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Chapter 5
Promising Practices in Career Advancement
Career advancement services represent a longer-term strategy to link working-poor families with higher wages and better jobs. Additionally, because eligibility for many work supports is limited by time or income, workers should try to achieve increasingly higher levels of financial stability in order to replace resources that they might lose. Such efforts often involve education and training and reemployment or job placement services to help workers find higher-wage jobs, and these services are linked with available work supports to encourage participation and program completion. While job retention services for low-wage workers were limited in most of the venues visited for this study, a focus on career advancement was even scarcer. Like retention services, career advancement services should be customized to individual clients’ skill levels, work experience, and career interests; career advancement services are not “one size fits all.” Further, pursuing these services can be a real challenge for low-wage workers, who often need to balance a host of family and employment responsibilities and often lack the financial resources and work supports needed — for example, to return to college.1
This chapter profiles some of the career advancement approaches that were identified through site visits, in the following four areas:
- Adult education and occupational training
- Postsecondary education
- Reemployment services
- Career ladder approaches
Adult Education and Occupational Training
Low basic skill levels can be a barrier to career advancement and can keep low-wage workers from qualifying for higher-paying jobs that offer employer-provided fringe benefits.2 At a number of sites in this study, Adult Basic Education (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL), and General Educational Development (GED) classes are offered on-site or through referrals, often through community partnerships. Adult education classes can be tedious, however, particularly for adults who have had difficulties with school in the past. One promising approach to providing career advancement training for adults who have limited English proficiency is a vocationally based English as a Second Language (VESL) program, which integrates language skills with occupational skills training. Some organizations have focused their career advancement efforts on occupational training, to prepare working or unemployed clients for new career areas, often in high-growth industries. Employers have also provided education and training to improve the basic skills of entry-level workers.
Ideally, adult education or training strategies should be linked to future postsecondary education and training opportunities and to labor market demand, as is the case with career ladder initiatives, described later in this chapter. Completion of an individual training program may have its own rewards in terms of job placement or advancement opportunities. Table 5.1 presents additional examples of education and training approaches. The following example from the field illustrates how an intermediary organization and a large number of community organizations can collaborate to connect low-wage workers with adult education and occupational training for career advancement.
| Focus/Organization | Strategy |
|---|---|
| Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) Pillsbury United Communities, Inc. (PUC), Minneapolis, MN Public-private education partnership Sales and Service Training Center at Arundel Mills, Hanover, MD Training for high-growth industries Opportunities Industrialization Center West (OICW), Menlo Park, CA Employer-sponsored training Career Advancement Training (CAT) Program, Marriott International, Indianapolis and Maryville, IN |
PUC used TANF funds to create a VESL program in partnership
with Home Depot. Initially, the program served incumbent workers,
but it is now used for preemployment training and screening. Three-week
trainings are held on-site at Home Depot stores, focused on helping
Spanish speakers pass the store’s applicant exam. PUC also provides
support services to participants. This skills center offers on-site ABE, GED, ESL, and vocational training in sales and service occupations for potential hires and incumbent workers of the Arundel Mills mall, through a partnership with Anne Arundel Community College and local welfare and workforce development agencies. The National Retail Federation, a key partner, has launched similar centers in other states. OICW provides low-income residents with assessment, job training, and placement services. On-site training opportunities are available in allied health, information technology, construction, culinary arts, digital publishing, office skills, and electronics/telecommunications. Clients can access “Smartforce,” a self-paced e-learning program offering 44 certificate programs and 64 courses in technology, business, and soft skills. OICW has also partnered with Cañada College to offer ESL and occupational classes on-site at its One-Stop, Peninsula Works. The CAT program includes more than 10 training modules focused on job and life skills for entry-level associates, leading to promotional opportunities. Training includes classroom and experiential components covering customer service, goal setting, teamwork, and accessing community services. Career development activities are also included, such as mapping out career plans and creating a résumé. Additional CAT programs are under development in South Bend, Indiana, and St. Louis, Missouri, with proposals pending in additional states. |
