Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Maguire, S., Freely, J., Clymer, C., Conway, M. & Schwartz, D. (2010). Tuning in to local labor markets: Findings from the Sectoral Employment impact study. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures. [Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership]
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership’s (WRTP) sectoral employment program on earnings and employment. The authors investigated similar research questions with two other programs, the profiles of which are available through the study search.
- The study was based on a randomized controlled trial, with the authors estimating the effect of offering eligible WRTP applicants the program by using survey data to compare average outcomes among those offered access to the program against the average outcomes of those not offered access, after adjusting for differences between the groups.
- The study found that being offered access to the WRTP’s sectoral employment program increased earnings by $6,255, on average, over the two years after acceptance to the program.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the WRTP’s sectoral employment program, and not to other factors.
Intervention Examined
The WRTP Sectoral Employment Program
Features of the Intervention
The WRTP is composed of unions and employers who aim to develop employment opportunities for people with low income. It provided short-term training programs, typically lasting two to eight weeks, to address employers’ needs in the construction, manufacturing, and health care sectors. The WRTP also provided case management and job placement assistance.
Features of the Study
This study was based on a randomized controlled trial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The authors based their analyses on 393 eligible applicants for the WRTP sectoral employment program who were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that could participate in the program or to a control group that could not participate but could access services at other providers. Eligible applicants read at a 6th- to 10th-grade level and were interviewed about career goals and challenges to participation. Analyses were based on 335 people who provided outcomes data. Among the sample of 328 that responded to the follow-up survey , 52 percent were male, 78 percent were African American, and 37 percent had been previously incarcerated; sample members had an average of 4.5 months of employment and $11,492 in earnings in the year before baseline. The authors estimated the impact of the program by comparing average outcomes among those offered access to the program against the average outcomes of those not offered access, after adjusting for chance differences in background characteristics between the groups.
Findings
Employment
- The study did not find significant differences in the employment of the treatment and control groups over the two years after acceptance to the program.
Earnings and wages
- The study found that being offered access to the WRTP’s sectoral employment program increased earnings by $6,255, on average, over the two years after acceptance to the program.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The authors did not provide analytic sample sizes by treatment and control group, but attrition was rated low under a worst-case scenario of all attrition occurring in one group.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high because it was based on a well-implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the WRTP’s sectoral employment program and not to other factors.
Additional Sources
Maguire, S., Freely, J., Clymer, C., & Conway, M. (2009). Job training that works: Findings from the sectoral employment impact study. (P/PV In Brief, Issue No. 7). Philadelphia, PA: Public/Private Ventures.