Strong skills are critical for success in the labor market and overall self-sufficiency. Yet, many low-income Americans lack the skills needed to obtain employment in the U.S. labor market. Moreover, as the skills needed for today’s jobs change, it is especially important to consider opportunities to promote skill-building among low-income individuals. This panel discussion, moderated by Paige Shevlin (Executive Office of the President), will aim to answer the question of how to increase skills for low-income Americans and move them into better jobs. Beginning with findings from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies Survey of Adult Skills, the panelists will discuss the implications of these findings for the American workforce, emerging approaches to address the earnings and skills gaps, and the potential use of apprenticeships as a tool to improve skills. Panelists are:

• Johan Uvin (U.S. Department of Education)

• Harry Holzer (Georgetown University and American Institutes for Research)

• Robert Lerman (American University and The Urban Institute) (conference program description)

This presentation was given at the 2014 Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference (WREC).

The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program funds training programs in high-demand healthcare professions, targeted to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals. This report is part of the HPOG National Implementation Evaluation (NIE) and provides interim results on the key outcomes of HPOG healthcare training completion and employment, as well as on participants’ pre-training activities and receipt of support services and employment assistance. This study includes 27 HPOG grantees and the report provides information about the first 12 months of HPOG participation for 8,634 individuals. (author abstract)

A substantial skills gap exists between the education and training of the labor force and the needs of employers in many high growth industries, including healthcare and manufacturing. This gap results in unemployment while good paying jobs go unfilled. At the same time, many low-skilled adults persist in low wage work with little opportunity for advancement.

Career pathways programs, like Year Up, are an approach to fill a vital need for skilled workers in the economy and offer low-wage workers the opportunity to obtain occupational and other skills and advance into the middle class.

This brief was produced by Abt Associates as part of the Innovative Strategies to Increase Self-Sufficiency (ISIS) project, a random assignment evaluation of nine promising career pathways programs that aim to improve employment and self-sufficiency outcomes for low-income, low-skilled individuals. (author abstract)

This Annual Report provides a snapshot of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program at the end of its third year of operation. The report summarizes program operations and participant activity and outcomes from HPOG’s inception through the third year of grantee activities. (author abstract)