| Postsecondary education Montgomery Job Center, Dayton, OH Fast Track to Work (FTW), Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA |
The Montgomery Job Center, the local One-Stop, offers
clients on-site opportunities to enroll in Sinclair Community College
classes. For certificate- and degree-seeking students, FTW provides dedicated academic advisors who are familiar with welfare and workforce development regulations, an on-site welfare caseworker, and career development classes. |
| Reemployment services Work Central Call Center, Rocky Mount, NC |
Work Central includes reemployment as a specific goal of its phone-based case management services, based on the understanding that career advancement depends on work experience. (See the text for more information.) |
| Career ladder approach Sacramento Works, Inc. (SWI), Sacramento, CA Connecting “rungs” of the education ladder, Urban College, Boston, MA |
SWI meets the hiring needs of local employers through
partnerships with employers, workforce and welfare agencies, and education
providers, and it has developed a health care career ladder program
with Los Rios Community College, Sutter Hospital, Kaiser Hospital,
and Catholic Healthcare West. Participants receive entry-level training
for Certified Nursing Assistant and Licensed Vocational Nurse certificates,
job placements, and upgrading training to earn nursing credentials.
SWI also has customized, employer-based upgrade training in the hospitality,
construction, technology, and customer service industries. Urban College was created by a local community development organization, Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), to serve low-income and working clients’ education needs. The college has negotiated agreements with local four-year universities so that credits from its two-year occupational programs count toward four-year degree programs. |
The Career Advancement Center
Some community-based organizations (CBOs) and public agencies are partnering with local employers to bring new education and training services to their incumbent workers. The San Francisco Department of Human Services and Goodwill Industries pilot-tested an unusual approach to connect workers with advancement services through the Career Advancement Center (CAC). This nonprofit intermediary organization brought together — in a neutral location in the metropolitan area — public and private education and training providers as well as low-wage workers (earning less than $15 an hour) and short-term unemployed families. Despite positive outcomes, however, insufficient funding led the CAC to cease operations in July 2003.
The two partner organizations had created the CAC in response to local demand for career advancement services, especially education and occupational training. Although CBOs and local community colleges already offered potential courses and workshops, most of these providers lacked adequate resources or faced logistical challenges in offering services at hours when working clients could access them. Goodwill donated the use of a new facility for evening and weekend hours, and the Department of Human Services staffed the CAC. Local providers offered advancement-focused classes at the CAC several weekday evenings and on Saturdays.
The CAC partnered with a wide range of providers, including the local Workforce Investment Board, San Francisco City College, the Bay Area Video Coalition, SF Works, Goodwill, SF Earn, the East Bay Local Development Corporation, Jewish Vocational Services, and the San Francisco Department of Human Services. Over the two years of its existence, the CAC offered a range of activities, including:
- Classes in Adult Basic Education (ABE) and in English as a Second Language (ESL) and vocationally based ESL (VESL)
- Workshops on obtaining key work supports (the Earned Income Tax Credit
EITC], food stamps, Supplemental Security IncomeSSI]); job opportunities
in different fields; nutrition; and financial literacy and asset development
(Individual Development AccountsIDAs], money management)
- Short-term occupational training in high-growth sectors (information
technology, health care, and business services)
- On-site work supports and social services, including food, child care, security, transportation, job placement, and vocational counseling (offered by the CAC itself or by providers)
In addition, some local providers offered legal services, support groups, and enrichment activities for children or families. Participants often received access to other services offered by the providers, and those who participated in San Francisco City College programs were automatically enrolled as students.
Postsecondary Education
Many low-wage workers are unaware of specific postsecondary programs and supports available in their communities (such as financial aid and college advising services).3 Further, enrolling in college courses can be intimidating for adults, even if college education could be a ticket to better jobs. Some organizations have attempted to make college more accessible by offering classes or services at convenient, off-campus locations. Often, agencies and organizations refer clients to colleges and assist them with enrollment and other aspects of the system. Some colleges also provide services on-campus that aid working students in navigating the system, from admissions to graduation.
