The support program "Perspectives for professional training" [in German] was initiated by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and co-financed by the European Union. Since 2008, it has pursued its objective of reducing the proportion of youths and young adults without any professional qualifications through the "Regional transition management" and "Results-oriented modular second-chance qualification" initiatives.
Together with Prognos AG [in German] and the Institute for Socio-Pedagogical Research Mainz e.V. (ism) [in German] the Center for Quality Assurance and Development (ZQ) is conducting an evaluation of the "Results-oriented modular second-chance qualifications" initiative. Appropriate parameters should be created in 42 projects under this funding initiative to enable semi-skilled and unskilled young adults, both in and out of employment, to obtain some form of professional qualification.
It is a formative evaluation and is taking place from March 2011 until February 2014. Both quantitative and qualitative research tools will be used. The main process and structural features will be compiled by means of, amongst other things, document analysis and a web-based recording system. Case studies offer a deeper insight into the methods of operation for the projects on site and the potential of sustainable structural change. In addition to the impact analysis of the program in the spheres of networking, the set-up and expansion of service offerings in the area of second-chance qualification, and the expansion of specific second-chance qualification offerings, the evaluation also focuses on the impact of public relations.
During the first evaluation phase, the development of the individual projects will initially be observed using document analysis and case studies. This analysis is extended in a second phase through expert interviews. Finally, the main questions during the third phase of the evaluation relate to the quality of the results, the effects, and the sustainability of the individual projects and the overall program.