Introduction
Research Questions
- What does the evidence say about career pathways interventions for people with low incomes?
- Do career pathways interventions increase earnings, employment, education or training, and do they reduce the receipt of public benefits?
- What are the most effective career pathways interventions?
The Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse defines the career pathways framework as a series of secondary, postsecondary, and/or adult education and training services that progressively lead to higher credentials and more advanced employment opportunities, with supports designed to help clients progress through these steps. It includes connections to employment opportunities through partnerships with employers, employer engagement, and paid work experiences. This Evidence Snapshot summarizes what rigorous research tells us about 27 interventions that used career pathways as an approach to providing services to clients and the interventions’ impacts on earnings, employment, the receipt of public benefits, and education and training. The data come from 30 high- or moderate-quality studies that began between 1984 and 2016, were published through May 2022, and were reviewed by the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse.
Purpose
This Evidence Snapshot describes the effectiveness of programs that were identified by the Pathways Clearinghouse as using a career pathways approach. It summarizes what we know about these programs and their impacts so Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and other program administrators, policymakers, researchers, and the general public can apply the evidence to their context and the questions that matter to them.
Key Findings and Highlights
On average, career pathways interventions improved earnings, employment, and education and training outcomes and reduced public benefits receipt. In particular, for intervention participants -- as compared with comparison groups that did not receive intervention services --
- Short-term annual earnings increased by $3,117, and long-term annual earnings increased by $1,069, on average, across 23 interventions for which effects on these outcomes could be calculated.
- Short-term employment increased by 6 percentage points, and long-term employment increased by 1 percentage point, on average, across the 24 interventions for which these outcomes were examined.
- The proportion of people receiving public benefits decreased by 1 percentage point in the short term and 1 percentage point in the long term, across the 12 career pathways interventions for which this outcome was examined. The amount of annual public benefits received decreased by $138 in the short term and $91 in the long term, across the 8 career pathways interventions for which this outcome was examined.
- Education and training attainment increased by 5 percentage points, on average, across 16 interventions for which effects on these outcomes could be calculated.
- Eight career pathways interventions had positive effects on more than one outcome domain.
Methods
The Pathways Clearinghouse assigned an effectiveness rating to each intervention in each of four outcome domains: earnings, employment, public benefit receipt, and education and training. The rating describes the extent of support that the intervention is likely to produce favorable results in that domain if faithfully replicated with a similar population.
For this snapshot, the Pathways Clearinghouse calculated the average impact for each domain by averaging impacts within moderate- and high-quality studies, then within interventions (because there may be multiple studies on a single intervention), and then across career pathways interventions. The average includes all studies, not just those with a supported rating or statistically significant findings, because these studies still provide useful evidence in considering the overall effectiveness of career pathways interventions.
This snapshot describes the interventions using career pathways approaches that had positive impacts on earnings, employment, public benefit receipt, and/or education and training, and highlights interventions that were effective in multiple outcome domains.
Citation
Welch, Erin, Jillian Stein, Jeffery Jen, and Stephen Nuñez (2024). Evidence Snapshot: Career Pathways, OPRE Report #2024-148, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.