Creating a global movement to up-skill & re-skill newcomers into sustainable careers in tech.
We aim to change the perceptions of employers, organizations, and the public on the experience and skills that newcomers bring with them to build new lives in their host country.
Over the past 2 years, our programs in The Netherlands have been part of an extensive, independent qualitative and quantitative process evaluation. Open Embassy commissioned the independent research agency Regioplan to investigate the initiatives that are part of the Platform Newcomers & Work. The central question of this research is to what extent the Blue Road Academy program has proceeded as intended. These results include both a process evaluation and an impact evaluation.
The research focuses on the effective elements that make up the core pillars of the Blue Road Academy program.
"At Blue Road Academy, we always say we recruit participants that already come with the things we cannot teach them. This includes motivation, ambition, perseverance, and dedication. We firmly believe that, with these characteristics and attitudes in hand, anyone can learn the what we teach during the program."
- Gaspar Rodriguez, Co-founder & CEO
The social problem that Blue Road Academy aims to solve is complex:
As part of Blue Road Academy's overall goal to expand their training programs and reach more refugees, their program activities and outputs are directly related to their theory of change and intended impact outcomes.
"It would be great if the program was about 8-12 weeks long. Then there would be more time for group assignments and real-world projects that can be showcased by each of the team members.' - Program participant
91%
of respondents would recommend the Blue Road Academy program to friends or family
68%
Rate the Blue Road Academy program as 10/10
Participants were asked to indicate which elements of the program were most valuable. The result are shown in order from most valuable to least valuable.
Technical skills: 88% of the respondents are positive about the skills curriculum, of which 76% are very positive. 6% are negative about this, of which 3% are very negative.
Soft skills & professional development: 79% are positive about this of which 55% are very positive. 3% are very negative and 18% state they are neutral.
Networking events: 68% are positive about this of which 45% are very positive. 3% are very negative and 29% are neutral.
Mentorship program: 59% are positive of which 45% are very positive. 14% are negative of which 7% are very negative.
Career Panel: 53% are positive of which 28% are very positive. 3% state they are very negative and 41% are neutral.
'Both employers interviewed state that the Alumni they hired are highly motivated to learn and grow. They are very satisfied with the skills they had at the start of their job and the development and effort they show.' - Research excerpt
'Both employers indicate that the employees are professional, autonomous, and have good communication skills. One employer states that the skills the individual has are also partly ingrained in the person’s personality and are also the result of prior work experience in their country of origin.' - Research excerpt
'One of the employers indicates that, while attending a Blue Road Academy session, many participants added him to LinkedIn, and asked questions about the presentation and/or chatted with him at the event. This employer said that the BRA participants seem very motivated to invest in networking.'
- Research excerpt
"That my employee is a refugee is a side note, we actually never talk about that. The employee is here because this employee has got talent."
Language barriers: one employer indicates that although English is their main language in the workplace, there are relatively many Dutch people in this specific team. They need to switch to English, which is something they are consciously working on. The other employer indicates that the employee really tries to speak Dutch.
Different perspectives: One employer states that it's noticeable that the employee has a different frame of reference (colleagues often talk about vacations and family), making it challenging to join in such conversations.
Learning and development: Both employers state the employees from Blue Road Academy get the same onboarding and learning program as other, not-newcomer, employees.
Practical matters around the placement of the employee:
Employers also discussed accommodation, transport, residence permits, and workplace matters as practical considerations when hiring the employee.
"By getting my Salesforce Certification I can apply now to many jobs. Blue Road Academy helped me with my resume, motivation letter, connected me to a network, and sent my resume to many companies." - Program participant
Conclusions and Recommendations
"The project activities for the participants of Blue Road Academy have been carried out the way they were intended. No changes were made in the content and set up of the training for the participants.
The aim was to provide the participants with technical training, professional performance training, a career panel, a mentorship program, and encouraging them to attend networking events.
Furthermore, almost all goals set by Blue Road Academy at the start of the project have been achieved ."
"Almost all expected mechanism that ensure effectiveness were found in the study."
"Overall, the participants are very positive about the program. [Blue Road Academy] gives them perspective on work in a very short amount of time. Technical skills are rated of most added value, followed by the professional development training (soft-skills), the networking events, the mentorship program, and lastly the career panel."
Participants indicated that Blue Road Academy in different ways helps them to connect with employers and therefore in finding work. Most interesting findings and recommendations regarding the program are:
All Rights Reserved | Blue Road Academy