From ESF to UKSPF: Evolution of Youth Employability Support in Northern Ireland

The landscape of youth employability support in Northern Ireland stands at a critical juncture. For over three decades, the European Social Fund (ESF) has been a cornerstone of funding for interventions supporting economically inactive young people and those furthest from the labour market. As this chapter closes and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) emerges as its successor, there is an opportunity to reflect on the journey thus far and consider how past successes should inform future investment.

The Legacy of ESF in Northern Ireland

Since the early 1990s, the European Social Fund has played a pivotal role in Northern Ireland’s skills and employability ecosystem. Through successive programming periods, it has evolved to meet changing economic conditions and labour market needs.

Historical Impact and Scale

Throughout its implementation in Northern Ireland, ESF has:

Provided consistent, multi-annual funding for organisations working with economically inactive people
Invested approximately £450 million in Northern Ireland during the 2014-2020 programme period (with £210.5m from EU contributions)
Supported 77,000 participants through Priority 1 and 2 projects by March 2022
Funded 66 projects delivered by 50 organisations across Northern Ireland
Created a stable platform for innovative approaches to supporting those furthest from the labour market

The ESF Programme 2014-2020 in Northern Ireland aimed to “combating poverty and enhancing social inclusion by reducing economic inactivity and increasing the skills base of those currently in work and future potential participants in the workforce.” This focus on economic inactivity—a persistent challenge for Northern Ireland—allowed for targeted interventions with groups that traditional employment support often struggled to reach.

Key Groups Supported

ESF funding in Northern Ireland has been particularly important for supporting:

Unemployed and long-term unemployed people (16,721 participants)
Those who are economically inactive (11,450 participants)
Young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) (11,652 participants)
People with disabilities (7,734 participants)
Families experiencing intergenerational poverty and joblessness (3,945 participants through the Community Family Support Programme)

The impressive outcomes achieved include:

5,200 unemployed participants moving into employment
2,770 economically inactive participants finding work
2,173 economically inactive participants engaging in education or training
2,056 NEET young people entering employment
5,146 NEET young people progressing to education or training
862 people with disabilities securing employment
2,945 people with disabilities engaging in education or training

These figures represent not just statistics but transformed lives and communities, with ESF funding providing the stable foundation necessary for long-term, complex interventions.

The Youth Work Contribution

Within this ESF landscape, youth work organisations have played a distinctive and valuable role. Youth charities such as YouthAction Northern Ireland, Start360, Include Youth, Springboard Opportunities, The Prince’s Trust, and BYTES have been key providers of youth employability support since the first EU Structural Funds in the early 1990s.

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) consistently identified the high quality of youth work provision in its inspections of ESF projects, rating 97% of projects as good or better and 45% as outstanding. Youth work methodologies have been particularly effective in engaging young people who have disengaged from mainstream education and training.

As noted in their inspection reports, “The participants spoken with reported that they received high levels of support to address their mental health and anxiety issues… They all reported that participating in the project helped them focus on their personal goals, gain new skills, overcome their barriers, and resulted in improved levels of confidence and self-esteem.”

The Transition Challenge

The conclusion of ESF funding in March 2022 created a significant challenge for Northern Ireland’s skills ecosystem. This transition occurred against a backdrop of multiple pressures:

Post-Brexit Uncertainty

Lack of clarity on replacement funding mechanisms in the immediate post-Brexit period
Uncertainty around devolved versus centralised control of successor funding
Questions about whether previous funding levels would be maintained
Concerns about potential gaps in provision during transition periods

Economic Pressures

The ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately impacted young people
Economic inactivity rates remain stubbornly high at around 26%, significantly above the UK average
Rising economic pressures on vulnerable households due to the cost-of-living crisis
The continuing need to address regional inequalities in economic opportunity

Service Delivery Challenges

Risk of losing skilled staff and organisational expertise during funding gaps
Potential disruption to participant journeys if services were reduced or suspended
The need to maintain trusted relationships with vulnerable communities
Challenges in sustaining partnership networks developed over decades

To address these immediate transition challenges, a one-year extension of ESF funding was implemented, providing breathing space for organisations while discussions about successor arrangements continued. However, this short-term measure highlighted the need for a more strategic, long-term approach to funding essential services for vulnerable young people.

The UKCRF Pilot: Testing New Approaches

The UK Community Renewal Fund (UKCRF), designed as a precursor to the UKSPF, provided an opportunity to pilot innovative approaches that could inform the design of longer-term funding. The YouthStart partnership emerged as a significant pilot project under this initiative.

The YouthStart Model

YouthStart brought together a consortium of leading youth work charities to pilot a collaborative approach to youth employability. The YouthStart pilot offered valuable insights into effective delivery models:

The distinctive youth work approach proved highly effective at engaging those furthest from the labour market
A flexible and adaptable delivery model allowed for personalised support addressing complex barriers
Youth-led approaches created ownership and empowerment
Building foundational “soft skills” provided critical stepping stones to employment readiness
Clear targets with minimal administrative burden allowed providers to focus on direct support

These insights from the YouthStart provide a strong evidence base for shaping UKSPF investments in youth employability support.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Opportunity and Risk

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund represents both an opportunity and a risk for Northern Ireland’s youth employability sector. Announced as the successor to EU structural funds, UKSPF has the potential to build on ESF’s successes while addressing limitations and incorporating learning from the transitional period.

