This journal article estimates how three large sectoral employment programs in New York City affected the employment and earnings of participants. These Sector-Focused Career Centers (SFCCs) target occupations that offer competitive wages of at least $10 per hour, full-time jobs, advancement opportunities for workers, and high growth potential for businesses. Participants receive a variety of services, including resume review, interview skills development, job search assistance, and career advice. Results showed gains in employment levels and earnings for participants, and participants who received industry-specific training had the greatest earnings gains.

This report from the Department of Labor provides an overview of the evidence behind effective job training programs for youth and adults. For adults, the evidence supports post-secondary education related to an in-demand field, employer engagement, and job training that is closely related to a real job or occupation. There is less evidence on what works for youth, but early experience to career and higher education information and work experience can be beneficial. The report concludes with next steps to expand what works and fill the gaps in evidence.

This brief from the Urban Institute provides a framework for why workforce programs and employers must engage with one another. First, the brief presents the challenges that workforce programs may face when engaging employers. Employers may not see the value in partnering with workforce programs or may be wary of working with the government or nonprofits. Then, the brief discusses why employers become involved in workforce programs, why workforce programs engage employers, and how employers are involved in workforce programs. Employers can play a variety of roles in a workforce program, such as oversight, program design, program delivery, recruitment and hiring, and financial or in-kind resources. The report concludes by describing how employers can become partners with workforce programs under WIOA.

The Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative created this playbook to document lessons learned from the Communities that Work Partnership project. Seven regional teams were selected to participate in this project, which included workforce development leaders and representatives from private industry. Each team collaborated to advance a variety of industry-led workforce development strategies. The playbook includes information on building partnerships, collecting labor market information, business engagement and skills development, and additional strategies for improving the talent pipeline. Each play describes the strategy, includes an example of a site that used that strategy, and provides action steps for applying the strategy in regions.

This toolkit from the Heartland Alliance provides resources targeted toward organizations wanting to engage employers for transitional jobs or subsidized employment programs. These resources will help organizations plan and implement effective job development strategies, build relationships with employers, and serve participants with barriers to employment. The toolkit includes research briefs on six different topics, videos of employers describing how partnering with transitional jobs programs was good for business, and links to additional information by subtopic.

Work-based learning opportunities are a critical tool for filling skills gaps for positions that require some education or training past high school. This scan from the National Skills Coalition identifies the policies that all 50 states and the District of Columbia have implemented to encourage work-based learning opportunities. The authors found that 35 states had at least one of the following policies: expansion initiatives, employer subsidies, pre-apprenticeships or youth apprenticeships, secondary student work-based learning opportunities, or policies supporting postsecondary classroom instruction for apprenticeships.

This issue brief from MDRC highlights key findings about job training programs that lead to success with various populations, including youth and dislocated workers. Of particular importance are programs with employer engagement and programs that are career-focused, both of which have been shown to be effective when implemented correctly. The brief shares recent innovations in career training as well as lessons learned from successful programs.

In this fact sheet from the Urban Institute, several ways in which states can promote economic development through investment in the workforce are profiled. Occupational and job training, customized training programs, workforce intermediaries, and apprenticeship programs are all discussed as strategies to help states build a skilled labor pool. In turn, the influx of skilled workers can promote economic development by meeting employer needs and supporting the growth of new business.

USAID and the International Youth Foundation put together this report to help youth providers conduct labor market assessments to design demand-driven training programs. The authors provide eight steps to conducting a labor market assessment. First, an organization must assemble a group of advisors and then set goals for the labor market assessment and devise key research questions. Next, they identify target sectors, conduct field research to understand the local labor dynamics of those sectors, and review the findings. Finally, the organization designs the training program and then rechecks and redesigns the training as necessary. The toolkit also includes tips, case studies, and ways to adapt the assessment process to more challenging regions.

This Jobs for the Future report provides recommendations for state community college systems to use real-time labor market information to build better middle-skill pathways in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). First, the authors provide an overview about the hidden middle-skill STEM market and real-time labor market information. Next, they provide five recommendations to support the use of real-time LMI to develop middle-skill STEM pathways. Those recommendations include using real-time LMI as a long-term change strategy, strengthening state-level data systems to support real-time LMI, providing technical assistance to use real-time LMI, and integrating real-time LMI into critical ongoing decision-making.