IN THIS ISSUE

TIPS—THEORY INTO PRACTICAL STRATEGIES

Workforce Escarosa, Florida, partnered in a research initiative with the University of West Florida (UWF) Community Outreach Research and Learning (CORAL) Center, explored various factors and characteristics of 313 randomly selected individuals receiving welfare who were assisted by Workforce Escarosa during the time period of 2005-2008 and used predictive analytics to determine which factors improve the employability of welfare transition participants in Northwest Florida.  The University of West Florida CORAL Center researchers used Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to examine factors to determine strong contributors to employability of welfare transition participants including:  personality characteristics, general education proficiencies; business and technical skills; communication and analytic skills; and workplace attitudes and goals.  A standard state-based cost per welfare recipient was used as an estimate for determining specific cost impacts for individual and combined contributing variables to employability using HLM analysis.  Key predictors of high employability at low cost of services were determined.  Results of this research initiative provide specific information for Workforce Escarosa for determining which welfare transition services and assistance programs are cost effective for improving the employability of welfare transition participants.  In addition, the study findings provide predictive evidence for defining those factors that lead to future successful employability of welfare transition participants.  

The Workforce Investment Act calls for workforce development  programs to transition from applying a single focus of serving job-seekers to one that also includes the needs of businesses to retain and create jobs. To be most effective, workforce development practitioners need to apply a process consulting rather than a sales-oriented, job placement approach to their work, while also engaging partners from other domains to address business needs. This change represents a significant-- and perhaps counter- intuitive -- departure from past and current practice for many. Consequently, a professional development program to facilitate adoption of the new engagement model needs to employ a fostering, rather than a forcing, teaching/learning approach. This paper outlines the elements of the demand-driven, partnership-based, business-focused model for workforce development while also describing the teaching/learning process needed to facilitate its adoption.

Public Employment Services (PES) in both the United States (One Stop Career Centers) and Great Britain (Jobcentre Plus) increasingly acknowledge the critical role of employers as they strive to increase employment opportunities for all job seekers, including those with disabilities. As a result of a scoping review of existing empirical research, researchers discovered a range of employer engagement strategies that can advance meaningful options for people with disabilities, each with varying evidence of effectiveness. These included a) understanding employer needs, b) forming sustained relationships, c) dedicating specific staff to support employers and d) embedding employer-specific PES staff into industry sectors. Recommendations are offered for PES administrators in the US and Great Britain as they continue to improve innovations related to employer engagement strategies, as well as directions for future research.

EMERICAL AND SCHOLARLY RESEARCH

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and scope of those variables impacting the level of performance pertaining to post-program participation wage measures for those program participants (dislocated workers) who exited from the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program during a chosen time period/benchmark. As such, this examination may lead to significant program evaluation gains and provide value to the public.  The study data support the conclusion that key WIA employment counseling services intervention can help program clients reenter the workforce if they engage such services sooner, rather than later.   Recommendations are presented that are designed to maximize program outcomes of the WIA program.  The saliency of these recommendations is heightened when the country becomes enmeshed in a major recession or when an economic downturn plagues certain U.S-based industries and/or sectors of the global economy.