Youth Engagement and Progression Framework

The Youth Engagement and Progression Framework (YEPF) is designed to identify and respond to young people at risk of becoming NEET, who are NEET and/or who are at risk of being homeless.

The YEPF was first published in 2013.  Welsh Government reviewed and updated this in 2022.  This update includes the prevention of youth homelessness and focusses the age group to young people aged 11 to 18.  This works in partnership with the Young Person’s Guarantee (YPG) who offer enhanced opportunities for young people aged 16 to 24 who are NEET.

The outcomes the Framework aims to address are:

• for more young people to make a positive transition into education, employment or training

• for the prevention of homelessness to happen much earlier, through identifying and supporting young people who may be at risk

The Framework's 6 components:

• Identifying young people most at risk through early identification. This enables targeted support to be put in place to meet young people’s needs.

• Brokerage and co-ordination of support from strategic and operational levels. This is through the Engagement Progression Co-ordinator (EPC) and Youth Homelessness Co-ordinator roles.

• Monitoring progression of young people, which includes evaluating provision and tracking young people through effective data sharing (further information on local arrangements can be found here).

• Ensuring provision meets the needs of young people to remain in education, employment, and training and/or to prevent youth homelessness.

• Ensuring employability and employment opportunities are available to young people to help them progress.

• Improved accountability through effective reporting to Welsh Government, internal management, and other key stakeholders.

Further information on the YEPF can be found here.

There will also be two offers for young people through the framework:

• The first is the allocation of a single point of contact (a lead worker) to the most at risk young people to help ensure that support is delivered in a joined up and co-ordinated way and that works to meet their needs
• The second is the development of a proactive and positive youth Guarantee that will help to ensure that every young person has access to a suitable place of learning post 16.

Local Arrangements

The EPC and Youth Homelessness Co-ordinator roles sit within the Youth Service.  They have a key role in the provision of lead workers and support staff to be part of the support package for young people at risk of becoming NEET and/or homeless.

Careers Wales will play a vital role in supporting the early identification of young people who are deemed at risk pre-16 and be part of the tracking and support services for young people post 16.

Lead workers will have a direct relationship with the young person. Lead workers may be, but are not limited to, youth workers, school staff, training provider staff, Learning and Skills Directorate staff or other voluntary sector staff.

The specific functions associated with the lead worker role are:

• being a named individual responsible for regularly keeping in touch with the young person
• having an awareness of the range of support available and/or in place for an individual
• negotiating with other support services and professionals and advocating on behalf of the young person as appropriate
• flagging to a supervisor or EPC if support is not helping a young person move forward
• helping to build resilience of a young person in ways relevant to the lead worker’s organisation and its particular focus and expertise
• reviewing the ‘status’ of the young person against the Careers Wales 5-tier model of engagement, and providing feedback to the EPC