Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
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: Advanced Manufacturing 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 Advanced Manufacturing 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 Advanced Manufacturing Partnership were significantly more likely to be employed and earn more 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: Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, but other factors might also have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Partners for a Competitive Workforce: Advanced Manufacturing 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: Advanced Manufacturing Partnership was funded by NFWS/SIF in 2009 to promote employment and career advancement of low skilled workers in advanced manufacturing jobs in Ohio. The partnership included Workforce Investment Boards, employers, community colleges, and service providers. The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership offered a career pathways framework for unemployed workers interested in advanced manufacturing jobs and entry level workers interested in accessing high skill jobs and advancing their careers through entry-level internships or part-time jobs. All participants worked with a case manager to complete short-term training aligned with their employment and education goals. Assistance was offered to help participants obtain a National Career Readiness Certificate and/or enroll in a Certified Production Technician program. Participants who earned certificates had the option to enroll in an associate degree program and take part in an apprenticeship with a partner employer. Participants could also receive work-readiness training focused on soft skills.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of individuals receiving services from the Advanced Manufacturing 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 684 unemployed individuals and the comparison group included 42,293 individuals. The majority of program participants were Black (75 percent) and had at least a high school diploma (71 percent). Almost two-thirds of participants were men (66 percent) and just over half were under the age of 35 (51 percent). Data sources included Advanced Manufacturing 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 for all quarters, except quarter three where the difference between the groups was not significant.
Employment
- The study found that treatment participants were significantly more likely to be employed across six quarters than comparison participants.
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 the Partners for a Competitive Workforce: Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, but other factors might also have contributed.