Here is a report by sociologist Margrét Einarsdóttir on a survey among the 12 participants who finished The Opportunity’s course at the end of February. Nine answered the survey, which was carried out a little over three months after the course ended to get a picture of their employment situation at that point.
The summary of the report says:
“Overall, respondents were happy with the course. When asked to rate it as a whole, they unanimously said the course had been good or very good and gave it an average rating of 4.9 out of 5. … Respondents were happy with the staff, found them very supportive and felt that the support given in finding paid work had been useful. Or as one respondent put it: ‘The best thing was the individual help with the job search.’ Respondents were generally also satisfied with the education and counselling provided to deal with other personal challenges.
Good support in the job search is also reflected in the share of those who were in work 15 weeks after the course ended, when two thirds of respondents were working. The results must be read with the caveat that 3 of the 12 participants did not answer the evaluation survey. The share of participants in work at that point is therefore between 50 and 75%, depending on the employment status of those who did not answer. All participants, however, were outside the labour market, with poor job prospects, when the course began.”