This evidence snapshot summarizes what rigorous research tells us about 17 interventions that used subsidized employment or transitional jobs as their primary service and the interventions’ impacts on earnings, employment, the receipt of public benefits, and education and training. The data come from high- or moderate-quality studies that began between 2004 and 2015 and were reviewed by the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse. The snapshot can guide program administrators, policymakers, researchers, and the general public on how they can apply the evidence to their context and the questions that matter to them.

To serve jobseekers effectively, employment and training programs may need to incorporate essential supportive services. These three Workforce System Strategies resources – Local Workforce Development Boards and Child Care, Evaluation of SNAP Employment and Training Pilots, and Implementing Healthcare Career Pathway Training Programs in Rural Settings – document supportive services such as childcare, training materials, transportation assistance, rental assistance, and work clothing to increase jobseeker abilities to access, prepare for, and obtain employment.

This brief is designed to help state apprenticeship expansion teams and workforce system partners understand the structure of each other's work, consider five dimensions of system alignment, and explore strategies to strengthen alignment. These dimensions are strategic planning, policy, and governance; business engagement and Registered Apprenticeship Program development; apprentice recruitment and support; funding; and data and outcomes. The report also includes a System Alignment Checklist, which is a tool to help states identify areas of strength and opportunities to better align the Registered Apprenticeship and workforce development systems.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Workforce Investment will host a webinar on June 21, 2022 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET which will highlight successful initiatives to foster Recovery-Friendly Workplaces. It is part of a series on the role of the workforce system in serving individuals with substance use disorder. Guest speakers from Recovery Friendly Workplace initiatives in New Hampshire and Rhode Island will discuss how those initiatives benefit communities, businesses, and the lives of individuals. This webinar will also focus on the role of the public workforce system in implementing these initiatives.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) co-hosted a webinar on May 25, 2022 to provide an overview of registered apprenticeships, share available resources to develop and support early care and education (ECE) apprenticeship programs, and highlight successful national, state, and local models.

Katie Hamm, ACF Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development, spoke about the importance of bringing all three agencies together to address critical shortages in the ECE workforce, which is still at 89% of pre-pandemic levels. These shortages impact families’ ability to go to work, as well as children’s access to early learning opportunities. Other speakers included Katherine Neas, Deputy Assistant Secretary, ED Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Wendy Chun-Hoon, Director of the DOL Women’s Bureau.

On January 4, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Training and Employment Notice providing local workforce boards, American Job Centers, workforce development partners, and grantees with information on supporting community violence intervention strategies that include an employment or workforce component. This brief offers recommendations for supporting the design and implementation of community violence interventions, based on research and evidence-based practice.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Workforce Investment and the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) will host a webinar on June 9, 2022 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET as part of a summer series of technical assistance on the role of the workforce system in serving individuals with substance use disorders. Guest speakers from CPWR will discuss how opioid use among the construction workforce has impacted the construction industry and the preventions the organization is currently implementing to fight opioid substance abuse.

The Reentry and Employment Opportunities – Adult Program (REO) is designed to strengthen urban communities through an employment-centered program that incorporates mentoring, job training, and other comprehensive transitional services. The REO Community website provides new ideas and tools to do the invaluable work of changing lives and renewing futures of former offenders. The website includes information on:

• Improving program practices, including case management and mentoring
• Supporting transitions for ex-offenders, including program and job retention
• Strengthening partnerships to provide strong supportive services and seamless transitions
• Ensuring sustainability for programs

Holistic support services are critical to increasing skills training access, completion, and connection to quality jobs. This webinar video recording examined how intentional investments in supportive services help to address racial wealth gaps and the unprecedented rates of basic needs insecurity facing today’s students — adult learners who are balancing work, school, and family responsibilities. Speakers also discussed how community college, training provider, and community partner staff can help learners navigate education, public benefit, and resource options to ensure that resources go to those who need them the most.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief is an overview of how HPOG 2.0 programs adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to provide services to participants. It examines changes programs adopted during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic (approximately March—December 2020). Local HPOG 2.0 staff described strategies that helped them continue operations despite unanticipated implementation hurdles. The brief also highlights promising practices that may be of interest to healthcare training providers and policymakers.