Effective Elements

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

• Admission based on motivation, ambition, and interest in the IT sector. We do not ask for resumes and the target group may vary in the sense of background, work experience, and education levels.

• Technical training is provided by experts in the field. The technical training is developed and provided by Salesforce experts. This training is built around the globally recognized Salesforce Administrator certification, a gateway to the Salesforce ecosystem, and is intended to prepare the participants for a variety of junior Salesforce roles.

• Participation in the program is free. We covers all costs including travel, materials, and exam costs. Thanks to our partners, participants can also borrow a laptop if needed. Financial matters can often be a barrier for newcomers to successfully complete a program. Blue Road Academy takes away these barriers by offering the program for free.

• The classes are not too large (max 15 participants) and are held in person. This provides a personal atmosphere and space for personal attention. As a result, participants can easily ask for help and build a network of fellow students and teachers who can support each other when needed.

• Investment is made in soft skills. Besides the technical skills Blue Road Academy also provides presentation training that focuses on soft skills, personal branding, CV writing, job application, and the Dutch workplace. The focus on soft skills ensures that the participants are prepared as well as possible for the Dutch labor market. 

• Each participant receives 1 on 1 support through our Mentorship Program with Salesforce employees. The participant and the mentor meet once per week for one hour over 3 months. With the mentorship program the participants get to know someone in the Salesforce ecosystem who can support them and guide them in their career. 
  

Research Methodology & Activities

• Monitoring: Profiles, data and characteristics of the participants who have been reached and the results they have achieved. To keep track of this, the project leaders from Blue Road Academy collected various characteristics from the participants.
• Survey: Regioplan conducted a survey among the participants. The survey was distributed among 67 participants; 39 participants responded to the survey.
• Interviews with stakeholders: Various interviews were conducted with stakeholders, including:
• Multiple conversations with the project leaders of Blue Road Academy about the design and implementation of the project
• Process evaluation with the project leader
• Interviews with mentors and trainers (3)
• Interviews with program participants (9)
• Interviews with employers (3)

About the Participants

• The target group of consists of refugees who live in The Netherlands
• Participants are currently unemployed or underemployed and want to work in the digital or tech sector
• Participants have already received their refugee status and have either completed their civic integration obligation, are currently working on it, or will begin working on it
• All participants represented completed the Blue Road Academy program in Groningen, Arnhem, or Eindhoven
• A total of 90 participants have started the program (from 23 May 2022 until 30 November 2023), of which 88 have successfully completed it (2 participants dropped out prematurely due to personal reasons)
• 65% of participants self-identify as Male and 35% as Female
• Participants are from 13 different home countries, predominantly Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Turkey
  

What is the social problem Blue Road Academy is trying to solve and how are they doing it?

The social problem that Blue Road Academy aims to solve is complex:

• On the one hand, Blue Road Academy focuses intensively on the supply side of the labor market. They offer refugees more opportunities to enter the labor market.
• Access to the labour market is essential for refugees to live autonomously and independently, but also fulfills other needs of refugees: it improves language skills, increases cultural awareness, builds local and social networks, increases social participation, and improves physical and mental health.
• Blue Road Academy provides education and training opportunities to refugees who are interested in working in the digital sector, which has experienced significant growth and currently faces a shortage of skilled workers.
• Their core training program focuses on Salesforce CRM. Salesforce CRM is a widely used customer relationship management software that is used by businesses of all sizes around the world. It is expected to create a substantial number of direct and indirect jobs globally over the next five years (IDC Research, 2019).

Program Activities and expected Outcomes

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.

Participant Motivation

• 85% of the respondents joined the program because they want to obtain a position as a Salesforce Consultant, Administrator, Developer or Analyst
• 38% of the respondents indicate that they want to obtain a position as a tech/IT specialist
• 36% indicate that they want to be part of a team
• 18% note that they joined the program because they want a job in which they don’t have to speak Dutch

Participant Expectations

"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 participants think that they need more than six weeks to be able to work independently

• 53% of the respondents note that the program was better than they expected
• 41% note that the program was the same as they expected.
• 6% note that the program was worse than they expected

• 68% of the respondents say the training prepared them well enough for the Salesforce Exams
• 11% indicate the training did not prepare them well enough
  

Participant

Recommendation

91%

of respondents would recommend the Blue Road Academy program to friends or family

68%

Rate the Blue Road Academy program as 10/10 

Added Value

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.

