Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the net impact of 12 workforce development programs in Washington state on employment, earnings, and public benefits receipt outcomes. This profile focuses on the professional-technical education programs at community and technical colleges. The author investigated similar research questions for the net impact of other programs, the profiles of which can be found here:
- WIA/WIOA Adult Program
- WIA/WIOA Dislocated Worker Program
- WIA/WIOA Youth Program
- Worker Retraining Program
- Basic Education for Adults Programs
- Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Programs
- Private Career School Programs
- Registered Apprenticeships
- Aerospace Training Programs
- WorkFirst Program
- Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) Program
- The study used a difference-in-differences design with a matched comparison group. Using administrative data, the author conducted statistical models to compare the outcomes of the program participants and the comparison group members one and three years after program exit.
- The study found that professional-technical education program participants were significantly more likely to be employed, have higher earnings, and earn more in public benefits than comparison group members both one year and three years after program exit.
- This study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to professional-technical education programs, but other factors might also have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Professional-Technical Education Programs
Features of the Intervention
Professional-technical education programs are workforce development programs that provide students with training on skills required for specific occupations. These programs are offered at community and technical colleges and include a wide range of fields and credentials, such as short-term certificates and two-year technical degree programs.
Features of the Study
The study used a difference-in-differences design to examine the impact of professional-technical education programs in Washington state on employment, earnings, and public benefits receipt outcomes. The author matched professional-technical education program participants to similar nonparticipants using propensity scores developed from socio-demographic information. The comparison group members included individuals who registered to use Washington’s WorkSource employment centers and online job-search portals as part of the Wagner Peyser federal program, but did not participate in the professional-technical education programs. The study sample included two cohorts. The 2014-2015 cohort included 42,042 individuals (25,223 intervention and 16,819 comparison) and was predominantly female (54%), White (63%), with an average age of 33. The 2016-2017 cohort included 36,180 individuals (22,444 intervention and 13,736 comparison) and was predominantly female (55%), White (60%), with an average age of 33.
The primary data sources were administrative data from the professional-technical education programs and Washington's WorkSource employment centers and online job-search portals. The author conducted statistical models to examine differences in outcomes between the intervention and comparison groups at one year and three years after program exit. Outcomes included employment rate, quarterly hours worked, hourly wage, quarterly earnings, and quarterly Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits received.
Findings
Employment
- The study found that professional-technical education program participants had significantly higher employment rates and worked significantly more hours than comparison group members at both one year and three years after program exit.
Earnings and wages
- The study found that professional-technical education program participants had significantly higher hourly wages and higher quarterly earnings than comparison group members at both one year and three years after program exit.
Public benefits receipt
- The study found that professional-technical education program participants received significantly more in quarterly UI benefits than comparison group members at both one year and three years after program exit.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The study reports a less stringent statistical significance level, considering p-values of less than 0.10 to be significant, though it is standard practice to consider statistical significance if the p-value is less than 0.05. Only results that demonstrate a p-value of less than 0.05 are considered statistically significant in this profile.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to professional-technical education programs at community and technical colleges, but other factors might also have contributed