Effectiveness of Screened, Demand-Driven Job Training Programs for Disadvantaged Workers
An Evaluation of the New Orleans Career Pathway Training
ResearchPublished Oct 17, 2019
Lower-skilled workers face a shrinking pool of employment opportunities. To combat this, the city of New Orleans developed a job training program that helped these individuals train for and find skilled jobs in particular industries. The authors of this report examine that program's implementation and effectiveness and perform a cost-benefit analysis. Findings include improved wage growth and a positive return on investment.
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.
Key Findings
Positive returns on investment in the Career Pathways program were realized after several years and changes to the program
- Partnerships between stakeholders — OWD, trainees, and employers — were key.
- There were difficulties in having small local partners or firms in feeder industries conduct prescreening for job training.
- Employers valued trainees' program experience.
- Trainees expressed a desire for more hands-on experience, and both trainees and employers wanted more flexibility and "soft skills" in training.
- Communication of program benefits to trainees, job counseling, and employer engagement could be improved.
- Participation and completion rates were relatively high, and individuals in the training group who completed the program went on to obtain higher earnings.
- Trainees in the health care pathway had the greatest increase in earnings.
- There were no overall effects of the program on the likelihood to be employed or job duration.
- Trainees' overall job satisfaction improved.
- There was insufficient evidence of program effects on arrests.
- Those who entered training with the lowest earnings and those who were not working had the largest earnings increases over their counterparts in the control group.
- Screening interviews were not necessarily effective, while the Test of Adult Basic Education showed the most promise both for identifying those likely to complete training and those most likely to benefit from training.
Recommendations
- Consider more intentionally deploying two- to four-month job training programs for unemployed and low-income individuals.
- Incorporate hands-on practice and classroom instruction when feasible.
- Ensure that training programs are connected to local demand and that there are strong industry partnerships, as well as sustainable partnerships between government and nongovernment entities.
- Be agile when responding to an evolving job market; flexibility is key to appropriately respond to shifts in local labor demand.
- It is important to examine nonwage outcomes as well as wage and employment benefits of a program for trainees to understand potential gains made in such areas as job satisfaction.
- Take time to get it right, and have patience when seeking investment returns.
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Document Details
- Copyright: RAND Corporation
- Availability: Available
- Year: 2019
- Print Format: Paperback
- Paperback Pages: 198
- Paperback Price: $38.00
- Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-1-9774-0347-6
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/RR2980
- Document Number: RR-2980-DOL
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Baird, Matthew D., John Engberg, Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Thomas Goughnour, Italo A. Gutierrez, and Rita T. Karam, Effectiveness of Screened, Demand-Driven Job Training Programs for Disadvantaged Workers: An Evaluation of the New Orleans Career Pathway Training, RAND Corporation, RR-2980-DOL, 2019. As of October 5, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2980.html
Baird, Matthew D., John Engberg, Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Thomas Goughnour, Italo A. Gutierrez, and Rita T. Karam, Effectiveness of Screened, Demand-Driven Job Training Programs for Disadvantaged Workers: An Evaluation of the New Orleans Career Pathway Training. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2019. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2980.html. Also available in print form.
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