Employment and Training: Successful Projects Share Common Strategy
(Testimony, 04/18/96, GAO/T-HEHS-96-127).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the merits of 6
highly successful employment training programs for economically
disadvantaged adults. GAO found that the programs: (1) serve adults with
little high school education, limited basic skills and English language
proficiency, few marketable job skills, and past histories of substance
abuse and domestic violence; (2) have a fairly successful placement
rate, with three of the programs placing 90 percent of their clientele;
(3) ensure that the clients are committed to training and getting a good
job, and as a result, require them to sign an agreement of commitment
outlining their responsibilities; (4) provide child care,
transportation, and basic skills training to enable clients to complete
program training and acquire employment; (5) improve their clients
employability through on-site workshops and one-on-one sessions; (6)
have strong links with the local labor market and use information from
the local market to guide training options; and (7) aim to provide their
clients with training that will lead to higher earnings, good benefits,
and overall self-sufficiency.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-HEHS-96-127
     TITLE:  Employment and Training: Successful Projects Share Common 
             Strategy
      DATE:  04/18/96
   SUBJECT:  Employment or training programs
             Disadvantaged persons
             Education or training
             Adult education
             Educational programs
             Vocational education
             Minorities
             Career planning
             State-administered programs
IDENTIFIER:  JOBS Program
             Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program
             Encore Program (FL)
             Project STRIVE (NY)
             Project Focus: HOPE (MI)
             Reno (NV)
             Detroit (MI)
             Harlem (NY)
             Charlotte (FL)
             
******************************************************************
** This file contains an ASCII representation of the text of a  **
** GAO report.  Delineations within the text indicating chapter **
** titles, headings, and bullets are preserved.  Major          **
** divisions and subdivisions of the text, such as Chapters,    **
** Sections, and Appendixes, are identified by double and       **
** single lines.  The numbers on the right end of these lines   **
** indicate the position of each of the subsections in the      **
** document outline.  These numbers do NOT correspond with the  **
** page numbers of the printed product.                         **
**                                                              **
** No attempt has been made to display graphic images, although **
** figure captions are reproduced.  Tables are included, but    **
** may not resemble those in the printed version.               **
**                                                              **
** Please see the PDF (Portable Document Format) file, when     **
** available, for a complete electronic file of the printed     **
** document's contents.                                         **
**                                                              **
** A printed copy of this report may be obtained from the GAO   **
** Document Distribution Center.  For further details, please   **
** send an e-mail message to:                                   **
**                                                              **
**                                            **
**                                                              **
** with the message 'info' in the body.                         **
******************************************************************


Cover
================================================================ COVER


Before the Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental
Relations, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, House of
Representatives

For Release on Delivery
Expected at 10:00 a.m.,
Thursday,
April 18, 1996

EMPLOYMENT TRAINING - SUCCESSFUL
PROJECTS SHARE COMMON STRATEGY

Statement of Carlotta C.  Joyner, Director
Education and Employment Issues
Health, Education, and Human Services Division

GAO/T-HEHS-96-127

GAO/HEHS-96-127T


(205323)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  CET - Center for Employment Training
  JTPA - Job Training Partnership Act
  JOBS - Job Opportunities and Basic Skills
  TPIC - The Private Industry Council

EMPLOYMENT TRAINING:  SUCCESSFUL
PROJECTS SHARE COMMON STRATEGY
==================================================== Chapter Statement

Mr.  Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I am pleased to be here today to discuss how certain employment
training projects have been successful in helping economically
disadvantaged adults. 

The strength of international competition has made us increasingly
aware of the need for a skilled labor force and, at the same time, of
the large number of individuals in this country who are unprepared
for employment.  To address this need, the federal government
appropriated about $20 billion in fiscal year 1995 for about 163
different training programs.\1 However, the Congress, GAO, and others
have become concerned that these efforts may not be as effective as
we would like them to be.\2 Legislative changes have been proposed to
address concerns about effectiveness, efficiency, and cost by
consolidating a large number of federal programs into a limited
number of block grants to states.  Regardless of program structure,
however, considerable uncertainty remains about how to make
employment and training initiatives more effective in helping
disadvantaged adults acquire and maintain permanent employment. 

