Introduction
Research Questions
- How do employment and earnings outcomes differ across HPOG participants who completed short, medium, and long trainings?
- How do employment and earnings outcomes differ across HPOG participants who completed different types of healthcare occupation trainings?
Policymakers funding training programs, practitioners operating programs, and adults seeking to improve their skills and job prospects would each benefit from a better understanding of which types of training provide the most value in the labor market in terms of higher wages, greater benefits, stable hours, and the opportunity for upward career mobility. Adults seeking to enroll in training balance this value against the costs of training, including both direct costs such as tuition and fees as well as indirect costs such as lost wages or increased child care needs, all of which often increase with the length of training. These adults must also consider whether they have the required skills and prerequisites for their training of interest, or they must invest further time and resources in preparatory courses.
The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program provides education and training to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income adults for occupations in the healthcare field that pay well and are expected to either experience labor shortages or be in high demand. In 2010, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the US Department of Health and Human Services awarded a first round of five-year HPOG grants (HPOG 1.0) to 32 organizations in 23 states.
In this report, we examine the earnings and employment outcomes of HPOG 1.0 participants who completed at least one healthcare training offered by HPOG; we analyze outcomes by both length of training and occupation of training. These results do not prove a causal link between completing specific trainings and subsequent outcomes. Adults seeking to enroll in training (and programs advising them) can use these results on average earnings after training by occupation and length as a guide — one piece of information to help them in deciding which occupational training is right for them, given their individual circumstances.
Purpose
In reporting the employment and earnings trajectories of HPOG 1.0 training completers, we provide information for practitioners, policymakers, funders, and potential future training recipients on the value of various short, medium, and long healthcare trainings. This report and accompanying tools aim to provide information that can help participants select which training to take and understand potential career pathways and labor market outcomes.
Key Findings and Highlights
- Participants completing a long training generally had better employment and earnings outcomes than those completing a medium or short training.
- Outcomes differed by occupation type and were largely in line with the training length (with some exceptions).
- Participants with prior healthcare experience had higher earnings than those without it, but length of training had a larger association with earnings.
Methods
This analysis is based on the 20,853 participants who enrolled in HPOG between September 30, 2010 and March 30, 2016 and completed at least one training. This analysis uses data from the Performance Reporting System (PRS) and the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH). Using the PRS data, we categorized 18 occupation types of healthcare training and calculated participants’ average time to complete training in their HPOG 1.0 local program. We classified training into three categories by length: short (less than 4 months), medium (4 to 11 months), and long (12 months or more). We also examined the characteristics of participants who completed these short, medium, and long trainings. We then linked the PRS and NDNH data to examine average employment and earnings over five years for participants who completed at least one training in HPOG, by length and occupation type of training.
Citation
Loprest, Pamela, and Nathan Sick (2021). Employment and Earnings Outcomes by Length and Occupation of Healthcare Training: Results from the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program. OPRE Report 2021-234, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Related Documents
| File Type | File Name | File Size | The Payoff to Healthcare Training: By Training Length | 141.54 KB | The Payoff to Healthcare Training: By Job Type | 127.18 KB |
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