Workforce training programs in the United States have delivered inconsistent returns on investment to workers seeking better opportunities in the labor market. Workers need clear signals that such programs will allow them to raise their earnings and achieve upward mobility, and employers need assurance that such programs equip jobseekers with the right skills. Practitioners need models for designing programs that improve long-term outcomes for participants. And policymakers and funders need best-in-class evidence on workforce training worthy of public and private investment.
WorkRise and J-PAL North America invite you to join a conversation about the power of randomized controlled trials in generating evidence to inform and guide decisionmaking and investment in workforce training. The project team will share insights from a WorkRise-funded evaluation of the Pursuit Fellowship, a sectoral employment program that equips adults from underresourced communities with the necessary skills to build careers in the high-wage technology sector. The panel will also examine the existing evidence on sectoral employment programs and their role in improving economic mobility and closing racial equity gaps in the labor market.
Speakers:
- Jukay Hsu, Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer, Pursuit
- Maurice Jones, Chief Executive Officer, OneTen
- Lawrence Katz, Elisabeth Allison Professor of Economics, Harvard University; Co–Scientific Director, J-PAL North America
- Kristen Titus, Executive Director, Cognizant Foundation (moderator)
Resources:
- Sectoral Employment Programs as a Path to Quality Jobs: Lessons from Randomized Evaluations (J-PAL North America)
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Pursuit Fellowship (WorkRise)
- Why Do Sectoral Employment Programs Work? Lessons from WorkAdvance (Harvard University)
- Speakers biographies
- Presentation slides
Support for this event is provided by the funders of WorkRise. For more information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles, go to urban.org/fundingprinciples.
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