My testimony today will summarize the findings from a study we are
completing, at your request, to see what effective programs seem to
have in common.  In our report on that study--which will be issued in
early May--we identify a common strategy used by some employment
training projects considered by state employment and training
officials and research groups to be successful in helping
economically disadvantaged adults.  For this study, we visited six
projects that had demonstrated outstanding results, as shown by
performance indicators such as project completion rates, job
placement and retention rates, and wages at first job. 

In summary, we found that although the projects we visited differ in
many ways, they share a common strategy that has four key features: 
(1) ensuring that clients are committed to training and getting a
job; (2) removing barriers, such as a lack of child care, that might
limit the client's ability to finish training and get and keep a job;
(3) improving clients' employability skills, such as getting to a job
regularly and on time, working well with others while there, and
dressing and behaving appropriately; and (4) linking occupational
skills training with the local labor market.  Together these features
help ensure that clients are ready, willing, and able to participate
in and benefit from training and employment assistance and move
towards self-sufficiency. 


--------------------
\1 For a discussion of the broad range of federal training programs,
see Multiple Employment Training Programs:  Major Overhaul Needed to
Reduce Costs, Streamline the Bureaucracy, and Improve Results
(GAO/T-HEHS-95-53, Jan.  10, 1995). 

\2 For example, see Job Training Partnership Act:  Long-Term Earnings
and Employment Outcomes (GAO/HEHS-96-40, Mar.  4, 1996) and Job
Training Partnership Act:  Services and Outcomes for Participants
With Differing Needs (GAO/HRD-89-52, June 9, 1989).  See also Larry
L.  Orr and others, The National JTPA Study:  Impacts, Benefits, and
Costs of Title II-A (Bethesda, Md.:  Abt Associates, Inc., 1994), Abt
Associates, Inc., Evaluation of the Food Stamp Employment Program
(Bethesda, Md.:  Abt Associates, Inc., June 1990), and Mathematica
Policy Research, Inc., International Trade and Worker Dislocation: 
Evaluation of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (Princeton,
N.J.:  Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Apr.  1993). 


   SIX SUCCESSFUL EMPLOYMENT
   TRAINING PROJECTS
-------------------------------------------------- Chapter Statement:1

All six projects serve adults who are economically disadvantaged,
with a range of reasons why they have been unable to get and keep a
job that would allow them to become self-sufficient.  Many
participants lack a high school diploma or have limited basic skills
or English proficiency; have few, if any, marketable job skills; have
a history of substance abuse; or have been victims of domestic
violence. 

The projects we visited had impressive results.  Three of the sites
had placement rates above 90 percent--two placed virtually all those
who completed their training.  The other three projects placed
two-thirds or more of those who completed the program. 

The sites differ in their funding sources,\3 skills training
approaches, and client focus.  For example: 

  -- We visited two sites that are primarily federally funded and
     target clients eligible under the Job Training Partnership Act
     (JTPA) and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program. 
     These sites are Arapahoe County Employment and Training in
     Aurora, Colorado, which is a suburb of Denver, and The Private
     Industry Council (TPIC) in Portland, Oregon.  Both of these
     sites assess clients and then follow a case management approach,
     linking clients with vocational training available through
     community colleges or vocational-technical schools. 

  -- The Encore!  program in Port Charlotte, Florida, serves single
     parents, displaced homemakers, and single pregnant women. 
     Encore!'s 6-week workshop and year-round support prepare
     participants for skill training.  It is primarily funded by a
     federal grant under the Perkins Act and is strongly linked with
     the Charlotte Vocational Technical Center (Vo-Tech). 

  -- The Center for Employment Training (CET) in Reno, Nevada,
     focuses on three specific service-related occupations and serves
     mainly Hispanic farmworkers.  Participants may receive
     subsidized training from sources such as Pell grants, JTPA state
     funds, and the JTPA Farmworker Program, as well as grants from
     the city of Reno. 

  -- Focus:  HOPE, in Detroit, Michigan, also serves inner-city
     minorities but emphasizes development of manufacturing-related
     skills.  Its primary funding source in 1994 was a state economic
     development grant. 

