Sectoral Employment Programs: Demonstrating impacts, value of job training

By DUANE M. ELLING




As the U.S. economy struggles toward recovery, the latest report on a Mott Foundation-funded study offers compelling evidence that high quality sectoral job training programs can help strengthen the financial futures of workers, employers and the country.

The rigorous, random assignment Sectoral Employment Impact Study, launched in 2003, tracked the labor market outcomes of low-income adults participating in sectoral job training programs.

Such programs help individuals prepare for careers in industries or “sectors” chosen specifically for their growth potential. And because employers are involved in the programs’ design and launch, the participants learn the specific skills those industries need.

The study and its findings, their implications for workforce development policy and the value of the sectoral approach are highlighted in the four features below:

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Reflections from Jack Litzenberg: Job training does matter
Litzenberg, senior program officer at Mott, shares his perspectives on the role of job training – including the sectoral model – in creating true pathways out of poverty.
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Tuning In to Local Labor Markets
This new report, published by Public/Private Ventures with assistance from the Aspen Institute, highlights the significant impacts that sectoral job training programs can have on the employment and earnings of low-income workers.
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Mott Conversations: Sectoral Job Training
In this video Q&A, Harry Holzer, professor of public policy at Georgetown University, discusses the sectoral model and the importance of the new report’s findings. 
[View the video 3:41]




Study bullish on benefits of sectoral job training
This story posted in May 2009 explores early findings from the sectoral employment impact study.
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