A $500 million investment in 32 high-quality, locally driven workforce systems for the U.S. Economic Development Administration's Good Jobs Challenge is radically changing American neighborhoods.
The Good Jobs Challenge aims to develop workforce training programs in local areas that will aid in placing people in vital, expanding businesses and accelerating regional economic recovery after the pandemic, according to an Oct. 19 Department of Commerce news release.
“Equity is EDA’s leading investment priority,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Castillo said in the release. “This research is critical to mobilizing EDA’s and the public’s insight into how these projects will expand access to the workforce and increase labor participation through a focus on equity.”
The grant will fund the development of program assessment models by Research Improving People's Lives (RIPL) to measure gains by participants in the 32 training programs supported by the Good Jobs Challenge, the release said. RIPL works with governments to assist them in using data, research and technology to better policy and people’s lives. It collaborates with academic research affiliates from premier research universities across the nation to offer policymakers insights of the highest caliber.
“Value-added return-on-investment measurements evaluate the true impact of participation in a training program on future labor outcomes,” explained Scott Jensen, CEO of RIPL, according to the release. “This program will go beyond measuring impact through the mean earnings of enrollees in past training programs by looking at how programs add value to participant earning potential adjusted for demographic and other characteristics.”
