delivery of DYW activities
• Managing relationships with employers
• Identifying students to participate in DYW activities
• Other (please specify)

Q5. On average, how many hours per week do you spend on DYW-related activities?

• Number

Engagement with DYW Regional Group

Q6. How important are the following factors as motivators for your school / college to engage in DYW activities?

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Not important / Moderately important / Very important / Don't know

• To improve the work-readiness of your students
• To improve the job outcomes of your students
• Opportunity to get additional resource for your students
• To improve the employability skills of your students
• To meet the requirements of the Career Education Standard
• To meet the requirements of the Work Placements Standard
• To meet other organisational objectives
• To address a gap in existing provision
• As an opportunity for staff development
• Other (please specify)

Q7. Has your organisation experienced any of the following barriers / challenges to engaging with DYW activities?

Select all that apply

• Lack of staff time to support delivery
• Lack of budget to support delivery (including to cover transport costs)
• Lack of senior leadership support and value placed on outcomes for DYW
• Challenges with time and flexibility within the school / college timetable
• Focus on other policy priories, including attainment
• Lack of relevant suitable offers from employers
• Lack of interest from students
• Other (please specify)

Q8. How many employers has your organisation engaged through the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group in each of the following categories?

Insert numbers next to each OR select "don't know"

• Strategic engagement with leadership within schools/colleges – for example through the establishment of a formal partnership, collaborative working on programme / curriculum design and development (including Foundation Apprenticeships)
• Involved in the planning and delivery of activities – such as mentoring, curriculum development, project-based work, enterprise activities or work experience placements
• Attendance and participation at events / activities – such as careers fairs, business breakfasts, classroom or work place visits
• Don't know

Q9. Has your engagement with the DYW Regional Group led you to deliver more and / or better quality employer engagement activities for your students?

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Yes – delivered more of these / Yes – delivered better quality / No change

• Careers and skills fairs
• Careers talks
• CV workshops
• Mock interviews
• Mentoring with an employer
• Employer-delivered workshops on employability skills
• Enterprise activities / competitions / challenges
• Employer-delivered classroom learning (on career pathways / opportunities)
• Employer-delivered classroom learning (curriculum)
• Co-design of the curriculum
• Networking with employers
• Work place visits for students
• Work place visits for teachers
• 1-2 week work placements
• Flexible work placements
• Part-time working
• Work shadowing
• Other (please specify)

Q10. How useful did you find the school / employer partnership guidance (produced by Education Scotland) for planning your work with employers?

• Not at all useful
• Not useful
• Useful
• Very useful
• Not aware of this

Q11 – Q12 – ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FOR AYRSHIRE ONLY

Q11. Has your school / college sourced any additional investment through the Ayrshire DYW Innovation Fund?

• Yes
• No
• Don't know

FILTER, IF YES:

Q12. How would you rate the quality of the activity that was delivered through the Innovation Fund?

• Very poor
• Poor
• Good
• Very good

Q13. How would you rate the impact of the activity delivered through the Innovation Fund on young peoples':

Response options: Negative impact / No impact / Positive impact / Don't know

• Confidence
• Commitment
• Communication
• Customer Service
• Courtesy
• Customer Care

Feedback on DYW activities

Q14. Overall, how would you rate the quality of the activities delivered following your engagement with the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group for your students?

• Very poor
• Poor
• Good
• Very good

Q15. Overall, how would you rate the impact of the activities delivered following your engagement with the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group on your students?

• Large negative impact
• Some negative impact
• No impact
• Some positive impact
• High positive impact

Effectiveness of DYW Regional Group

Q16. How would you rate the effectiveness of your DYW Regional Group in relation to:

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Not effective / Effective / Very effective / Don't know

• Creating a single point of contact for employers to engage with education
• Creating a single point of contact for schools / colleges to engage with employers
• Co-ordinating employer engagement with education
• Encouraging more employers to offer work experience placements
• Improving the quality of work experience placements
• Encouraging more employers to deliver work inspiration activities
• Improving the quality of work inspiration activities
• Encouraging more employers to take on apprentices
• Encouraging more young people to pursue vocational career pathways
• Encouraging employers to change their recruitment practices
• Encouraging the education sector to engage with employers

Success factors / Areas for improvement

Q17. How would you rate the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group in terms of the following elements:

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Very poor / Poor / Good / Very good / Don't know

• Clearly communicating their aims and objectives
• Adding value to the existing landscape of provision
• Tailoring their offer to meet the needs of employers
• Tailoring their offer to meet the priorities of schools / colleges
• Engaging senior leadership within schools / colleges
• Engaging senior leadership within employers
• Responding to local needs / priorities
• Getting all of the relevant partners actively supporting the DYW agenda
• Reaching disengaged young people
• Reaching young people with additional support needs
• Demonstrating impact

Q18. Of those elements that you think are working particularly well, what are the success factors?

