Background

There is a great need for more data and analysis on the employment outcomes of services provided to job seekers – skills development, career guidance, job matching, and entrepreneurship training, among others. It has the potential to increase transparency and accountability, and drive performance based financing. However, tracer studies are often expensive and time consuming to run. Too often, projects are already finished before it is possible to implement one.

Solution

The ILO’s Skills and Employability Branch has developed and piloted a new digital tool called Service Tracker in three countries: Tanzania, Bangladesh and Montenegro. Available in several languages, Service Tracker allows uploading the lists of beneficiaries and designing a tracer survey. The questionnaires are sent automatically to beneficiaries through emails or phone messages three months and six months after the end of service.

Participants can also complete the surveys offline, with data collected being transmitted to the database once wireless or internet connectivity becomes available. Responses are collected in real-time and all information is stored safely and confidentially in the Service Tracker database. The platform then generates datasets and graphs for analysis.

The purpose of Service Tracker is to provide ILO constituents with a quick and easy way to learn about the effectiveness of services delivered in order to take appropriate actions. The Service Tracker is currently being used by the Skills and Employability Branch but the next versions should allow for its use by ILO constituents and partners.