Like every year, the NPO Competence Center evaluated the winning project of the Get Active Social Business Award (GASBA) 2020: Sindbad Social Business Vienna with the project "ÜBAFLIEGER". ÜBAFLIEGER brings young people in inter-company training/apprenticeship (mentees) together with experienced employees from companies (= mentors) in the form of a 1:1 mentoring programme. Through the support of the mentors and other support offers, young people should increasingly complete the apprenticeship, manage a change to a better-placed company-based apprenticeship and get a job. The pilot phase of the project was evaluated in 2021/22.

Specifically, a pragmatic impact analysis was used for the evaluation in order to check whether and to what extent the set impact goals of the project were also achieved. At the beginning, the central stakeholders of the project were defined, including the respective intended impacts. In order to enable an assessment of the achievement of these impact goals, and also to ascertain impacts that had not yet been considered but had occurred, interviews were conducted with the four central stakeholders: the mentees, the mentors, the employees of the ÜBA providers (educational institutions) and the AMS.

The results of the survey show that ÜBAFLIEGER currently has its effect on the mentees less in the primary objective of the programme, i.e. placement in an apprenticeship company, but rather in the personal development of the mentees. The mentors of the programme are an important emotional reference person for the mentees, who act as a safety net. The young people are strengthened in their self-confidence and resilience; in addition, they are offered guidance, which enables them to develop and consolidate future perspectives. This contributes to an improved mental and physical health of the young people. In addition, they are more active in their free time and more helpful in their environment.

In addition to the positive feeling triggered by their social commitment, mentors benefit most from a broadening of their horizons, which they gain through insight into the realities of the young people's lives, and an expansion of their knowledge through the programme modules. In addition, they develop their social skills and act as positive social multipliers in their environment. The negative effects identified by mentors were frustration as a result of the lack of progress made by the young people, and the additional time required by their commitment.

The ÜBAFLIEGER relieves staff of the ÜBA providers both in the vocational support of the young people, e.g. in the search for internships, and in the social support of the young people, i.e. when it comes to providing them with help on a personal level. Through an expanded occupational network, which could be useful for apprenticeship placement, and increased innovative strength due to new perspectives and ideas, the offer of the ÜBA providers can be improved or supplemented.

Due to the limited size of the ÜBAFLIEGER programme, the project currently has no financial relief effect on the AMS. The results of the survey show that the participation of the AMS in the project tends to tie up personnel resources. However, it is emphasised as positive that the programme creates continuous personal mentoring as an offer and thus complements the work of the AMS. In addition, the network of the AMS is expanded.

These results, plus some recommendations for action derived from the interviews, can help Sindbad to effectively develop ÜBAFLIEGER further.