The Center for Employment and Training (CET) in San Jose, California, was found to be exceptionally effective in providing training to young persons in two previous random assignment evaluations.  Therefore, in 1992, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration initiated an effort to provide technical assistance to other organizations interested in replicating the CET model in other sites.  Between 1995 and 1999, over 1,400 youth in 12 replication sites were randomly assigned to CET or a control group to test two ideas:  1) whether the CET model could be successfully implemented in different settings, and 2) if the program would have similarly positive effects for sites outside San Jose replicating the CET model.

The final report presents findings of the program’s effects 54 months after random assignment.  The report’s findings include:  (1) Implementation of the CET approach was difficult, as replication of the original model varied across sites and sustainability of the CET model was a key challenge for several sites.  (2)  Effects on training and certificate receipt were much larger for the program group than their control group counterparts, however, effects seemed to diminish after the first year.  (3)  In sites that faithfully replicated the CET model, access to CET did not increase youths’ employment or earnings during the follow-up period, but there were some positive effects on young women in the early follow-up years.

Also available on the Web site are two papers which accompany the final report:  "The Characteristics of Career Paths among Out-of-School Youth from the Center for Employment Training Replication Project Sites" and "Barriers to Employment for Out-of-School Youth:  Evidence from a Sample of Recent CET Applicants."