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The report of an evaluation of strategies used in the TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative (SWFI) grant programs. The evaluation includes implementation, outcomes, and impact studies. The impact study involves a randomized controlled trial of services provided by five grantees to estimate the effects of their programs on outcomes such as skill attainment, employment, and earnings. The focus of this report is the implementation study, which examines how 49 TechHire and SWFI grantees implemented their programs and the perceived effectiveness of the strategies used. The report describes findings and presents the lessons learned for improving future program implementation and employment outcomes for the target populations served.

Research Questions

• What are the types and combinations of programs, approaches, or services provided under the TechHire and SWFI grant programs?
• How were the programs implemented?
• How were systems and partnerships built and maintained?
• How and to what extent did the customized supportive services and education/training tracks expand participant access to targeted employment, improve program completion rates, connect participants to employment opportunities, and promote innovative and sustainable program designs?
• Did programs both remove child care barriers and address the individual job training needs of participants?

Key Takeaways

• Grantees reported successes working with partners, including workforce investment system organizations, education and training providers, and employers to provide training and supportive services to participants. Despite these successes, employer engagement in program design and hiring did not always materialize as planned.
• Recruitment of qualified applicants was a challenge for grantees due to the low unemployment rate during most of the grant. Youth and young adults ages 17 to 29 were especially difficult to recruit, and some grantees indicated interest in the program from older individuals who they believed were a better fit.
• Grantees varied in the extent to which the occupational training funded through the grants was similar to existing training programs.
• Flexible training approaches posed challenges. Short-term trainings were not always compatible with the level of skills required by available jobs. Similarly, online training was not a good fit for the circumstances of some participants.
• Retention in the training programs was a challenge for grantees due to participants’ lack of basic skills and personal barriers.
• Passing credential exams was a challenge for some grantees. Some participants did not understand that exams were required or how difficult the materials would be.
• There was a mismatch between the level of the training and the skills required for available jobs for some programs. The trainings were for entry-level jobs, whereas employers were seeking entry-level candidates with work experience or candidates for mid-level positions.
• Case management was one of the most valuable components of the programs according to grantees.
• Grantees considered SWFI grant money as the funding source “of last resort” to use only when needed to fill gaps in existing child care service provision.
• Child care systems navigation was essential to assisting parent participants in identifying appropriate child care and accessing subsidies.
• Grantees reported success bridging the workforce system and child care systems and working with child care providers to alter their services to accommodate participants’ needs. However, grantees experienced less success convincing employers to accommodate participants’ child care needs.
• Grantees experienced challenges placing participants into jobs. Grantees attributed these challenges to participants’ lack of soft skills, participants’ barriers such as lack of transportation, and a mismatch between the level of the training and the skills demanded by employers.
• Despite these challenges, employers who did hire program completers were satisfied with the hires’ occupational skills, though lack of soft skills was still a challenge.

Citation

Gasper, J., Gearing, M., Giesen, L., Marrow, J., Muz, B., Dodkowitz, A. (2021). Westat. Evaluation of the TechHire and Strengthening Working Families Initiative Grant Programs Findings from the Implementation Study. 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.