Leading Practices

Leading Practices

• The Federal Registered Apprenticeship (RAP) system began in 1937 and has trained and placed millions of workers in jobs. In 2012, Mathematica evaluated the effectiveness of the program in 10 states and found that participants earned nearly $6,000 more per year than non-apprentices. Further, the RAP structure and wage support career and wage growth for entry level workers.

• Since 2014, the California Workforce Development Board’s High Road Construction Careers project has allocated more than $20,000,000 to labor union and workforce development board partnerships to diversify and expand building and construction trade union membership. The project is expanding union approved pre-apprenticeships that use the Multi-Core Craft Curriculum (MC3) and includes a statewide database of the union validated programs. The initiative is funded by revenues through California Senate Bill 1: The Road Repair and Accountability Act, the Clean Energy Jobs Act Program and carbon market cap and trade revenues administered by the California Air Resources Board. Funds have been used to support local partnerships among workforce boards, unions, community colleges and other partners in East San Francisco Bay, Los Angeles and Orange County and the Central Valley.

• The Maricopa Workforce Development Board partners with building and construction trade registered apprenticeship programs, including the Phoenix Painters and Allied Trades, the Southwest Carpenters Training Fund and the Laborers Training School. The workforce board provides $4,000 through Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) adult funds for related instruction and offers case management and supportive services to apprentices, generally in the first year of the apprenticeship program. In 2019, the US Department of Labor did a case study on Maricopa’s apprenticeship programs and found that WIOA Adult Program Apprenticeship participants had a 94% employment rate during the second quarter after program exit, 22 points higher than the statewide rate for the WIOA Adult Program.

• In 2021, the Texas Workforce Commission issued a $1,500,000 Request for Applications to train “opportunity youth” (16- to 24-year-old youth not in school or work) to enter the building and construction trades industry. This procurement piloted evidence-based scoring incentives. Up to 10 bonus points (out of 100) were available for respondents who provided causal evidence of effectiveness that their program design could be a springboard to quality jobs for the target population.

• Through a partnership between the city and county workforce agencies and employment social enterprises, the Los Angeles Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise (LA RISE) began in 2015  to help people overcoming major employment barriers get jobs, stay employed and take initial steps toward living wages and higher quality jobs. Now in its seventh year, LA RISE has nearly 50 partners and has enrolled more than 4,100 individuals in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs through its Client Referral Form, Client Flier, Program Model and Participant Flow Chart. The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund provides backbone management services to manage the network, track outcomes and build capacity for service provider partners.

• Founded in 2000, the national nonprofit Year Up operates in 20 locations and provides young adults skills, experiences and support leading toward upward career and income mobility. A randomized control trial (RCT) found 30% higher average earnings for Year Up participants six years after graduation—the largest impact to date for a workforce program evaluated by a rigorous RCT.

• Founded in 1997, the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) operates in 31 cities across 12 states. It has placed more than 34,000 individuals who were formerly incarcerated in full-time employment. The center is one of the only evidence-based employment programs dedicated to working with individuals who have recently returned home from incarceration. A randomized control trial by MDRC found that CEO reduced rates of recidivism by 22% and created $3.30 in social benefit for every $1 spent on the program. This case study in Philadelphia outlines how CEO partners with local government to make an impact on the ground.

• Since 2017, the Hilton Apprenticeship Academy has taught hospitality through hands-on exposure to a range of industry disciplines. Hilton apprentices complete a six-week rotation through all hotel departments, including security, food and beverage, engineering, accounting, human resources and front office. Once they complete the rotation, apprentices choose a specific department to focus on for an additional 16 weeks. Upon the conclusion of those 16 weeks, apprentices complete a final project that includes a presentation to Hilton’s executive committee.

• Chipotle has partnered with Guild Education since 2018 to provide its employees the opportunity to earn an advanced degree such as an online bachelor’s degree in 18 months. Classes fit into workers’ schedules and are designed to help them grow in their careers. The program is part of Chipotle’s educational assistance program, which provides up to $5,250 a year in tuition assistance and a Guild Education personal success coach who helps students enroll in classes and apply for financial aid.

• Since 1997, REDF has worked with a national network of employment social enterprises that have helped more than 84,000 people secure transitional employment after experiencing homelessness, leaving incarceration and/or experiencing other significant barriers to employment. In 2015, Mathematica evaluated the impact of social enterprises in their network and found increased employment, earnings, housing and other economic stability indicators compared to a comparison group.