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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

The study of the replication of the CET job training model (Hershey & Rosenberg 1994)

  • Findings

    See findings section of this profile.

    Evidence Rating

    Not Rated

Review Guidelines

Implementation Guidelines

Citation

Hershey, A., & Rosenberg, L. (1994). The study of the replication of the CET job training model. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research.

Highlights

  • The Center for Employment Training (CET) was shown by rigorous research conducted in the 1980s to increase the earnings and employment prospects of disadvantaged youth. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) commissioned a study to determine whether other organizations could replicate the CET model. This study reported on early efforts by 10 replication sites to implement the key features of the CET job training model. DOL later commissioned an impact evaluation of CET replication sites, including some sites examined in this study (see CLEAR profile of Miller et al. 2005).
  • The CET model provides individualized, intensive, full-time job training. Its focus is on integrating basic and technical skills with job placement as the final goal. CET’s advisory board and instructors are well connected to industry and help to ensure that the skills taught in the program align with those desired by employers.
  • The authors conducted telephone interviews with staff from the CET main office in San Jose, California, telephone interviews with key staff and project directors of the 10 replication sites, and site visits to 5 of the 10 sites.
  • The authors noted that the replication sites faced considerable challenges initiating the program, including finding a suitable space and ensuring consistent funding. When the programs began offering services, the authors reported some deviations from the CET model. In particular, they found that some sites used a screening process, rather than allowing open access to training, as specified by the CET model; some sites used whole group rather than individualized instruction; some did not integrate basic skills and technical skills training; some had not formed an advisory board to provide labor market analysis and guidance for needed training areas; and most were not placing participants into jobs at the completion of training.

Intervention Examined

The Center for Employment Training (CET) Replication

Reviewed by CLEAR

June 2014

Topic Area