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Abstract
Low-wage adult workers have trouble getting and keeping higher-paying jobs. Most lack the basic skills and education needed to move up, but certain kinds of assistance might give some the edge they need to break the pattern. In this summary, Holzer and Martinson recommend competitive federal matching block grants that reward states for developing new advancement systems which are linked to state workforce development structures. They would also require partnerships with employers and training providers, including community colleges.
Introduction
Low-wage adult workers have trouble getting and
keeping higher-paying jobs. Most lack the basic skills
and education needed to move up, but certain kinds of
assistance might give some the edge they need to break
the pattern. Programs featuring instructional accommodations
for low-skilled workers, employer partnerships,
financial incentives, and other supports can provide the
opportunity to increase job skills and gain greater access
to higher-paying jobs and better financial support.
Youth, hard-to-employ adults, and families can benefit,
but our emphasis here is on low-income working parents
who have additional needs to consider, such as juggling
work and family demands, when devoting time to
improving their job skills and prospects.
Barriers to Advancement
Throughout much of the 1980s and ’90s, earnings fell
for workers who had no more than a high school
diploma. Not surprisingly, higher wages are generally
tied to educational attainment. More than 70 percent of
poor parents have only a high school diploma or GED,
or less. More education can give low-wage parents a leg
up, but tuition costs, family obligations, a low skill base,
and lack of access to transportation and child care are
significant barriers to their obtaining more schooling
and better jobs.
Government spending for the Workforce Investment
Act (WIA) and its local boards has declined by
nearly 70 percent since the late 1970s. The One-StopCenters established by WIA that provide access to jobs,
training, and supports are underfunded and have too few
partnerships with business. It may be time to revamp the
system with fresh ideas, and some states and localities
are leading the way with promising approaches.
In addition to various well-established programs,
dozens of small new programs have emerged in states
and localities to spur worker advancement by chipping
away at barriers. Efforts include training at employer
worksites, “bridge” classes that help students get the
academic skills they need to take more advanced
courses, and instruction geared toward specific highpaying,
high-needs jobs that don’t require college
degrees. These programs are often combined with
financial and other supports, including stipends to
encourage program completion, job-placement assistance,
child care, and tutoring.
So far, some of these efforts have yielded promising
results for low-wage workers, but most operate on a
small scale and have not been rigorously evaluated.
Further expansion requires greater federal funding and
support, along with serious evaluations of what works.
(End of excerpt. The entire report is available in PDF format.)
The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
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