These nine articles analyze some of the practical problems involved in programs to hire and train the hard-core unemployed. The articles describe socioeconomic factors, management attitudes, and several specific experiences, in addition to providing guidelines for establishing programs. The value of interagency cooperation, especially to small…

Describes rural northwestern Minnesota's employment problem and the local employment and manpower programs, focusing on Rural Minnesota CEP (Concentrated Employment Program), the balance-of-state program, and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) program. It is noted that the nature of the land and people and the distances to be…

A growing portion of Minneapolis youth are dropping out of school before they are prepared for a job. At the same time employers face a growing labor shortage. The city must identify the at-risk youth and intervene early in preparing them for the work world. The common denominator of all factors that increase a youth's risk of chronic unemployment…

This study investigated adult students who completed an instructional program that included training in employability and job readiness. It identified and analyzed program completers' perceptions of the instruction they received and the employability skill levels and benefits gained as a result of their program participation. Data were collected…

The employability of secondary-level youth is considered by a youth employment company official in testimony to the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Attention is directed to ways in which young people, and particularly the economically disadvantaged, can acquire the necessary reading, writing, and math skills for on-the-job success.…

Research identifying the differences, and the relative importance of those differences, between successful and unsuccessful participants in the Work Incentive (WIN) Program is presented in terms of both successful employment at termination from WIN and employment after WIN participation. Over 800 former and current WIN 1 and 2 participants in…

The WorkAbility Program was a 3-year project initiated in October 1991 by the Metropolitan Community Colleges (MCC) in Kansas City, Missouri, to increase the employability of students with disabilities by addressing needs for career counseling, mentoring, job search skills preparation, and career-related work experiences. The five sections of this…

Project STRIDE was conducted at Keys Community Center in Phoenix, Arizona, to create job linkages and prepare local people for jobs in distressed areas through relationships among residents, employers, and service providers. The project's components include a community jobs team, group employability training, goal-setting, computer training, job…

This paper proposes a model for a neighborhood program to help enough low-income individuals improve their employment and financial standing so that the impacts are meaningful at a neighborhood scale. Section I describes the project. Section II explains why neighborhood-focused employment programs are an important part of the solution for…

The purpose of this experimental and demonstration project was to provide work experience to unemployed, low-income clients to improve their employability so they can be moved into permanent, unsubsidized employment. Changes of attitudes and motivations as a result of project experience were studied. Study findings indicated that the post-project…

To assess the feasibility of large-scale, countercyclical public job creation, a study was initiated. Job creation program activities were examined in terms of how many activities could be undertaken; what would be their costs; and what would be their characteristics (labor-intensity, skill-mix, and political acceptability) that might contribute…

In 1995, the Anne E. Casey Foundation launched the Jobs Initiative (JI) in six cities to change labor market prospects for low-income young people in order to help them get jobs that could move their families out of poverty. The JI attempts to change the way employers recruit and supervise workers and how work is structured; to prepare workers and…

The federal policy shift from skills training and toward work first strategies has come about, in part, from a misconception that "training does not work." A more comprehensive look at existing research reveals the documented effectiveness of skills training. A growing number of studies have shown skills training can increase earnings;…

This report presents the study of a project conceived as a means of developing and testing a model Career Development Program. The project was designed to contribute significantly to the opening of nontraditional occupations to young women of low socioeconomic status and varying race and ethnic backgrounds. Three major goals were: (1) To assist a…

In this report, employment retention and advancement under Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was examined by reviewing research findings regarding labor market development since 1996. According to the research, most of those moving from welfare to work have found employment in low-wage jobs and experienced frequent job losses and…