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The report presents the findings from the America’s Promise Job-Driven Training Grants implementation study, which included virtual site visits, telephone interviews, a grantee survey, partner network survey, and Workforce Integrated Performance System (WIPS) data analysis, using data from 2017 to Q2 2021 and describes how the 23 America’s Promise partnerships used America’s Promise grants to provide sector-based employment and training services and form regional partnerships, including how the partnerships changed over time to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Research Questions

• What was the regional and community context for the America’s Promise partnerships?
• How were regional workforce systems and partnerships developed and maintained over the life cycle of the grant? What factors influenced the development of regional partnerships and employer engagement?
• What types and combinations of services and approaches did the partnerships provide? How were they implemented? What successes and challenges did partners face during implementation?
• What changes did America’s Promise grantees and their partners make to their programs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
• What were the characteristics of the participants?

Key Takeaways

• America’s Promise grants led to many new employer partnerships. Although America’s Promise partnerships built on prior efforts, the 23 grantees reported that 74 percent of the total 593 employer partners were newly established for the grant.
• Respondents from grantee organizations, partners, and employers highlighted the importance of prioritizing employer voices. Higher degrees of employer engagement appeared to ensure that services available through America’s Promise funded programs demonstrated employer needs and could help participants enter target industries.
• Support programs were viewed as critical by program participants. Many program participants cited wraparound services as a differentiator for America’s Promise programs. Participants noted that case management and work readiness programs offered in tandem with training programs seemed to help ensure success for participants.
• Strong partnerships were critical to providing services to participants. The emphasis of the America’s Promise program on strong partnerships was considered one the most important practices, according to grantees. These efforts reduced competition between entities with similar missions in the same region, such as community colleges, to better meet participant and employer needs.
• Trainings offered by America’s Promise grantees aligned with employer needs. This alignment stemmed from employers assisting in program planning and helped program participants meet the hiring requirements of high-wage jobs. Participants’ needs were simultaneously addressed in some cases through earn-and-learn models such as apprenticeships which provided income and hands-on-experience.

Citation

English, B., Ochoa, L., Krantz, A., Rosenberg, L., Zelenack, S., Bart, E., Bellotti, J., Allmang, S., Dunham K. (2022). Mathematica. Creating and Expanding Regional Workforce Partnerships for Skilled H-1B Industries and Occupations: Implementation of America’s Promise Job-Driven Training Grants. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.