Career development services for unemployed adults with lower skills

Gaps, Innovations, and Opportunities

March 13, 2013

Project objectives

Three-part investigation to develop these options:1. Review existing literature and Canadian program evaluations – to identify

knowledge gaps and research needs

2. International consultations – to identify innovative practices in other jurisdictions

3. Canadian consultations – to explore gaps and innovations with Canadian practitioners in CDS and training delivery

Exploratory study to identify options for testing innovative interventions to support positive labour market transitions for adults with lower-skills

Project scope

Employment services for job seekersPrograms targeted specifically

to unemployed individuals

Employment Assistance Services

Skills development

programs

Targeted retraining (older or displaced workers)

Programs for all adults regardless

of employment status

Literacy and

Essential Skills

programs

College diploma

and certificate programs

Vocational Trades

Target group - Unemployed low-skilled Canadians (with low education and/or skills) who are in need of training to help them secure employment

Program type - Broadly defined to include all types of training in which unemployed adults with low education/skills may participate

Conceptual Framework and Literature Review

Conceptual framework, literature review

Palameta, et. al. (2010) identify factors influencing participation, persistence, and outcomes of training

• INDIVIDUAL – competencies, preferences, life course factors

• STRUCTURAL – macroeconomic, policy, institutional factors

Interaction of these factors create conditions which enable or impede positive labour market outcomes

Varying degrees of evidence and gaps in knowledge about these factors – gaps provide future research direction

Conceptual framework, literature review

INDIVIDUAL

STRUCTURAL

Competencies – Cognitive abilities, foundational skills, literacy, education

Preferences – time, risk aversion, and economic preferences

Circumstances – life course dynamics: age, income, family, networks

ENABLING FACTORS AND BARRIERS …

Macroeconomic – Changing occupational skills demands, business cycle, economic restructuring, local labour market dynamics

Policy – EI policy, inter-provincial variations, regional economic development, financial aid

Institutional – partners, systems, resources for delivery; design, targeting, communication

PARTICIPATION

ENROLMENT – Formal, informal, non-formal – Publically-funded (EI Part II, LMA) – Privately-sponsored

PERSISTENCE COMPLETION – modular completion, foundational skills gains achieved

ADVANCEMENT – further education

OUTCOMES EDUCATIONAL – job skills, credentials

LABOUR MARKET – employment, earnings

OTHER – social inclusion, well being

… CREATING CONDITIONS THAT DETERMINE PARTICIPATION, PERISTENCE, AND OUTCOMES

Expectations – perceived need, value of training, opportunity costs, and expected returns

Situational – accessibility (distance, childcare), ability to pay (subsidies, support)

Expected returns - costs and benefits

Program Delivery – effectively matched meeting learner needs, aligned with further education, and labour market demand

Policy Interactions – policy/program interaction facilitates delivery, education, outcomes

Expected returns - costs and benefits

Results from existing program evaluations can help to further motivate and focus future research questions

Analyses generally consider the question of program effectiveness from two angles

Canadian program evaluations

suitability (outcomes)

accessibility (uptake) Effectiveness

Significant number report some kind of access difficulty to Skills Development programs

◦ Where quantitative data is available, difficulties reported with access in 25-38 percent of cases

◦ Most of these relate to non-participants who had funding difficulties, did not qualify, or were turned down

◦ Some raise concerns over program design issues e.g. too many criteria, long delays, waiting lists

◦ Others report that the available programs did not meet their needs

Quantitative results - access

Outcome Client Type

# of evaluations with positive outcomes

2008-EI Monitoring Report% with positive outcomes

Employment (hrs)

Active 1 out of 4 (BC) 15% positive (1 out of 6)

Former 1 out of 4 (AB) 38% positive

Annual earningsActive 4 out of 4 33% positive (5 out of 8)

Former 0 out of 4 25% positive

EI Use

Active 3 out of 5 (AB, SK, NL) 57% positive

Former 1 out of 5 (SK) 25% positive

Quantitative results - outcomes

Summative Evaluations and EI Monitoring and Assessment Reports suggest there is substantial heterogeneity in outcomes

For Non-participants – question is one of access: Who doesn’t access Skills Development and why? Little data in existing PE’s on the unmet needs and barriers to

participation - some groups likely underrepresented

For Participants – question is one of heterogeneity: What factors (within governments’ control) underlie the significant

regional variability in outcomes of participants?

◦ What role do program eligibility and referral processes play?

◦ What role does training design and delivery have?

