Effectiveness of screened, demand-driven job training programs for disadvantaged workers : an evaluation of the New Orleans Career Pathway training / Matthew D. Baird, John Engberg, Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Thomas Goughnour, Italo A. Gutierrez, Rita Karam.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Baird, Matthew D., author.

Engberg, John, author.

Gonzalez, Gabriella, author.

Goughnour, Thomas, author.

Gutierrez, Italo, author.

Karam, Rita T., author.

Contributor:

United States. Department of Labor.

RAND Education and Labor (Program)

Rand Corporation.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Occupational training--Government policy--Louisiana--Evaluation.

Occupational training.

Occupational training--Government policy.

Evaluation.

New Orleans (La.)--Economic conditions$y21st century.

New Orleans (La.).

Louisiana.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 173 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Other Title:

Evaluation of the New Orleans Career Pathway training

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : RAND, 2019.

Summary:

Lower-skilled workers in the United States face a shrinking pool of employment opportunities. To combat this, the city of New Orleans' Office of Workforce Development (OWD) developed a job training program with a grant, awarded in 2014, from the U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Innovation Fund. The program, Career Pathways, was designed to help lower-skilled, unemployed, and underemployed individuals train for and find skilled jobs in the fields of advanced manufacturing and energy, medical care, and information technology. The authors of this report examine that program's implementation and effectiveness and perform a cost-benefit analysis using a randomized controlled trial design. They found that the program created strong, valuable partnerships among OWD, training providers, and employers. Of all screening mechanisms used to select trainees, the Test of Adult Basic Education was most likely to identify applicants who were likely to complete the training program, whereas screening by community partners was least successful. Some aspects of program implementation needed strengthening, such as the provision of hands-on work experience and the distribution of supplementary benefits to trainees. The team found that the Career Pathways program produced meaningful, positive results in several areas. These included individuals' wage growth, job satisfaction, and the program's return on investment. There were also areas that had no significant change, such as arrest rates, likelihood of employment, and the duration of trainees' employment.

Contents:

Chapter One: Introduction

Chapter Two: Data Sources and Collection Methods

Chapter Three: Implementation Analysis

Chapter Four: Outcomes Analysis

Chapter Five: Cost-Benefit Analysis

Chapter Six: Discussion of Findings

Chapter Seven: Conclusion

Appendix A: Implementation Analysis Methodology

Appendix B: Outcome Analysis Methodology

Appendix C: Cost-Benefit Study Methodology.

Notes:

"Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 169-173).

See also RAND/RR-2980/1-DOL, RAND/RB-10083-DOL.

ISBN:

9781977403476

1977403476

OCLC:

1128701871