The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program and PHI published this report which explores the role of leaders beyond just the workforce development field, but also across professional, business, government, and other sectors to promote better quality jobs in a coordinated and efficient way. Initiatives engaged across a variety of fields would expand economic opportunity while encouraging public and private partnerships and change across policies and practices. This report shares efforts that have already been successful, while also making recommendations for future opportunities.

This brief examines the Accelerating Opportunity initiative that began in 2011, which helps adults with low basic skills obtain well-paying jobs through increasing their credentials. It reviews the implementation, impact, and cost benefits evaluations of the program in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana. It showed promising gains for low-skilled adults in the area of education, but earnings impacts were mixed.

This report examines evidence on the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, which is a program that connects low-income students and local employers. The initiative helps participants earn a living wage, and employers find skilled workers. The program was effective at increasing full time college enrollment and future reports will identify gains for participants in employment and earnings.

This practice brief introduces the Tribal HPOG 2.0 evaluation, provides a summary of the findings of the Tribal HPOG 1.0 evaluation, and examines how the evaluation of the first program informed the second. The Tribal HPOG 2.0 program encourages individuals to enter the healthcare field through supporting demonstration projects that equip those individuals with the necessary education and training. It is the first in a series of briefs that will be disseminated to share lessons learned and findings from the program evaluation.

This reference resource from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation is a guide for the use of cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) to be conducted at six of the nine Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) programs that are part of the Career Pathways Intermediate Outcomes (CPIO) study. The study looks at how to monetize and determine the cost and benefits of the net present value (NPV), which can be a useful tool to policymakers when making decisions about what works in employment and self-sufficiency programming.

In high-demand sectors, employers often have difficulty finding applicants with the right skills, and job seekers need training to qualify for those positions. WorkAdvance is a workforce development model that treats both employers and jobseekers as customers in these high demand sectors. This MDRC brief draws on an evaluation of four WorkAdvance programs to analyze whether they impact the long-term upward economic mobility of participants. The programs were Per Scholas and St. Nicks Alliance in New York, Madison Strategies Group in Oklahoma, and Towards Employment in Ohio. The researchers analyzed economic impacts through three years of follow-up, and they found that some sector programs had positive effects that lasted beyond two years. In some cases the economic impacts strengthened after two years, especially for long-term unemployed participants who were reentering the labor market.

In this issue brief, the National Skills Coalition proposes a $500 million Career Pathways Support Fund that would allow community colleges to provide classes and support services to non-traditional and low-income students pursuing job-driven degrees and certificates. The issue brief describes the need to support the need for postsecondary education for low-income working adults, since 80% of jobs will require some postsecondary training. Arkansas, Iowa, and North Carolina have all pursued statewide career pathways initiatives and there is some federal support for career pathways, but these efforts are not sufficient to fulfill the demand for postsecondary training that leads to high-wage employment. The Career Pathways Support Fund would fund partnerships between community colleges and employers that would offer students courses and support services leading to an industry-recognized credential.

This Urban Institute report, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation describes the first year of the second round of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants Program (HPOG 2.0). Under HPOG 2.0, TANF participants receive education and training for high-demand, high-wage healthcare occupations. In this first year report, the authors describe the 21 grantees, the services they offer, and the characteristics of participants. HPOG 2.0 programs enrolled 5,150 participants in Year One and offered training in 66 different occupations, and the majority of participants were women with at least one child. Many participants remained in training after Year One, but 19% had started jobs or received a promotion.

This report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation details the implementation and early impacts of the Bridge to Employment in the Healthcare Industry Program in San Diego. The San Diego Workforce Partnership (SDWP) used an Individual Training Account (ITA) model to help low-income individuals pay for training in the healthcare industry. Using funding from the Health Profession Opportunity Grant, SDWP contracted with three local organizations that operated the program in different areas of San Diego. The program included assessment, case management, ITAs, employment services, and support services, such as transportation, child care, and temporary housing. Early findings showed that participants who received the ITA and support services were more likely than the control group to participate in health care training, receive a credential, and work in a health care job.

The Pathways to Healthcare Program at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona was one of nine career pathways programs being evaluated under the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study. Abt Associates issued this report to document implementation and early impacts of this study, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. The researchers found that the program was implemented as intended, with more than 60% of the treatment group participating in either basic skills or occupational training. The treatment group was also more likely to enroll in college occupational training, earn college credentials, and participate in advising and support services than the control group.