1. Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant Program: Round 4 Early Outcomes Study Report
- Author
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Abt Associates, Inc., Urban Institute, George Washington University (GW), Judkins, David, Gardiner, Karen, Smith, Adrienne, and Walton, Douglas
- Abstract
The Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program provided grants to community colleges and other eligible institutions of higher education to expand and improve their ability to deliver education and career training programs. Grant-funded colleges served workers who were eligible for training under the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers (TAA) program as well as other adults in need of training for in-demand occupations. In doing so, the grant program supported the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) goal of training workers with the skills to succeed in fast-growing, high-wage occupations. Between 2011 and 2014, the grant program awarded $1.9 billion across four rounds of grants to more than 1,000 colleges nationwide. The fourth and final round of grants (71 grantees, 263 colleges) ended in 2018. In order to build evidence on grant-funded programs and strategies, DOL funded a national evaluation of each grant round to collect and assess qualitative and quantitative data across all participating colleges. The Round 4 evaluation included an outcomes study, the focus of this report. This report describes the training, employment, earnings, and self-sufficiency outcomes of nearly 2,800 participants who enrolled in 34 programs at nine Round 4 grantees. The overarching research questions are: (1) What were the characteristics of study participants?; (2) In which features of training programs and services did study participants engage?; (3) What education outcomes did study participants in short-term training programs achieve?; and (4) Did participants obtain employment? If so, was it in an occupation related to their training? What were their earnings? What were the characteristics of their jobs? The analyses presented in this report use data collected from study participants at two points in time (program entry and approximately 15 months later), as well as administrative wage records. The report not only summarizes the outcomes of program participants, it provides information of use for policymakers and program operators interested in funding, designing, and implementing college-based programs to train dislocated and other workers. [This report was produced in partnership with Capital Research Corporation. For the technical appendices, see ED610213.]
- Published
- 2020