  -- STRIVE (Support and Training Results in Valuable Employment), in
     New York City's East Harlem, primarily serves inner-city
     minorities and focuses on developing in clients a proper work
     attitude needed for successful employment rather than on
     providing occupational skills training.  STRIVE is privately
     funded through a grant from the Clark Foundation, which requires
     a two-for-one dollar match from other sources, such as local
     employers. 

Projects also differ in other ways, such as the way project staff
interact with clients--customizing their approach to what they
believe to be the needs of their participants.  For example, STRIVE's
approach is strict, confrontational, and "no-nonsense" with the East
Harlem men and women in their program.  In contrast, Encore!  takes a
more nurturing approach, attempting to build the self-esteem of the
women, many of them victims of mental or physical abuse, who
participate in the program in rural Florida. 


--------------------
\3 JTPA and JOBS are the major federally funded employment training
programs for the economically disadvantaged.  Projects may also draw
resources from higher education or vocational education monies, such
as Pell grants or the Perkins Act.  Even when a project receives most
of its funding from one federal or state agency, its clients may
receive support services from other sources.  For example, a client
may have training paid for by JTPA, while JOBS pays for child care
services. 


   ENSURING COMMITMENT TO TRAINING
   AND GETTING A JOB
-------------------------------------------------- Chapter Statement:2

One important feature of these projects' common strategy is ensuring
that clients are committed to participating in training and getting a
job.  Each project tries to secure client commitment before
enrollment and continues to encourage that commitment throughout
training.  Project staff at several sites believed that the voluntary
nature of their projects is an important factor in fostering strong
client commitment.  Just walking through the door, however, does not
mean that a client is committed to the program.  Further measures to
encourage, develop, and require this commitment are essential.  All
the projects use some of these measures.  Some of the things that
projects do to ensure commitment are (1) making sure clients know
what to expect, so they are making an informed choice when they
enter; (2) creating opportunities for clients to screen themselves
out if they are not fully committed; and (3) requiring clients to
actively demonstrate the seriousness of their commitment. 

To give clients detailed information about project expectations,
projects use orientation sessions, assessment workshops, and
one-on-one interviews with project staff.  Project officials say that
they do this to minimize any misunderstandings that could lead to
client attrition.  Officials at both STRIVE and Arapahoe told us that
they do not want to spend scarce dollars on individuals who are not
committed to completing their program and moving toward full-time
employment; they believe that it is important to target their efforts
to those most willing to take full advantage of the project's help. 

For example, at STRIVE's preprogram orientation session, staff
members give potential clients a realistic program preview.  STRIVE
staff explain their strict requirements for staying in the program: 
attending every day--on time, displaying an attitude open to change
and criticism, and completing all homework assignments.  At the end
of the session, STRIVE staff tell potential clients to take the
weekend to think about whether they are serious about obtaining
employment and, if so, to return on Monday to begin training.  STRIVE
staff told us that typically 10 percent of those who attend the
orientation do not return on Monday. 

Both CET and Focus:  HOPE provide specific opportunities for clients
to screen themselves out.  They both allow potential clients to try
out their training program at no charge to ensure the program is
suitable for them.  Focus:  HOPE reserves the right not to accept
potential clients on the basis of their attitude, but it does not
routinely do this.  Instead, staff will provisionally accept the
client into one of the training programs, but put that client on
notice that his or her attitude will be monitored. 

All six projects require clients to actively demonstrate the
seriousness of their commitment to both training and employment.  For
example, all projects require clients to sign an agreement of
commitment outlining the client's responsibilities while in training
and all projects monitor attendance throughout a client's enrollment. 
In addition, some project officials believed that requiring clients
to contribute to training is important to encouraging commitment. 
Focus:  HOPE requires participants--even those receiving cash
subsidies--to pay a small weekly fee for their training, typically
$10 a week.  A Focus:  HOPE administrator explained that project
officials believe that students are more committed when they are
"paying customers," and that this small payment discourages potential
participants who are not seriously committed to training. 


