Methodology

Skills Bootcamps outcomes

Published

Data collection and methodology

This publication provides a summary of the outcomes achieved by participants who completed a funded Skills Bootcamp in wave 1 of the programme (FY 2020-21) 

Data was collected by the Department from Skills Bootcamps providers via their associated local areas. Providers were required to report on learner participation and outcomes after completing a Skills Bootcamp (this includes new employment, new responsibilities/opportunities at current employment).

Validation checks were carried out on data returns including:

  • Local areas, as part of their governance role, carried out checks on at least 10% of reported data to guard against fraud – this involved contacting learners for verification of reported outcomes.
  • The Department carried out checks of a random 10% sample of providers to reconcile participant and completion numbers with funded places.

Data was returned from each of the 48 Skills Bootcamp providers. The wide range of outcome measures reported were summarised into the following categories:

  • Participant becoming or continuing in self-employment with new opportunities
  • Participant continuing in current employment with new or increased responsibilities
  • New employment (including full-time, part time, temporary or Apprenticeship)
  • Participant gaining new role with current employer
  • No change or no outcome information reported
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Data Quality

Data were collected from provider's own records and as such there are some inconsistencies in the way outcomes are reported between providers.

  • Information on outcome was self-reported by participants and although there were some checks on a random sample of returns, it was not possible to verify every outcome.
  • There were inconsistencies between providers in how outcome information was completed. Some providers only reported outcomes for those completing Bootcamps, while others reported data for all participants. This limits the scope of this publication to the numbers of learners reported, at a national level.
  • There was a small amount of reporting which included outcomes for those not completing Bootcamps. Where identified, this has been removed from this publication, however it is possible that there are some reported outcomes in the data for those that started but did not complete a Bootcamp.
  • There were a significant number of non-responses to providers requests for outcome information. Such responses are included in the ‘No change or no outcome information reported’ category, but it is not possible to distinguish genuine non-outcomes from non-response. For this reason, the two outcomes are presented together.
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Help and support

Contact us

If you have a specific enquiry about Skills Bootcamps outcomes statistics and data:

Skills Bootcamps

Email: olivia.garbutt@education.gov.uk
Contact name: Olivia Garbutt

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