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The report of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) national evaluation, describes early outcomes of Round 4 TAACCCT colleges, describes education, earnings, and self-sufficiency outcomes of participants about 15 months after entry into 34 programs at nine selected Round 4 grantees. It also describes the implementation of those grantees’ programs.

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Research Questions

• What were the characteristics of study participants?
• In which features of training programs and services did study participants engage?
• What education outcomes did study participants in short-term training programs achieve?
• Did participants obtain employment? If so, was it in an occupation related to their training? What were their earnings? What were the characteristics of their jobs?

Key Takeaways

• Implementation Findings
  • All grantees designed new or enhanced existing career pathways or developed new stackable credentials.
  • Eight grantees implemented at least one technology-enabled learning strategy.
  • Five grantees implemented prior learning assessments or awarded credit for prior learning.
  • All grantees implemented a new learning structure for their training programs.
  • Grantees used grant funds to provide a range of academic supports.
  • Grantees implemented a range of nonacademic supports.
  • All nine grantees implemented skills practice strategies.
  • Seven grantees provided job search services.
  • Internships were the most common work-based learning activities among grantees.
• Characteristics of Participants at Program Entry
  • The study participants were mostly male, mostly never married, and diverse in terms of race/ethnicity and age. Most participants (53 percent) had at least some postsecondary education at program entry.
  • The share of participants receiving public assistance was low: 10 percent or less.
• Outcomes a Year after Program Entry
  • Participants were generally satisfied with the grant-funded services they received.
  • The majority of participants reported they completed their training programs. A majority planned to return to college.
  • The vast majority of participants no longer enrolled in training at follow-up had been employed since exiting their program. Nearly half (44 percent) of program completers were employed in jobs related to their training.
  • Average quarterly earnings increased by $2,272 from three quarters before program entry to five quarters after program entry.
  • A majority of participants who were no longer enrolled in their programs were employed full-time in positions with benefits.
  • Greater percentages of program completers than non-completers were employed in jobs related to their programs and in those with benefits.
  • Participants’ household income increased and the percentage living in poverty decreased.
  • Participants’ receipt of public assistance benefits remained stable.
• Participant Outcomes by Characteristics at Program Entry
  • Older participants and those with some postsecondary education had higher rates of program completion.
  • Training-related employment was lower for public assistance recipients, those with less education, and those who had not worked in the year prior to enrollment.
  • Earnings increases were larger for younger participants and lower for those who were not employed at enrollment but worked in the previous year.
  • Participants enrolled in longer programs experienced larger earnings increases than those enrolled in shorter training programs. There was no detectable difference in program completion, training-related employment, or public assistance receipt by program duration.
  • Participants previously employed in manufacturing had higher rates of training-related employment and larger earnings increases than those employed in certain other industries.
  • Older participants, those with long periods without employment, and those receiving public assistance at program enrollment had higher rates of public assistance receipt a year later.
• Service Receipt and Participant Outcomes
  • The combination of work-based learning and employment-related services is strongly associated with program completion and training-related employment.
  • Skills practice in work-like physical environments is associated with program completion and stronger earnings growth.
  • Transfer credits, financial aid advising, all three work-based learning services, and both employment related services had positive associations with training-related employment.
  • Transfer credits had a positive association with earnings growth among participants not still enrolled in the program as of follow-up.
  • Three of the four persistence and completion services were associated with public assistance receipt, while none had significant associations with poverty.
  • Opportunities for direct occupational experience were also associated with public assistance receipt.
• Participant Outcomes at Individual Programs
  • IT programs at Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana have low completion rates and low rates of training-related employment but strong earnings growth once students finish or leave the program.
  • The shortest programs like the Commercial Driver's License and Forklift program at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and the Core Plus program at Delgado Community College have high completion rates but low earnings growth.
  • The LPN program at Washburn University of Topeka has a high completion rate, the highest rate of training-related employment and strongest earnings growth.
  • The Mechatronics and Machining programs at South Central College have low completion rates but average or higher rates of training-related employment coupled with strong earnings growth.
  • Welding programs at several grantees have above average earnings growth.
  • Programs at Chafee Community College tend to have below average earnings growth.

Citation

Judkins, D., Gardiner, K., Smith, A., Walton, D. (2020). Abt Associates. Trade Adjustment Community College and Career Training Grant Program: Round 4 Early Outcomes Study Report. 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.