   REMOVING BARRIERS TO TRAINING
   AND EMPLOYMENT
-------------------------------------------------- Chapter Statement:3

All the projects emphasize removing employment barriers as a key to
successful outcomes.  They define a barrier as anything that
precludes a client from participating in and completing training, as
well as anything that could potentially limit a client's ability to
obtain and maintain a job.  For example, if a client lacks
appropriate basic skills, then providing basic skills training can
allow him or her to build those skills and enter an occupational
training program.  Similarly, if a client does not have adequate
transportation, she or he will not be able to get to the training
program.  Because all the projects have attendance requirements, a
lack of adequate child care would likely affect the ability of a
client who is a parent to successfully complete training.  Moreover,
if a client is living in a domestic abuse situation, it may be
difficult for that client to focus on learning a new skill or search
for a job. 

The projects use a comprehensive assessment process to identify the
particular barriers each client faces.  This assessment can take many
forms, including orientation sessions, workshops, one-on-one
interviews, interactions with project staff, or a combination of
these.  For example, at TPIC's assessment workshop, clients complete
a five-page barrier/needs checklist on a wide variety of issues,
including food, housing, clothing, transportation, financial matters,
health, and social/support issues.  At the end of this workshop,
clients must develop a personal statement and a self-sufficiency plan
that the client and case manager use as a guide for addressing
barriers and for helping the client throughout training.  Encore! 
and Arapahoe have similar processes for identifying and addressing
barriers that clients face.  Rather than relying on a formal workshop
or orientation process, CET identifies clients' needs through
one-on-one interviews with program staff when a client enters the
program.  Throughout the training period, instructors, the job
developer, and other project staff work to provide support services
and address the client's ongoing needs. 

All the projects arrange for clients to get the services they need to
address barriers, but--because of the wide range of individual client
needs--none provides all possible services on-site.  For example,
although all six projects recognize the importance of basic skills
training, they arrange for this training in different ways.  Arapahoe
contracts out for basic skills training for clients, while CET,
Encore!, and Focus:  HOPE provide this service on-site and TPIC and
STRIVE refer clients out to community resources.  Only Focus:  HOPE
provides on-site child care; however, all five other projects help
clients obtain financial assistance to pay for child care services or
refer clients to other resources.  Because some of the projects
attract many clients who have similar needs, these projects provide
certain services on-site to better tailor their services to that
specific population.  For example, because it serves Hispanic migrant
farmworkers with limited English proficiency, CET provides an on-site
English-as-a-second-language program.  Likewise, because a major
barrier for many of Encore!'s clients is low self-esteem resulting
from mental and/or physical abuse, Encore!  designed its 6-week
workshop to build self-esteem and address the barriers that these
women face so that they are then ready to enter occupational
training. 


   IMPROVING CLIENTS'
   EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS
-------------------------------------------------- Chapter Statement:4

Each project we visited emphasizes employability skills training. 
Because so many of their clients have not had successful work
experiences, they often do not have the basic knowledge others might
take for granted about how to function in the workplace.  They need
to learn what behaviors are important and how to demonstrate them
successfully.  These include getting to work regularly and on time;
dressing appropriately; working well with others; accepting
constructive feedback; resolving conflicts appropriately; and, in
general, being a reliable, responsible, self-disciplined employee. 
Each project coaches students in employability skills through on-site
workshops or one-on-one sessions.  For example, CET provides a human
development program that addresses such issues as life skills,
communication strategies, and good work habits.  Similarly, Arapahoe
helps each client develop employment readiness competencies through a
workshop or one-on-one with client case managers.  Some of the
projects also develop employability skills within the context of
occupational skills training, with specific rules about punctuality,
attendance, and, in some cases, appropriate clothing consistent with
the occupation for which clients are training. 

STRIVE concentrates almost exclusively on employability skills and,
in particular, attitudinal training.  This project has a very low
tolerance for behaviors such as being even a few minutes late for
class, not completing homework assignments, not dressing
appropriately for the business world, and not exhibiting the
appropriate attitude.  We observed staff dismissing clients from the
program for a violation of any of these elements, telling them they
may enroll in another offering of the program when they are ready to
change their behavior.  Program staff work hard to rid clients of
their attitude problems and "victim mentality"--that is, believing
that things are beyond their control--and instill in them a
responsibility for themselves, as well as make them understand the
consequences of their actions in the workplace. 


