Perceived impact of participating in the 2 years exit program (2YEP)

Despite the implementation of various welfare initiatives, welfare dependency among low-income populations in Malaysia remains a pressing policy concern. The Department of Social Welfare Malaysia introduced the Two-Year Exit Program (2YEP) to foster a more sustainable, productivity-oriented approach to welfare provision. However, quantitative evidence evaluating the effectiveness of the 2YEP from the perspective of program participants remains scarce. This study examines the influence of perceived training quality, perceived support systems, and perceived confidence on the perceived impact of participating in the 2YEP. This study employed a quantitative research design. Data were collected from 105 participants in the 2YEP program through structured interviews and analyzed using multiple regression to examine the hypothesized relationships. The findings reveal that perceived training quality and participant confidence had a significant impact on the perceived effects of participating in the 2YEP. Participants were more likely to view the program as beneficial when they believed the training was of high quality and felt more confident due to participating in the 2YEP. In contrast, the perceived support system had an insignificant effect. This suggests that support structures are less influential in shaping participants’ perceptions of the program’s effectiveness than training and confidence. Welfare program coordinators should prioritize delivering high-quality, skills-based training and integrate confidence-building strategies to enhance participants’ perceived impact of the 2YEP. The study demonstrates the value of integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Theory of Change in understanding behavior change within you them powerment contexts.