The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals will conduct a webinar on July 21, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. ET to cover job development techniques, interviewing skills, and client preparation for returning citizens to enter employment. Presentations will address how to better serve reentry clients and develop partnerships with employers and how to prepare these individuals to qualify for job opportunities. There will also be discussion about employment readiness, work experience and skill gaps, and how to find resources for returning citizens. A registration fee is charged for participation in this webinar.

This fact sheet analyzes real-time data when examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on working families and draws from surveys with hourly service workers across the retail, food service, hospitality, house cleaning, delivery, and home health care industries. The fact sheet notes reductions in work hours and income, job loss, and overall family well-being due to COVID and stresses the importance of employers and government working to meet families’ needs.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased unemployment rates in low-income populations, SNAP agencies must rapidly scale up and adapt their employment and training support systems amidst economic, public health, and regulatory uncertainties. On July 9, 2020 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, the American Public Human Services Association will host a webinar with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, American Enterprise Institute, and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities to discuss SNAP Employment and Training programs and the continued effects of unemployment on SNAP agency operations as well as their surrounding communities and local job sectors.

This blogpost provides guidance on lessons learned from implementing the MyGoals for Employment Success program, an employment coaching model that assists participants during the pandemic. The blogpost draws a structured set of relevant questions and answers that might be asked of coaches and managers of the MyGoals model and other social service programs. Topics include supporting participants with scheduling changes in light of lockdowns, transitions in client management, how to encourage participants with self-directed goal setting, accessing and paying for medications, working in an unsafe environment, receiving SNAP or unemployment insurance benefits, how to use online technology, and addressing grief.

This brief covers the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adult employment and incomes among those that have encountered economic hardship and have been able to access unemployment benefits. The brief identifies the disproportionate losses by income and race and the time lag between filing for and receiving unemployment insurance benefits. The effects were measured by reviewing findings of the Coronavirus Tracing Survey, a nationally representative survey of nonelderly adults, which was conducted in May 2020.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation white paper is a follow-up to a roundtable convened in January 2019 which examined the status of and future directions for employment and training research. The white paper covers three key areas: what has been learned from prior research studies and what are the current federally funded research and evaluation efforts on employment and training programs for low-income populations; what contextual factors and trends will affect the labor market and consequently low-income workers’ future employment and earning prospects; and what topics and questions arose as common themes in roundtable discussions.

On July 15, 2020, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET, there will be a virtual tour of the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse, a new resource funded by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families. Designed to meet the needs of employment service providers and support TANF administrators’ use of evidence-based practices, the Pathways Clearinghouse provides free, reliable, and accessible information about what works to help job seekers with low incomes find and sustain employment. The launch event will feature a discussion with an expert panel, including Naomi Goldstein and Kim Clum from OPRE, to explore how the website identifies interventions designed to improve employment outcomes, reduce employment challenges, and support self-sufficiency for people with low incomes.

The Online Work Readiness Assessment (OWRA) is a free, web-based tool that offers an innovative approach to assess work readiness. OWRA helps caseworkers facilitate an in-depth assessment which creates a plan for participants that summarizes their strengths and barriers and makes recommendations on placement into work activities and work supports. Included with OWRA is a suite of Work Readiness Resources, a valuable guide for both participants and case managers. For participants, three building block levels are available to provide tips on basics like resume writing and job interviewing to exploring more complex concepts like the local labor market and developing a personal education plan. For case workers, the resources offer an interactive hub of tips and information to help participants become more self-sufficient, be able to provide more options for education and training to participants, and explore labor market and career development resources. To allow for easier access to these critical resources, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) has recently published these guides on the OWRA Peer TA website under the Resources tab.

This report illustrates the demand for digital literacy skills and its consequences. The report contains data on the lack of digital literacy within the current workforce, where digital skill gaps occur across industries and occupations, and how digital skill gaps affect worker earnings and business competitiveness. The report also presents findings about digital skill gaps by demographic groups to include age, sex and race.

This tool relies on state-provided or other public data to support early childhood stakeholders in calculating the funds needed to increase early childhood workforce qualifications. The calculator enables the user to set the program type (for example, Head Start, Pre-K, or other center-based programs), child age group (infant-toddler and/or pre-K), and teacher category (lead and/or assistant teacher). Other data to be inputted include number of early childhood educators, current educational qualifications of the existing workforce; whether the teacher has the required credentials; and average tuition costs, on a statewide basis, for two-year and four-year degree programs.