   LINKING OCCUPATIONAL SKILLS
   TRAINING WITH THE LOCAL LABOR
   MARKET
-------------------------------------------------- Chapter Statement:5

All the projects have strong links with the local labor market.  Five
of the six projects provide occupational skills training, using
information from the local labor market to guide their selection of
training options to offer clients.\4 These projects focus on
occupations that the local labor market will support.  Project staff
strive to ensure that the training they provide will lead to
self-sufficiency--jobs with good earnings potential as well as
benefits.  In addition, all but one of the six projects use their
links to local employers to assist clients with job placement.  While
their approaches to occupational training and job placement differ,
the common thread among the projects is their ability to interpret
the needs of local employers and provide them with workers who fit
their requirements. 

All five projects that provide occupational training are selective in
the training options that they offer clients, focusing on
occupational areas that are in demand locally.  For example, CET and
Focus:  HOPE have chosen to limit their training to one or a few very
specific occupational areas that they know the local labor market can
support.  Focus:  HOPE takes advantage of the strong automotive
manufacturing base in the Detroit area by offering training in a
single occupation serving the automotive industry--machining.  With
this single occupational focus, Focus:  HOPE concentrates primarily
on meeting the needs of the automotive industry and the local firms
that supply automotive parts.  Students are instructed by skilled
craftspeople; many senior instructors at Focus:  HOPE are retirees
who are passing on the knowledge they acquired during their careers. 
The machines used in training are carefully chosen to represent those
that are available in local machine shops--both state-of-the-art and
older, less technically sophisticated equipment.  Job developers
sometimes visit potential work sites, paying close attention to the
equipment in use.  This information is then used to ensure a good
match between client and employer. 

While offering a wide range of training options, Vo-Tech, which
trains Encore!  participants, is linked to the local labor market, in
part by its craft advisory committees.  These committees involve 160
businesses in determining course offerings and curricula.  Vo-Tech
recently discontinued its bank teller program shortly after a series
of local bank mergers decreased demand for this skill.  It began
offering an electronics program when that industry started expansion
in the Port Charlotte area.  Vo-Tech also annually surveys local
employers for feedback on its graduates' skills and abilities, using
the feedback to make changes to its programs.  When feedback from
local employers in one occupation indicated that Vo-Tech graduates
were unable to pass state licensing exams, the school terminated the
instructors and hired new staff. 

All the projects assist clients in their job search.  Five of the six
projects had job developers or placement personnel who work to
understand the needs of local employers and provide them with workers
who fit their requirements.  For example, at Focus:  HOPE the job
developers sometimes visit local employers to discuss their required
skill needs.  Virtually all graduates of Focus:  HOPE are hired into
machinist jobs in local firms.  The placement staff that works with
Encore!  graduates noted that there are more positions to fill than
clients to fill them.  They believe that because of their close ties
with the community and the relevance of their training program they
have established a reputation of producing well-trained graduates. 
This reputation leads employers to trust their referrals. 


--------------------
\4 The sixth project (STRIVE) does not offer occupational skills
training, but it uses its connections with local employers to get
clients into the workforce after short-term training.  Then it offers
continuing assistance to clients for up to 2 years after course
completion. 


------------------------------------------------ Chapter Statement:5.1

Mr.  Chairman, that concludes my prepared statement.  At this time I
will be happy to answer any questions you or other members of the
Subcommittee may have. 


   CONTRIBUTORS
-------------------------------------------------- Chapter Statement:6

For information on this testimony, please call Sigurd R.  Nilsen,
Assistant Director, at (202) 512-7003; Sarah L.  Glavin, Senior
Economist, at (202) 512-7180; Denise D.  Hunter, Senior Evaluator, at
(617) 565-7536; or Betty S.  Clark, Senior Evaluator, at (617)
565-7524.  Other major contributors included Benjamin Jordan and
Dianne Murphy Blank. 


*** End of document. ***