ERIC_NO:
ED444017
TITLE:
SEDLP Research Brief No. 1: Key Findings from the Baseline Survey of Participants. The Sectoral Employment Development Learning Project.
AUTHOR:
Zandniapour, Lily
PUBLICATION_DATE:
2000
ABSTRACT:
Sectoral employment training programs attempt to provide disadvantaged people with good jobs that pay living wages and offer
opportunities for advancement, using innovative approaches to
employment training and interacting with industries to create
systemic change in labor markets. The Sectoral Employment
Development Learning Project (SEDLP) is a participatory learning
assessment launched in April 1997, and expected to be completed in
September 2002, intended to document and assess the practice and
outcomes of six leading sectoral programs in urban areas across the
United States. One component of the SEDLP is a longitudinal survey
of 732 participants from these training programs. An initial
baseline survey of these participants suggests that trainees are
typically economically disadvantaged and face multiple barriers to
employment. Some of the findings of that survey include the
following: (1) 65 percent of program participants are women and 92
percent are members of minority ethnic or racial groups, many being
immigrants with language barriers; (2) most clients are in their
prime working years and average 34 years of age; (3) although at
least one-third of the participants have participated in training
before, previous training experiences have not translated into
better and more stable jobs for them; (4) many participants have
long but interrupted work histories; (5) 37 percent received food
stamps or other food supplement programs; (6) 50 percent of program
participants completed training; and (7) the programs placed 74
percent of the participants who were employed after the program,
with hourly wages and hours per week work increasing by about
one-third for workers who completed the programs and secured
employment. (KC)
MAJOR_DESCRIPTORS:
Employment Programs; Job Training; Outcomes of Education; Participant Characteristics; Program Effectiveness;
MINOR DESCRIPTORS:
Adult Basic Education; Adults; Disadvantaged; Employment Experience; Ethnic Groups; Females; Immigrants; Longitudinal Studies; Postsecondary Education; Skill Development;
IDENTIFIERS:
Baseline Data
PUBLICATION_TYPE:
143