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The report of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) national evaluation synthesizes findings implementation and impact findings from 71 Round 4 third-party evaluations. It summarizes what has been learned from the fourth and final round of the grant program to support a growing body of evidence on strategies that encourage accelerated learning, college persistence and completion, and connections to employment. The synthesis provides implications for future community college and workforce development initiatives and how to evaluate them.

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Research Questions

• What service delivery and/or system change innovations were implemented?
• What was the impact of the grant-funded projects on participants’ education and employment outcomes?
• What emerging ideas for service delivery and/or systems change seem the most promising for further research?

Key Takeaways

• Grantees that used a consistent strategy for employer engagement perceived success in developing their employer partnerships.
• Grantees perceived that deliberately aligning processes and staffing with the public workforce system strengthened implementation and increased capacity.
• Successful participant recruitment strategies often involved partner referrals, dedicated staff, and flexible outreach strategies.
• Accelerated and enhanced learning strategies appeared to contribute to participant success, but colleges may need time to test and revise strategies to overcome implementation challenges.
• Career navigators appear to improve participants’ persistence and completion of their training programs.
• Grantees used software to provide simulated work experiences to teach relevant skills and at a lower cost than a physical simulation laboratory.
• Work-based learning opportunities could be challenging for adult learners who worked while in school.
• Colleges built partnerships to provide services they have not traditionally provided to connect participants to employment.
• Tracking and documenting participant outcomes after a grant ends can lay the groundwork for long-term sustainability.

Citation

Scott, M.M., Kuehn, D., Eyster, L., Briggs, A., Durham, C., Spievack, N., Simon, A., Barnow, B. (2020). Abt Associates. Implementation, Outcomes, and Impact Synthesis Report: Round 4 TAACCCT Third-Party Evaluations. 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.