For programs that offer both adult education and postsecondary options, there are a number of strategies to provide a “bridge” between GED or basic skills and postsecondary programs, to encourage working adult students to continue their studies. For example, Fayette County Community Action Agency works with graduates of the organization’s Certified Nursing Assistant training program to encourage them to move along the health career pathway by applying to college and working toward a Licensed Practical Nurse or a Registered Nurse credential. The agency also invites college representatives to workshops and support groups to discuss the application process and financial issues. Table 5.1 gives additional examples of career advancement strategies based on postsecondary education.
Lorain County Community College
As part of MDRC’s Opening Doors demonstration, the Lorain County Community College Foundation will provide a $150 stipend for each of two consecutive semesters to help working adult students cover costs that are not paid by federal, state, or college assistance (such as books, fees, meals, transportation, and child care). Students will receive this stipend during the first week of classes, unlike traditional financial aid, which often involves several weeks of lag time. In addition to such “fill-the-gap” financial assistance, the college — serving a region consisting of two cities and some small rural communities in northeastern Ohio — will provide a team of support staff to offer these same students a host of enhanced services, including academic and financial advice, personal and career counseling, loan information, and tutoring with much lower staff-to-student ratios than community college students typically receive. The students will also be grouped into cohorts, in order to build peer support networks.4
Reemployment Approaches
While improving basic skills or earning a college degree can lead to better employment opportunities, many career advancement programs also focus on services to place low-wage workers in better jobs without emphasizing education and training. Welfare programs that focus up-front on placing clients in better jobs in certain high-growth, high-wage industries, or on strategically switching to such jobs, have been shown to provide better wage-progression opportunities than do placements in low-wage industries.5 Some programs have combined both reem-ployment and education and training approaches, helping clients find progressively better jobs with higher wages and more generous fringe benefits while they obtain additional work experience and education.
Reemployment services can be structured in several ways. Service providers for low-wage workers can focus on reemployment and career advancement as part of a counseling or training strategy. In the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project, case managers in two Illinois counties are pilot-testing individualized advancement plans for welfare clients. (See Box 4.1 in Chapter 4 for more information about the ERA project.) Some service providers combine reemployment planning with education or training services. The Ventura Business and Employment Services Department in Ventura County, California, is targeting training to incumbent workers who then will qualify for higher-level positions, leaving new entry-level openings that can be filled by welfare and workforce development clients. Table 5.1 gives additional examples of career advancement strategies based on reemployment services.
Career Ladder Approaches
A more comprehensive advancement strategy defines sector-based career ladders, creating “maps” of job opportunities that are linked to increasingly higher levels of education and training within particular occupational fields. Integral components for career ladder, or “pathway,” programs include basic skills training for students requiring remediation, an entry-level job-skills training, and further upgrade training for higher-paying positions requiring additional skills.6 In addition to these training components, career ladder programs include an emphasis on job development and partnerships with employers, helping participants to plan for and access advancement opportunities as they achieve each higher “rung” of education or training.7 Finally, by focusing on specific industry sectors, career ladder programs can help clients enter jobs that have the potential for career advancement and higher wages.8
Public welfare and workforce development agencies have taken the lead in several cases to map out or implement career ladders in local industries, working closely with many partners, including employers, in an attempt to strengthen connections between education and training resources and employment opportunities. Community colleges and intermediary organizations are also logical partners in any career ladder initiative, given their many key post-secondary education and training offerings and existing linkages with community organizations and employers.9 In many instances, they have taken the lead in working with employer and public agency partners to define career ladders and create customized training programs. For example, the Workforce Strategy Center — a national intermediary workforce development organization — is working with consortiums of community colleges, public agencies, employers, CBOs, and other partners to launch career pathways in five regions around the country. In New York City, a group of colleges is providing training in information technology to low-income participants who are recruited from local social service agencies and CBOs; and business intermediary groups including the New York Software Industry Association and EarnFair LLC (the staffing agency created by workforce intermediary Seedco, described in Chapter 4) are placing program graduates in entry-level, computer-related jobs at wages of at least $12 an hour. Other partners — including the city’s One-Stop system and three CBOs — are providing case management and social services.10