Participant

Learning

• 90% indicate they learned Salesforce/technical skills
• 76% indicate they gained knowledge about the Salesforce/Tech labor market
• 62% indicate they learned LinkedIn skills
• 61% indicate they learned networking skills
• 58% indicate they learned application skills
• 58% indicate they learned about the career options within Salesforce
• 50% indicate they gained knowledge about the Dutch labor market
• 48% indicate they learned how to present themselves/personal branding skills
• 32% indicate they learned other IT or tech skills 

Insights from Employers

'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

Integration into the workplace

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.

Process

Evaluation

Were the chosen activities and expected outcomes of the Blue Road Academy program achieved?

"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 ."

• A cohort initially planned for Arnhem did not take place. Instead of three training cohorts, two were conducted. Instead, a women's-only pilot occurred in Amsterdam.
• 88 participants (97.8% of all who started, 2 drop-outs) finished the program, not the intended 135 participants.
• Blue Road Academy aimed for 50% of the participants being female. This turned out to be 35.2%. Although the 50% was not met, Blue Road Academy did bring the percentage up compared to the percentage at the start of the project and initiated a women’s-only program.
• Blue Road Academy aimed for 50% of the alumni to find a job 3-6 months after completing the training. Twenty-one of the alumni have secured employment. This number is lower than expected, which can be explained by a context factor, namely that the Salesforce and IT/tech jobs have been quite challenging for junior positions since the end of 2022 due to hiring freezes.
• This is when the global tech layoffs started and have continued throughout 2023. This did not affect the training itself, but it did affect the chances that participants would find a job afterwards. 
  

Impact

Evaluation

Do the chosen effective elements of the Blue Road Academy program achieve their intended impact?

"Almost all expected mechanism that ensure effectiveness were found in the study."

• Most participants joined Blue Road Academy because of their motivation, ambition, and interest in the tech sector - (97.8%)
• Employers indicate that the participants they hired are highly motivated.  
• Participants mention the trainers were experts and professionals in the Salesforce field, which helps them to prepare for work.
• In addition, another mechanism was found which was not indicated at the beginning of the project: the trainers are engaged.
• Participants mention that the trainers were supportive and very helpful and maintained good communication with the participants about their needs, which motivated them and helped them to finish the program.
• Participants appreciated the fact that the classes were held in person and that the groups were small. They mentioned that in-person classes it is easier to experience a group feeling with mutual support and collaboration and that it is easier to stay focused (as opposed to online classes).
• Furthermore, trainers mention that in-person training enhances engagement and it creates a community.
• Lastly, as often newcomers do not yet have a large social network in the Netherlands, this contributes to their network.
• Participants and employers are very positive about the fact that Blue Road Academy’s program invests in soft skills. 
• Blue Road Academy strongly recommends their participants to participate in supporting networks with employers and alumni. These events enrich the participants’ social network which increases their chances of finding a job and prepare them better for the Dutch labor market.
• Employers notice that participants seem very motivated to invest in networking.
• The participants found the training short, but intensive. They mention that Blue Road Academy managed to teach them about a platform they knew nothing about before in a short span of time, and provides a holistic approach.
• This sets the focus for the participants and in this manner they don’t lose the momentum: the participants can search for a job straight afterwards. This mechanism was not indicated at the beginning of the project.
  

Research Conclusion

"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:

• Program Duration: Many participants perceive the program's duration as too short, suggesting a potential lack of readiness to enter the labour market (sense of competence). An aspect worth exploring is the root cause of this uncertainty and how it can be effectively addressed. Notably, participants have identified three key areas – technical training, professional performance training, and networking events – where they would have appreciated more time during their participation in Blue Road Academy. We advise Blue Road Academy to explore whether they can offer a more extensive program.

• More practical aspects: In addition to concerns about duration, participants express a desire for more practical components within the training curriculum. More work-related scenarios would allow them to engage in and prepare for situations commonly encountered in the workplace. This increased emphasis on practical aspects could contribute to enhancing their sense of competence. We advise Blue Road Academy to explore whether they can offer (even) more practical aspects in their training.

• Reevaluate the career panel: Participants rated the career panel the least impactful for their development, with nearly half expressing neutrality and only a small number holding a negative view. Finding out why so many of the participants are neutral about this part of the course can show new possibilities for improving it. Notably, only a quarter desired more time allocated to the career panel, hinting that additional time might not be the solution but the content might need some adjustment. It could be interesting to focus on Salesforce career options, sharing knowledge about the Dutch labor market, and providing guidance on self-presentation. Respondents also recommended organising these sessions earlier in the course and incorporating multiple alumni to improve the program.

• Reevaluate the mentorship program: A notable share of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction or were neutral towards the mentorship program. Respondents offered suggestions for program improvement, including initiating mentorship from the beginning rather than at the end of the program. Additionally, they recommended considering potential time differences, as some mentors may reside in other countries, which may complicate scheduling appointments.