This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief describes the experiences of three organizations that adapted existing interventions to provide remote work readiness activities or education and training services during the COVID-19 pandemic. It summarizes common challenges that made it difficult for participants to engage in remote services, adaptations made by the organizations, and considerations for remote service delivery after the pandemic. The brief draws upon information gathered from an Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) site in Des Moines, Washington, Project Quality Employment Through Skills Training (QUEST) in San Antonio, Texas, and a Wisconsin Regional Training Partnerships (WRTP) site in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, with MEF Associates and the Urban Institute, are conducting this study to better understand financial capability interventions delivered in the context of employment and training (E&T) programs serving low-income individuals.

Research links financial capability to important outcomes for low-income households, but financial capability levels are low, on average, among low-income individuals. Financial capability interventions, such as financial education, coaching, and counseling, intend to improve economic outcomes by building financial skills, knowledge, and self-efficacy, as well as expanding access to resources and opportunities to promote positive financial behaviors. E&T programs provide opportunities to deliver these interventions, but there is currently little evidence on the effectiveness of this channel.

The study aims to build more evidence for policymakers and practitioners about the extent, forms, and practices of incorporating financial capability interventions into E&T programs serving low-income adult populations. The study also aims to help establish a basis for research and evaluation in this area.

This report identifies barriers and opportunities that exist for older workers accessing online programs, with a focus on their digital skill levels. The report analyzes 2017 Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies Survey data, as well as American Community Survey data to understand how older workers’ poverty status and access to broadband, internet, and computers and other devices is associated with digital skill levels. Report findings are also complemented by information collected during interviews with leaders of programs to support digital skill training for older adults.

This video webinar recording examines ways to provide adults with access to digital technologies and opportunities for digital skill development. Presenters Dr. Jen Vanek, Director of Digital Learning and Research at the EdTEch Center at World Education, and Dr. Kathy Harris, Director of the Literacy, Language, & Technology Research group at Portland State University, share their research in digital literacy and technology integration in adult basic skills education. Additionally, they review research in the areas of integrating technology in the classroom to support digital literacies, and programmatic strategies supporting technology integration. The presenters also highlight areas of needed research.

Digital Resilience in the American Workforce (DRAW) is a new initiative from Jobs for the Future and World Education, with support from the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. DRAW better prepares adult education practitioners who support learners who struggle to fully engage in tasks that demand use of digital technologies. This article highlights DRAW, which provides flexible, evidence-based, and piloted strategies and materials that help teachers build the digital literacy skills and digital resilience of adult learners. An invitation to complete a questionnaire is included which allows respondents to share insights, experiences, and expertise with digital literacy resources. Responses will be compiled in a Landscape Scan to be released in summer 2022.

A year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of individuals remained out of work. This report presents data on labor market weakness and describes how the COVID-19 recession has exacerbated inequality and how the threat of long-term unemployment particularly impacts people of color. This report makes the case for a permanent subsidized employment program to respond to short-term needs and support disadvantaged workers even in economically better times. It highlights research on the benefits of subsidized employment for program participants and communities. It also highlights lessons learned from the TANF Emergency Fund, enacted during the Great Recession, and the value of subsidized employment in hard economic times as a means to recover from the COVID-19 economic downturn.

This blogpost identifies research on the skills adults need to effectively navigate digital spaces and what educators can do to support adult learning to build digital skills. Topics covered include: understanding graphics, digital interfaces, and online reproduction skills; reading online and comprehending digital texts; the importance of real-time thinking, social, and emotional skills; and ways to support adult digital literacy.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the YouthBuild program. The program funds organizations to provide a pre-apprenticeship program model that encompasses education, occupational skills training, leadership development, and high-quality post-program placement opportunities to opportunity youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who left high school prior to graduation and also have other risk factors. The YouthBuild program simultaneously addresses multiple core issues important to youth in low-income communities: affordable housing, leadership development, education, and employment opportunities in in-demand industries and apprenticeship pathways. Applications are due by January 21, 2022.

Jobs for the Future will host a virtual event on November 16, 2021 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET which will discuss the promise of apprenticeship for in-school and out-of-school youth. Participants will learn how apprenticeship is being advanced at the federal and state level, how states are using those opportunities to create and expand youth apprenticeship programs, and how partnerships help to build and sustain Registered Apprenticeship for young people.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on the livelihoods, finances, and well-being of millions of individuals in Indian Country. Compounding the burden of job losses are widespread school shutdowns and the lack of affordable child care, which simultaneously hinder TANF-participating parents, particularly mothers, from gaining meaningful employment while imposing additional costs on already tight family resources. These trends present urgent and essential demands on Tribal TANF programs. To respond to these challenges, the Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar on October 27, 2021, which provided insights on Federal and State resources that can assist parents in transitioning into employment, as well as innovative practices from Tribal TANF, child care, and community organizations to support low-income families. The webinar also identified strategies for coordinating Tribal TANF and Child Care offices.