• Open question

Q19. Of those elements from Q14 above that you think are not working well, how do you think they could be improved?

• Open question

Survey of employers

Engagement in DYW activities

Q1. How important are the following factors as motivators for your organisation to engage in DYW activities?

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Not at all important / Moderately important / Very important

• To meet Corporate Social Responsibility objectives
• To put something back into the local community
• To improve the work-readiness of young people
• To raise awareness of the career opportunities available in your industry
• To develop the future supply of skills for your industry
• To address skills shortages within your industry
• To source potential future recruits for your company
• To provide an opportunity for staff development
• Other (please specify)

Q2. How would you describe the nature of engagement that your organisation has established with schools / colleges through the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group?

Select all that apply

• Strategic engagement with leadership within schools/colleges – for example through the establishment of a formal partnership, collaborative working on programme / curriculum design and development (including Foundation Apprenticeships)
• Involved in the planning and delivery of activities – such as mentoring, curriculum development, project-based work, enterprise activities or work experience placements
• Attendance and participation at events / activities – such as careers fairs, business breakfasts, classroom or work place visits
• Don't know

Q3. Which of the following activities have you / your organisation participated in or delivered as a direct result of engagement with the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group?

Select all that apply

• Careers and skills fairs
• Careers talks
• CV workshops
• Mock interviews
• Mentoring
• Delivery of workshops on employability skills
• Enterprise activities / competitions / challenges
• Employer-delivered classroom learning (on career pathways / opportunities)
• Employer-delivered classroom learning (curriculum)
• Co-design of the curriculum
• Networking with school / college students
• Work place visits for students
• Work place visits for teachers
• 1-2 week work placements
• Flexible work placements
• Part-time working
• Work shadowing
• Other (please specify)

Q4. Approximately how many hours has your organisation spent on activities organised through the [NAME OR REGION] DYW Regional Group over the past 12 months?

• Enter number
• Don't know

Q5. Has you / your organisation experienced any of the following barriers / challenges to engagement in DYW activities?

Select all that apply

• Staff time off-the-job to participate
• Aligning schedules with school / college timetables
• Regulations around engaging young people (including health & safety)
• Lack of senior management support within your organisation
• Lack of suitable opportunities for you to engage with
• Challenges engaging staff in schools / colleges
• Lack of experience of working with young people
• Lack of experience of working with schools / colleges
• Other (please specify)

Feedback on DYW activities

Q6. Overall, how would you rate the quality of the activities that you / your organisation has engaged with through the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group?

• Very poor
• Poor
• Good
• Very good

Q7. To what extent are your organisation's expectations from engagement in DYW activities being met?

• Expectations are not being met
• Expectations are being partly met
• Expectations are being fully met
• Don't know / not sure

Q8. Would you recommend engagement with the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group to other employers in your area in future?

• Yes – I already have
• Yes – I haven't yet
• No
• Don't know

Q9. Have you been able to influence the teaching within the schools that you have worked with through the DYW Regional Group?

• Yes
• No – despite trying
• No – have not tried
• Don't know

Effectiveness of DYW Regional Group

Q10. How would you rate the effectiveness of the [NAME OF REGION] DYW Regional Group in terms of the following?

RESPONSE OPTIONS: Not effective / Effective / Very effective / Don't know

• Creating a single point of contact for employers to engage with education
• Creating a single point of contact for schools / colleges to engage with employers
• Co-ordinating employer engagement with education
• Encouraging more employers to work experience placements
• Improving the quality of work experience placements
• Encouraging more employers to deliver work inspiration activities
• Improving the quality of work inspiration activities
• Encouraging more employers to take on apprentices
• Encouraging more young people to consider vocational career pathways
• Encouraging employers to change their practices
• Encouraging the education sector to change its practices

Impact of engagement with DYW Regional Group

Q11. What is your organisation doing differently as a result of engagement with the DYW Regional Group?

Select all that apply

• Offered more work experience placements
• Offered higher quality work experience placements
• Offered more work inspiration activities
• Offered higher quality work inspiration activities
• Started recruiting young people
• Recruited more young people
• Started recruiting apprentices
• Recruited more apprentices
• Gained Investors in Young People accreditation
• Other (please specify)

Success factors / Areas for improvement

Q12. What, if anything, do you think are the success factors enabling the DYW Regional Group to work well?

• Open question

Q13. What, if anything, do you think are the key barriers / challenges holding back the effectiveness of the DYW Regional Group?

• Open question

Profile

Q14. Which of the following best describes the industry that your organisation operates in?

• Agriculture, forestry or fishing
• Utilities
• Manufacturing
• Construction
• Retail, hotels or restaurants
• Transport or communications
• Financial services
• Public services, including health and education
• Other services (including care sector)

Q15. Approximately how many people does your organisation employ in total?

• Number

Q16. Approximately many people does your organisation employ within [NAME OF REGION]?

• Number