This study was conducted by staff from Abt Associates, which co-administers CLEAR. The review of this study was conducted by ICF, which co-administers CLEAR and is trained in applying the CLEAR implementation study guidelines.
Citation
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the implementation of the Ready to Work Partnership Grant program which provides grants to local organizations to enhance job opportunities in their communities and lower unemployment rates. This profile focuses on the Maryland Tech Connection (MTC) program.
- The study authors conducted an implementation evaluation using administrative data from the MTC program and qualitative data obtained through interviews with program staff and partners/employers collaborating with the MTC program.
- The study found that more than half of program participants attended occupational training or work-based training. Anecdotally, staff reported that short-term cohort-style occupational training was a valuable approach. The study also found challenges, such as coordination among program partners serving across large geographic regions, and difficulty identifying eligible participants as the state economy improved.
- The authors did not provide detailed information about steps taken to ensure data quality and their approach to data analysis.
- The companion impact study was reviewed by CLEAR in April 2024 and can be found here: The Ready to Work Partnership Grant evaluation: Final report of the impact study of four employment services programs for the long-term unemployed (Klerman et al., 2022).
Intervention Examined
Maryland Tech Connections (MTC) Program
Features of the Intervention
- Type of organization: Nonprofit organization
- Location/setting: Multi-site in Maryland
- Population served and scale: Long-term Unemployed or Underemployed; 1,254 participants served
- Industry focus: Advanced manufacturing; Bioscience; Cybersecurity; Health; Information technology
- Intervention activities: Employment readiness workshops; Occupational training; Work-based training; Job search assistance
- Organizational partnerships: Local workforce development agencies and American Job Centers
- Cost: Not Included
- Fidelity: Not Included
The Ready to Work (RTW) grant program, funded and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), awarded grants to local organizations to improve the long-term employment prospects of their local community and to reduce unemployment. In response to the 2008-2009 recession and rise in long-term unemployment, the DOL awarded $180 million in grants in 2014 to offer tailored employment services to individuals who had been out of work for 27 weeks or more. The grants focused on employment in high-growth industries and occupations, specifically those being filled by H1-B foreign workers.
The Maryland Tech Connection (MTC) program was a collaboration of seven workforce agencies through the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization that served as the lead grantee for the RTW grant. The MTC program was implemented from May 2015 to October 2019 in 12 Maryland counties and Baltimore City and operated out of American Job Centers in the area (known as Career Centers). The MTC program aimed to provide employment to long-term unemployed and underemployed workers with a focus on jobs in advanced manufacturing, bioscience/biotechnology, cybersecurity, healthcare, and information technology. To be eligible for the MTC program, individuals had to be a resident of Maryland, had a high school diploma or GED, had education and/or experience in one of the four targets industries of the program, and had been unemployed for 27 or more consecutive weeks. The MTC program provided employment readiness courses, occupational training, work-based training, job search assistance, and financial support.
Features of the Study
The study authors conducted an implementation evaluation of the MTC program and collected data through site visits and three rounds of in-person interviews with grantee program administrators, line staff, and organizational partners between 2016 and 2018. Additionally, to examine participation patterns, the study analyzed program administrative data. The study primarily intended to examine how the program evolved over the four-year grant period and analyze participation patterns. Study authors did not provide specific details regarding the qualitative and administrative data methods of analysis.
Findings
Intervention Activities/Services
- The study found that during the grant period, MTC increasingly employed cohort-style training to directly address the needs of employers and industries. The program's training providers tailored the cohort sessions to specific industries, unlike community colleges which offered a wider range of programs. As a result of this cohort method, trainers were aware of the skills sought by employers and frequently helped participants find employment after completing their training.
- The study also found that the program increased work-based training in the last half of the grant period. The delay resulted from the time needed to build trust with large employers, whereas relationships with small employers were more beneficial.
Implementation Challenges and Solutions
- The study found that as the implementation period progressed, the economy improved and according to staff, workers with higher levels of education and work experience who had lost their jobs during the recession found work on their own. As a result, it became more difficult to recruit participants who met the grant’s eligibility requirements.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
While the implementation evaluation of the MTC program mainly relied on site visits and interviews with program staff, the study authors did not provide details of how they analyzed the data or ensured the quality of the site visits and interviews. Also, the authors identified limitations in the administrative data supplied by MTC, particularly regarding ambiguous categorization and missing information about the frequency and content of meetings with career coaches and involvement in job search services.