One of the challenges on the education side of the career pathway design is to make sure that each rung of the ladder connects to the next-higher rung, in terms of articulation between education programs. Workers can enter employment or education programs at different levels, depending on their individual skill and experience. If they have to repeat different versions of the same coursework because credits do not transfer between programs, they may lose motivation. Given the complex partnerships involved among education providers, public agencies, employers, and CBOs, career ladder programs can be very difficult to implement and bring to scale.11
Conclusion
From the promising practices described in Chapters 3 through 5, it is clear that elements of a local service delivery system do exist in many places — public and nonprofit organizations have expanded access to work supports and have created innovative services to foster employment retention and career advancement. Many of the examples described are the exception rather than the rule. Likewise, there are still many gaps in low-wage workers’ access to such supports and services, as well as in the availability of retention and advancement services themselves. For one model of how localities might combine these three key sets of services into a comprehensive strategy for reaching low-wage workers, see Box 5.1, which gives an overview of MDRC’s Work Advancement and Support Center demonstration currently being launched in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor; the project is focused on expanding the role of WIA One-Stops in reaching and serving the low-wage working population.
| In 2001, MDRC began developing the Work Advancement and Support Center demonstration, a national research project to test approaches to improving the economic prospects of low-wage workers. Using a two-pronged approach to service delivery, the demonstration’s support centers will:
Rather than creating a new network of agencies, the National Work Advancement and Support Center demonstration will function as a unit of staff within a WIA One-Stop or an affiliated organization, building on existing strengths and service delivery frameworks and expanding their capacity to better reach and serve the low-wage working population. The demonstration will test both service approaches and changes in policies and procedure that inhibit access to retention and advancement services and work supports for low-wage workers, such as performance measures and complicated application processes. After a year of exploratory work into the opportunities and challenges in serving low-wage workers, MDRC has secured funding from the U.S. Department of Labor and from the Ford, Rockefeller, Annie E. Casey, James Irvine, and Lucile and David Packard Foundations to launch a formal demonstration in six to eight sites to test promising strategies aimed at substantially increasing low-wage workers’ participation in job retention and advancement services and work supports. The demonstration will include a rigorous research agenda that seeks to distill lessons about “what works” in improving service delivery to low-wage workers and their families. Selection of sites began in late 2003, and the demonstration is slated to conclude in 2007. |
Next, Chapter 6 suggests some promising state policy options
to broaden the availability of work supports and of job retention and
career advancement services for low-income working families — and
to promote the partnerships needed to improve local service delivery.
1 For low-wage workers' perspectives on the challenges of balancing work, family, and college responsibilities, see Matus-Grossman and Gooden (2002). (back)
2 Working-poor adults are much more likely to have lower education levels than higher-income workers; for example, 22 percent have less than a high school diploma or GED certificate, compared with only 4 percent of higher-income workers (Acs, Phillips, and McKenzie, 2001). (back)
3 Matus-Grossman and Gooden, 2002. (back)
4 For more information about Lorain County Community College, see http://www.lorainccc.edu. For more information about MDRC's Opening Doors demonstration, see http://www.mdrc.org/project_14_2.html. (back)
5 Strawn and Martinson, 2000. (back)
7 Poppe, Strawn, and Martinson, 2003. (back)
8 Foster-Bey and Rawlings, 2002. (back)
10 Personal communication with Julian Alssid, Workforce Strategy Center, 2003. For more information, see http://www.workforcestrategy.org (back)
11 For a discussion of challenges in launching career ladder initiatives, see Fitzgerald and Carlson (2000). (back)
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