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Quasi-experimental impact study of NFWS/SIF Workforce Partnership Programs evidence on the effectiveness of Workforce Partnership Programs in Ohio and Wisconsin (Michaelides et al. 2016)

Review Guidelines

Absence of conflict of interest.

Citation

Michaelides, M., Mueser, P., Davis, S., & Mbwana, K. (2016). Quasi-Experimental Impact Study of NFWS/SIF Workforce Partnership Programs Evidence on the Effectiveness of Workforce Partnership Programs in Ohio and Wisconsin. Columbia, MD: IMPAQ International. [Construction Sector Partnership]

Highlights

  • The study's objective was to examine the impact of workforce partnership programs on employment and earnings outcomes. This profile focuses on the evaluation of the Partners for a Competitive Workforce: Construction Sector Partnership. The authors investigated similar research questions for other sites, the profiles of which can be found here.
  • The study used a nonexperimental design to compare outcomes between individuals receiving services from the Construction Sector Partnership to a matched comparison group receiving state employment services. Using program and unemployment insurance wage data, the authors conducted statistical models to examine differences in outcomes between the groups.
  • The study found that individuals receiving services from the Construction Sector Partnership had significantly higher employment rates and earnings in some quarters than individuals in the comparison group.
  • This study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Partners for a Competitive Workforce: Construction Sector Partnership, but other factors might also have contributed.

Intervention Examined

Partners for a Competitive Workforce: Construction Sector Partnership

Features of the Intervention

The National Fund for Workforce Solutions/Social Innovation fund (NFWS/SIF) is a collaboration of national foundations that invests in regional funding collaboratives to promote employment and career advancements for low-income individuals and to ensure that employers can obtain a skilled workforce. The Partners for a Competitive Workforce: Construction Sector Partnership was funded by NFWS/SIF in 2009 to improve existing construction career pathways and design a new one to meet regional workforce needs in Ohio. The partnership included employers, community colleges, vocational schools, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Independent Electrical Contractors, and Greater Cincinnati Apprenticeship Council. The Construction Sector Partnership provided unemployed, low-skill job seekers and inexperienced workers pre-apprenticeship programs and on the job training to help obtain skills needed to access construction jobs such as carpentry, electrical, plumbing and pipefitting, or heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration. Additionally, participants were offered work-readiness training and job search assistance to help find jobs that fit their skill set.

Features of the Study

The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of individuals receiving services from the Construction Sector Partnership (treatment group) to a sample of individuals who received state employment services (comparison group). The authors formed a matched comparison group that was similar to the treatment group on individual characteristics and employment histories. The treatment group included 379 unemployed individuals and the comparison group included 36,859 individuals. The majority of the program participants were Black (78 percent) and had at least a high school diploma (83 percent). Just under half of participants were women (48 percent) and over half were under the age of 35 (60 percent). Data sources included Construction Sector program data and employment service data that provided participant socioeconomic and demographic information upon program entry and the type of services that participants received during the study, as well as state unemployment insurance wage data that provided quarterly earnings for all participants. The authors used a statistical model to compare employment and earnings outcomes between the groups through a six-quarter follow-up period.

Findings

Earnings and wages

  • The study found that treatment participants had significantly higher earnings than comparison participants in quarters one and five but there was no significant difference between the groups in the other quarters.

Employment

  • The study found that treatment participants were significantly more likely to be employed in quarters two, three, and four than comparison participants. There was no significant difference in employment between the groups in the remaining quarters.

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 Partners for a Competitive Workforce: Construction Sector Partnership, but other facets might also have contributed.

Additional Sources

Michaelides, M., Poe-Yamagata, E., & Mbwana, K. (2013). Outcomes Assessment Study of NFWS/SIF-funded Programs. Boston, MA: National Fund for Workforce.

Reviewed by CLEAR

August 2022

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