UKSPF Structure and Focus

The UKSPF focuses on three investment priorities:

Communities and Place – Strengthening social fabric and building pride in place
Supporting Local Business – Creating jobs and boosting community cohesion
People and Skills – Boosting core skills and supporting adults to progress in work

The “People and Skills” investment priority most directly relates to the work previously funded by ESF, with objectives including:

Supporting economically inactive people to overcome barriers to work
Supporting people in employment to access better jobs
Supporting local areas to fund gaps in local skills provision

With its persistently high economic inactivity rates, Northern Ireland’s People and Skills investment priority offers an opportunity to continue vital work with those who are most excluded from the labour market.

The transition to UKSPF created several potential opportunities:

Reduced administrative burden – The UK government has committed to making UKSPF “cheap to administer, low in bureaucracy”
Local decision-making – Greater potential for tailoring provision to local labour market needs and challenges
Integration with wider economic strategies – Opportunity to align with Northern Ireland’s Economic Strategy and Skills Strategy
Cross-departmental working – Potential for greater integration across policy areas, including economy, communities, education and health
Building on proven success – Opportunity to scale up approaches that have demonstrated effectiveness

However, there are significant risks:

Potential funding gaps – While the UK government has committed to matching previous EU funding levels, there are concerns about regional allocations and timing
Disruption to service continuity – Young people with complex needs require consistent, reliable support
Narrow focus on employment outcomes – Risk of losing the holistic approach that has proven effective with the most vulnerable
Short-term funding cycles – Complex interventions for those furthest from the labour market require sustained investment

Lessons from ESF to Inform UKSPF

The extensive experience gained through ESF implementation offers valuable lessons for UKSPF design:

1. The Value of Long-term, Stable Funding

ESF operated in multi-annual programming periods, typically seven years. This long-term perspective enabled:

Sustainable organisational development and staff retention
Building trust with vulnerable communities over time
The development of sophisticated support models
Time to demonstrate impact with those facing complex barriers

UKSPF would benefit from similarly adopting multi-annual funding commitments to provide the stability necessary for effective interventions with vulnerable groups.

2. The Importance of Holistic, Person-centred Approaches

The most successful ESF projects developed holistic support models that:

Addressed multiple barriers simultaneously
Combined personal development with employability skills
Recognised that progression is rarely linear
Built-in flexibility to respond to individual needs

UKSPF should maintain and strengthen this holistic focus rather than narrowing to employment outcomes alone.

3. The Effectiveness of Partnership Working

ESF projects demonstrated the value of partnership approaches through:

Combining complementary expertise and resources
Creating seamless progression pathways for participants
Effective geographical coverage across diverse communities
Value for money through shared resources and collaborative approaches

The YouthStart consortium exemplifies this approach and provides a model for future UKSPF-funded collaborations.

4. The Need for Appropriate Measurement

ESF evaluation mechanisms were sometimes criticised for:

Excessive focus on outputs over outcomes
Limited capture of “distance travelled” for those furthest from the labour market
Administrative burden diverts resources from direct support
Insufficient recognition of soft outcomes and wider social benefits

UKSPF has the opportunity to develop more nuanced, proportionate measurement systems that capture the full value of interventions while maintaining accountability.

5. The Importance of Strategic Alignment

ESF programmes sometimes operated in isolation from mainstream provision. UKSPF has the opportunity to:

Better integrate with wider skills and employment strategies
Create clearer progression pathways between specialist and mainstream provision
Align with other funding streams to create comprehensive support systems
Connect with preventative approaches that reduce future need

Recommendations for the next phase of UKSPF Implementation

What makes these outcomes particularly significant is that YouthStart deliberately focuses on young people who face the greatest barriers to employment. The programme prioritises those with:

Low or no qualifications
Poor mental health and wellbeing
Complex life circumstances (homelessness, family breakdown, poverty)
Experience of care or criminal justice systems
Addiction issues
Limited work experience or confidence

For many participants, YouthStart represents their first positive experience with education or employment support after years of disengagement. The youth work approach creates an environment where they can overcome personal barriers before focusing on employment skills—a necessary sequence that mainstream provision often fails to accommodate.

As the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) develops its strategy for supporting economic inclusion in Northern Ireland, YouthStart advocates for four key recommendations based on its evidence of impact:

Broad definition of economic inactivity – UKSPF should adopt an inclusive definition that encompasses those not in education, training, or employment, enabling more comprehensive support programmes.
Recognition of youth work as a key fourth strand—Youth work organisations should be formally recognised as a complementary strand alongside schools, colleges, and training organisations, particularly effective for the hardest-to-reach young people.
Defined relationships with Labour Market Partnerships – Clearer frameworks would enable youth work organisations to support councils in improving economic activity rates in their areas.
Regional and local delivery capacity—Maintaining the ability to work across Northern Ireland while providing locally tailored support ensures equal opportunities for all young people.

By incorporating these recommendations, the UKSPF can build on the proven success of the youth work approach pioneered by YouthStart, ensuring that young people furthest from the labour market are not left behind in Northern Ireland’s economic future.

The YouthStart model demonstrates that even the most disengaged young people can find pathways to employment, education, and a more positive future with the right approach. As one participant succinctly said, “This programme is a lifeline to young people. It has changed people’s lives.”

If you want to read more about Youth Start, review any of our partner’s sites:

Bytes Project: Programmes – Bytes