How do you measure the impact of an integration and vocational training program that speaks seven languages?

About

Stitch by Stitch is a Frankfurt based social business and professional textile manufacturer. It creates employment and vocational training opportunities for women with refugee and migration backgrounds and supports them towards a recognised German qualification in tailoring. Unlike a time limited training programme, it combines qualification with real employment and production for paying clients. Women develop prototypes, small series and upcycled textile products for companies and fashion brands while gaining practical experience, language confidence and long term professional perspectives. Stitch by Stitch asked voi to make the impact of this complex model visible in a structured and credible way.

The Challenge

A finished garment is easy to count. It is much harder to understand whether professional skills, confidence, language ability and a sense of belonging are developing, and where participants still encounter barriers.

• Seven languages, one inclusive instrument: The workforce speaks German, Persian, Arabic, Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish and English. A single translated questionnaire risked flattening what each woman actually meant.
• Creating space for honest answers: As with many internal impact surveys, loyalty, social desirability or perceived dependencies may make respondents hesitant to voice criticism directly. The survey therefore needed to invite nuanced answers and surface friction points as well as positive experiences.
• Different stages, one dataset: First year apprentices, experienced skilled workers and former employees are at very different points in their professional journeys. A single average score would hide whether and how outcomes vary by role and time with the organisation.
• Craft and belonging are not the same dimension: A woman can feel highly skilled at the sewing machine and still feel excluded from social life outside the workplace. The survey needed to capture both without allowing one to obscure the other.

The Approach

Nineteen current and former employees and apprentices responded, ranging from first year apprentices to skilled workers with five or more years at the workshop and former employees now working elsewhere. 

1. Indicator selection: voi recommended six constructs spanning craft skill confidence, perceived employability, occupational self efficacy, German language confidence, community belonging and a challenged-belonging, alongside an overall recommendation measure.
2. AI facilitated interviews in seven languages: Each woman answered in a language she felt comfortable using, and voi followed up in real time. This made it possible to capture examples and explanations that a standard questionnaire could easily miss.
3. Segmentation by role and tenure: responses were analysed by apprenticeship year, skilled worker tenure and former employee status, helping Stitch by Stitch understand where outcomes remained consistent and where experiences differed.

Findings

The results show strong positive outcomes while also identifying areas that deserve closer attention.

• Strong positive results in the interviews: All 19 respondents described a positive experience associated with Stitch by Stitch. The interviews produced a Net Impact Score of 74 and a recommendation score of 79 (NPS), with a mean recommendation of 9.4 out of 10.
• Recognised qualifications and stronger skills: Among the 19 respondents, 63% had earned a recognised German vocational certificate. Craft skill confidence scored 4.2 out of 5, and 95% agreed that their skills had genuinely improved since joining Stitch by Stitch.
• Confidence, language and belonging: Occupational self efficacy scored 30.1 out of 36. German language confidence at work had increased for 63% of respondents, and community belonging scored 8 out of 9. All 19 respondents said they felt valued and accepted by the people around them.
• Integration beyond the workplace remains a challenge: On a separate scale measuring perceived exclusion from social and cultural activities, respondents scored 10.1 out of 20, indicating a moderate level of difficulty. 68% said they felt at least somewhat excluded from activities such as community events or sport. 26% also reported points of friction during their apprenticeship, including missing information and communication gaps.

The Way Forward

The findings give Stitch by Stitch a structured view of where its model is strong and where it should look more closely. They provide concrete starting points for further development, particularly around onboarding, internal communication and explaining the German vocational training system clearly to new apprentices. At the same time, the results show clear strengths in craft training, mentorship and the experience of genuine support. A future survey can help Stitch by Stitch track whether changes improve the areas identified and how outcomes develop over time.

For Stitch by Stitch, voi turned impact that was visible in everyday work and individual stories into structured, comparable evidence. This is valuable when speaking with funders, partners and companies, while keeping the women’s own voices at the centre. Learn more about Stitch by Stitch and support its work creating sustainable employment, recognised vocational qualifications and professional perspectives for women in Frankfurt, or explore opportunities for responsible textile production and collaboration.