YMCA Adopts Nudge Theory To Get Young People Into Work

YMCA Scotland has formed a partnership with a behavioural science consultancy to fine-tune its employability mentoring programme.

The programme, which supports young people aged 16-25 engaged in short-term employment training, is applying the latest research in behavioural science, or nudge theory, in an effort to help more young people into work.

Colin MacFarlanne, National Programme Manager at YMCA Scotland, said:

“When it comes to employability, we know that one-size-fits-all approaches are ineffective. The behavioural science model we’ve implemented allows us to tailor our mentoring to each individual.

“It’s psychological and behavioural factors that prevent young people from moving into and staying in employment. With the assessment, we can quickly and accurately identify these challenges. We then follow this up with a range of behavioural science interventions.”

The YMCA Youthworks mentoring programme supports over 400 young people each year. Staff from all over Scotland have now gone through the behavioural science training.

Franny McGrath, Operations Manager at Perth YMCA said:

“Attending the training has given me a greater understanding of behavioural science and how we can best use these tools and assessments to support young people in our local communities. We are extremely excited to start implementing these methods into all areas of our work.”