Resource Library

In 2017, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) funded contractor Mathematica and its partners, American Institutes for Research, the Urban Institute, the W.E. Upjohn Institute, and ideas42, to assist with CEO’s Behavioral Interventions (BI) work, including developing rigorous impact evaluation design options for studying innovative program improvement strategies. In 2019, in partnership with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), the BI team began investigating behavioral barriers to successful online job search.

In 2021, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and 11 participating counties in Ohio, funding contractor American Institutes for Research to conduct the Using Behavioral Insights to Increase Youth Use of Workforce Services in Virtual Contexts. The impact evaluation aims to test how behavioral insights can enhance service engagement and completion among young adults participating in Ohio’s Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Progr

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Office of Workforce Investment (OWI) supports state and local workforce agencies in providing information to help job seekers successfully search for work. As part of this support, OWI asked the DOL Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) and the DOL Behavioral Interventions (DOL BI) team to explore whether applications of behavioral science could improve the usefulness of the information that job seekers use when searching for positions, investing in training, and considering career options.

Improving career readiness and job access for youth and young adults is vital. Millions of low-income Americans need better access to high-quality career pathways to escape poverty. This is no easy task— economic opportunity has shrunk dramatically in the United States in the past half-century (Chetty et al. 2016). Meanwhile, employers face rising shortages in the supply of skilled workers, making it harder to compete on the global market (World Economic Forum 2021).

Appendices to the Using Behavioral Insights to Increase Youth Use of Workforce Services in Virtual Contexts Final Report: Appendix A: Resources for Learning More About Behavioral Insights and How to Use Them for Continuous Improvement, Appendix B: Supplementary Details on Study Context and Design, Appendix C: Technical Details on Impact Estimates, and References.

In 2022, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO), in collaboration with the Office for Unemployment Insurance (OUI) in the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), funded independent contractor Abt Associates to conduct the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Evidence Building Portfolio Project. This portfolio project will provide evaluation technical assistance and conduct evidence-building activities to support and complement states’ evaluations.

The brief summarizes lessons learned from using machine learning to study the implementation of career pathways programs. First, this brief describes the research questions that guided the study and summarizes the machine learning methods designed for the data collection and analysis activities, including study limitations and challenges encountered. It then provides lessons learned on using machine learning methods for social science research.

The report summarizes 46 impact evaluations that focus on programs that embed elements of the career pathways approach. In the past decade, the career pathways approach to workforce development emerged as a promising strategy to promote long-term earnings advancement and self-sufficiency by helping workers attain in-demand postsecondary credentials (Fein, 2012). The approach involves a combination of rigorous and high-quality education, training, and other services to support participant success (WIOA, 2014).

The brief summarizes findings of the Career Pathways Descriptive and Analytical Project’s meta-analysis study, which analyzes research on the impacts of 46 career pathways programs, based on evaluation findings published between 2008 and 2021. The brief first describes the programs and participants in the evaluations included in the meta-analysis. It then discusses the study’s overall impact findings and the findings about which program characteristics were associated with impacts, as well as the implications of each for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.

The report of the Career Pathways Descriptive and Analytical Project focuses on “mid-level” occupations—occupations that typically require education or experience beyond a high school diploma or equivalent, but less than a four-year college degree. The report presents study findings on the magnitude of the differences between occupations in the career outcomes that entrants go on to experience within 10 years after entering, which occupations are associated with high wage growth, and what traits of occupations predict higher wage growth.