The Jobseeker’s Allowance Skills Conditionality Pilot

"The Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) Skills Conditionality Pilot was launched in April 2010 with the aim of exploring the labour market effects of mandating participation in training. The pilot targeted JSA claimants entering stage 3 of the Jobseeker’s Regime and Flexible New Deal (JRFND) who had an identified skills need. It was based on a random assignment design whereby the requirement to participate would be imposed on the basis of National Insurance number (NINO) to half of those referred to training. If carried out effectively, differences revealed through a comparison of outcomes post-randomisation can be viewed as being caused by the conditionality. This report presents the findings from two parallel studies of the pilot. The quantitative analysis used administrative data to provide details on the implementation of the pilot and whether it could be used to provide valid estimates of the impact of mandation. The qualitative analysis explored the experiences and views of participants in the pilots: principally mandated claimants and Jobcentre Plus advisers, but also training providers" -- page 1.