This brief is part of a series offered by Jobs for the Future, Bridging the Gap: Postsecondary Pathways for Underprepared Learners, to help communities build effective employer-educator partnerships to increase college and career success for underprepared youth and adults.

This report presents findings from two components of the National Implementation Evaluation of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG): the Descriptive Implementation Study and the Outcome Study. These two studies address the following two major research questions:

1. How are health profession training programs being implemented across the grantee sites?
2. What individual-level outputs and outcomes occur?

Overall, the two studies found that HPOG programs generally reached their target enrollment levels, and that the majority of participants completed their course(s) of study and found healthcare jobs. However, many of those first jobs after leaving the program were entry-level positions at relatively low-wages. (author abstract)

Mathematica Policy Research is evaluating Pathways to Careers, an innovative employment program for people with disabilities. This webinar, from Mathematica’s Center for Studying Disability Policy, discussed evaluation findings, alignment of the program’s provisions with WIOA, trends in best practices for rehabilitation, and Pathways’ strategies for delivery of services and engagement of employers.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, this guide features a collection of resources for TANF administrators and other practitioners on career exploration and assessment, career pathways and sector strategies, and labor market information. These resources may be helpful for those working with TANF recipients and low-income families in connecting their clients to jobs with wages that support self-sufficiency. There are four types of resources included in the guide: 

• Research Studies
• Technical Assistance Resources
• Client Assessments
• Data Sets Related To Education And Employment. (author abstract)

This brief highlights the supports received by respondents in a qualitative study that is part of the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) evaluation, focusing on responses from 84 study participants. Respondents discussed program-provided supports and assessed their usefulness. The interviewers also asked about any public assistance they received as well as the ways in which family and friends did (or did not) provide material and emotional help. This brief is one in a series of three focusing on participants’ experiences, including their perceived challenges and motivations to participate. (author introduction)

This brief describes 84 study participants’ motivations for enrolling in career pathways programs evaluated in the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study. In these interviews, participants discussed several topics, including: Their motivations for enrolling in a career pathways program; How they define success in their selected program, and; How they view their chances of experiencing success, whether that be completing the program or some other measure respondents deemed important. These interviews are part of a qualitative sub-study designed improve understanding of participants’ experiences. This brief is one in a series of three focusing on participants’ experiences, including their challenges and supports received. (author introduction)

This brief describes the perceived challenges of 84 study participants in career pathways program evaluated in the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study. In these interviews, respondents discussed in detail what they viewed as the difficulties they currently experience in the program, as well as challenges they foresaw in the future as they moved along a career pathway. As in prior research, financial challenges, academic worries, and family and other demands on their time were the most commonly articulated concerns, even though these participants were in programs offering a wide range of supports. This brief is one in a series of three focusing on participants’ experiences, including their motivations to participate and supports received. (author introduction)

This toolkit from the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration is designed to provide the workforce system with a framework, resources, and tools for State and local partners to develop, implement, and sustain career pathways programs. The toolkit includes the Six Key Elements of Career Pathways, facilitator tools, and resources.