Key questions arising from evaluations

What are the range of needs of unemployed Canadians with low skills? Can a “typology” of learner needs be identified?◦ Need more information on the nature of barriers to access◦ Need more analysis of the role of foundational skills in training readiness◦ Need more evidence on effective approaches to needs assessment

To what extent do unemployed Canadians have the information and guidance to make informed career development choices?◦ Limited evidence on the quality of information and counseling provided to

unemployed low skilled adults◦ Need more information on the importance of economic preferences to

career decisions and how information and services can be tailored

Summary - Knowledge Gaps

Which promising approaches and effective practices would work best in the Canadian context?◦ There is a growing international literature on promising design and

partnership-based delivery models to meet diverse client needs

◦ Need more analysis of their relevance to a Canadian context in terms of the unique client base and economic and policy context

To what extent are Canadian programs using best practices? What are the major gaps? What are the opportunities?◦ Beyond the EI Part II template, the available information on nuances in

program design and delivery varies across provinces

◦ Need more evidence on the degree that existing training and employment services are matched to BOTH learner and labour market needs

Summary - Knowledge Gaps

Canadian ConsultationsInterviews with Canadian Practitioners in Employment

Services and Training Delivery

Design for Canadian fieldwork Objective: to explore gaps and innovations to develop

options suitable for the Canadian context Methodology: in-depth interviews and focus groups in

three provinces; MB, NS, BC◦ Employment Counsellors - current experience and expertise with intake,

assessment, and employment supports for the target group

◦ Training Providers - current experience and expertise in instructional design or training delivery to the target group

◦ Other selected experts - managers, policy makers in CDS and Skills Development

Findings – system gapsIntake and Assessment Assessment and service decision models are fundamental to effective delivery Lack of evidence about which processes and tools works best for which clients

Career and Employment Services Many programs, but often with narrow eligibility criteria leading to ‘mismatches’ and gaps Lack of options and wrap-around supports for clients with complex needs

Skills Development Employment services, training programs and economic development initiatives operate in silos Lack of high-quality, in-demand programs that are responsive to both the needs of working age

adults and the needs of employers

Transition to the Labour Market Need stronger job development function to better connect job-seekers with local jobs Lack of opportunities to combine skills development with work experience Lack of retention supports

RecommendationsFive options to test innovative approaches to enhancing service delivery and improve outcomes

1. Common approach to assessment and service decision making

2. Partnership approach to CDS planning

3. Comprehensive set of CDS intervention based on client need

4. Partnership approach to training provision

5. Pathways approach to skills development

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1. Common approach to assessment Test the efficacy and feasibility of a common approach to assessing

needs and identifying interventions

Rationale• Strong agreement on

need for assessment• But gaps about what

works best with whom • And tension between

standardized approach vs. outcomes based approach

• Test a model that conceptualizes assessment as a rigorous but flexible process  

• Considers skills, motivation, expectations, self-efficacy, structural barriers, personal circumstances.

Comprehensive

• Assesses essential skills which may be critical to ensuring fit between the client and proposed interventions

Transferable skills

• Some clients may need special assessments to identify learning barriers and other disabilities

Specialized

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2. Partnership approach to CDS and employment services planning

Rationale• System can be

chaotic and confusing for both jobseekers and employers

• Inconsistent options and referral across and within delivery sites

• Many services, no big picture

Test whether collaborative approaches to service delivery improve outcomes for job seekers and employers

Several examples of promising approaches of integration at the local level. Examples include:

• Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC)

• Partnership to Advance Youth; Employment (PAYE)

• Collaborative Partnership Network (Nova Scotia)

3. CDS options based on client need

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CDS IntensiveIntensive approach for multi-barriered clients

Transferable SkillsPortfolio approach to

identifying strengths and gaps

Web-based CDSFlexible online service for

easier to serve clients

Tests an approach to ensuring clients have access to the right type and dose of service at the right time depending on need

RationaleIn the context of rapidly changing labour markets, clients may benefit from career exploration programs that range in terms of intensity and depth depending on client needs

4. Partnership approach to training design and delivery

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Rationale• Current approach

leads to gaps and duplication

• Opportunity to ensure short-term skills development programs are high quality and responsive to needs of individuals and employers

Test a partnership approach to the planning of skills training programs

Program Manager

Consortium Member

Service Delivery

Consortium Member

Service Delivery

Consortium Member

Service Delivery

Consortium Member

Service Delivery

Consortium Member

Service Delivery

Consortium Member

Service Delivery

Governance

Oversight & Policy

Governance

Program Sponsor

Governance

System-wide oversight

5. Career pathways approach to skills development

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Rationale• Adults often need

foundational training before they can enter and successfully complete occupational training

• Most diploma programs are not well-suited or responsive to the needs of working age adults

Test a career pathways approach that provides modular based curricula with multiple entry and exit points that adults to combine school and work and advance over time to better jobs and higher levels of education and training

Career pathways approaches tend to share five features: Demand-driven partnerships Integrated essential skills and

occupational training Multi-level pathways Wrap around support Continuous improvement

The major finding of our research is that gaps in existing employment and training systems are now well-known

Broadly speaking, there is emerging consensus among practitioners on both promising approaches and opportunities to move forward

Governments can build on these opportunities to improve system effectiveness by rigorously testing promising approaches and building an evidence base on what works for whom under which conditions

Conclusions

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