Youth unemployment has severe and long-lasting consequences. Despite the abundance of programmes that aim to integrate unemployed youth into the labour market, little is known about what factors have an impact on ensuring a durable labour market transition. This study reports on an employment programme for high-educated, unemployed young adults. The effect of participant, programme, relational and contextual factors on employment success was examined in a longitudinal study among 1,306 young adults. Twelve months after the programme, 1,069 participants were employed. Participant and relational factors increased the likelihood of employment success, while the effect of programme factors was mixed. Contextual factors decreased the likelihood of employment quality. The prediction of employment status and quality was based on a different combination of factors, which underscores the importance of investigating both, especially in a highly educated sample. More insight into the role, the four primary determinants play in finding employment can help improve employment interventions. Several courses of action are presented.

Scholars from different fields have studied youth unemployment: its causes, consequences, and ways to tackle it. This chapter provides an overview of the most important results with a specific focus on effectiveness. Among the topics reviewed are the need for research regarding effectiveness, different methods to study effectiveness, and how the results of these methods are appraised. Then other factors than the research design are described to assess the practical significance of ALMPs, followed by a description of the results of recent reviews and meta-analyses. Finally, some selected factors that impact ALMP effectiveness are discussed. This chapter ends with a discussion of current debates and identification of future research opportunities.