This explanatory qualitative study investigated the perspectives of participant's and practitioner's perceived barriers to success and the necessary navigational expertise for overcoming the identified barriers. This multiple-case study research design examined three WIA out-of-school youth workforce development programs in Southern Nevada, with…

The retail industry is a huge and growing sector of the U.S. economy, accounting for about 10 percent of the nation's jobs in 2013 and projected to increase by 7 percent between 2012 and 2022. The sheer size of the industry and the number of employment opportunities it affords low-skilled workers led MDRC to explore the potential of the retail…

This report summarizes the two-year findings of a rigorous random assignment evaluation of the WorkAdvance model, a sectoral training, and advancement initiative. Launched in 2011, WorkAdvance goes beyond the previous generation of employment programs by introducing demand-driven skills training and a focus on jobs that have career pathways. The…

The report describes and analyzes data collected through personal interviews of a national random sample of 5,167 individuals trained in 1969 under the Manpower Development and Training Act. A description is given of the trainees' personal characteristics, their household environment, their view of the training experience, and changes they…

Based on an analytically evaluative case study of a New York City furniture department store's experiences with a Manpower Administration contract, this report deals with the development and progress of the program as analyzed by one investigator through interviews with almost all of the participants in the program. As a result of the study,…

The study was designed to provide a comprehensive assessment of Plans A and B of the Public Service Careers (PSC) Program, including effectiveness, strengths and weaknesses, rate of progress in accomplishing goals, and problem areas. Information necessary to make this assessment was gathered from a number of the earliest projects at two points in…

The study was designed to provide a comprehensive assessment of Plans A and B of the Public Service Careers (PSC) Program, based on data collected from a number of the earliest projects at two points in time over a period of approximately a year. Volume 3 (of three) presents the data from the second, or follow-up, round of interviews with…

The study was designed to provide a comprehensive assessment of the Public Service Careers (PSC) Program, based on data collected from a number of the earliest projects at two points in time over a period of approximately a year. Volume 2 (of three) presents the data from the second, or follow-up, round of interviews with PSC project staff…

This document is the first in a series of two reports on demand-led strategies to support welfare-to-work clients. The authors believe employment retention programs that demonstrate they can meet the needs of employers for effective employees follow a demand-led approach, which has the potential to expand the opportunities available to welfare…