Transcript Slide 1

Career development services for
unemployed adults with lower skills
Gaps, Innovations, and Opportunities
March 13, 2013
Exploratory study to identify options for testing innovative interventions to
support positive labour market transitions for adults with lower-skills
Three-part investigation to develop these options:
1. Review existing literature and Canadian program evaluations – to identify
knowledge gaps and research needs
2. International consultations – to identify innovative practices in other
jurisdictions
3. Canadian consultations – to explore gaps and innovations with Canadian
practitioners in CDS and training delivery
Target group - Unemployed low-skilled Canadians (with low education and/or
skills) who are in need of training to help them secure employment
Program type - Broadly defined to include all types of training in which
unemployed adults with low education/skills may participate
Employment services for job seekers
Programs targeted specifically
to unemployed individuals
Skills
Employment development
Assistance
programs
Services
Targeted
retraining
(older or
displaced
workers)
Programs for all adults
regardless
of employment status
Literacy
and
Essential
Skills
programs
College
diploma
and
certificate
programs
Vocational
Trades
Conceptual Framework
and Literature Review

Palameta, et. al. (2010) identify factors influencing participation,
persistence, and outcomes of training
•
INDIVIDUAL – competencies, preferences, life course factors
•
STRUCTURAL – macroeconomic, policy, institutional factors

Interaction of these factors create conditions which enable or
impede positive labour market outcomes

Varying degrees of evidence and gaps in knowledge about these
factors – gaps provide future research direction
ENABLING FACTORS AND BARRIERS …
STRUCTURAL
INDIVIDUAL
Macroeconomic – Changing occupational skills
demands, business cycle, economic
restructuring, local labour market dynamics
Competencies – Cognitive abilities,
foundational skills, literacy, education
Preferences – time, risk aversion, and
economic preferences
Policy – EI policy, inter-provincial variations,
regional economic development, financial aid
Circumstances – life course dynamics:
age, income, family, networks
Institutional – partners, systems, resources for
delivery; design, targeting, communication
… CREATING CONDITIONS THAT DETERMINE
PARTICIPATION, PERISTENCE, AND OUTCOMES
Program Delivery – effectively matched meeting
learner needs, aligned with further education,
and labour market demand
Expectations – perceived need, value of
training, opportunity costs, and expected
returns
Policy Interactions – policy/program interaction
facilitates delivery, education, outcomes
Situational – accessibility (distance,
childcare), ability to pay (subsidies, support)
PARTICIPATION
ENROLMENT
– Formal, informal, non-formal
– Publically-funded (EI Part II, LMA)
– Privately-sponsored
PERSISTENCE
COMPLETION – modular completion,
foundational skills gains achieved
OUTCOMES
EDUCATIONAL – job skills, credentials
LABOUR MARKET – employment, earnings
ADVANCEMENT – further education
OTHER
– social inclusion, well being
Expected returns - costs and
benefits

Results from existing program evaluations can help to
further motivate and focus future research questions

Analyses generally consider the question of program
effectiveness from two angles
accessibility
(uptake)
suitability
(outcomes)
Effectiveness

Significant number report some kind of access difficulty
to Skills Development programs
◦ Where quantitative data is available, difficulties reported with
access in 25-38 percent of cases
◦ Most of these relate to non-participants who had funding
difficulties, did not qualify, or were turned down
◦ Some raise concerns over program design issues e.g. too many
criteria, long delays, waiting lists
◦ Others report that the available programs did not meet their
needs
Summative Evaluations and EI Monitoring and Assessment Reports
suggest there is substantial heterogeneity in outcomes
Outcome
Client Type
# of evaluations with
positive outcomes
2008-EI Monitoring Report
% with positive outcomes
Active
1 out of 4 (BC)
15% positive (1 out of 6)
Former
1 out of 4 (AB)
38% positive
Active
4 out of 4
33% positive (5 out of 8)
Former
0 out of 4
25% positive
Active
3 out of 5 (AB, SK, NL)
57% positive
Former
1 out of 5 (SK)
25% positive
Employment (hrs)
Annual earnings
EI Use
For Non-participants – question is one of access:

Who doesn’t access Skills Development and why?

Little data in existing PE’s on the unmet needs and barriers to
participation - some groups likely underrepresented
For Participants – question is one of heterogeneity:

What factors (within governments’ control) underlie the significant
regional variability in outcomes of participants?
◦ What role do program eligibility and referral processes play?
◦ What role does training design and delivery have?

What are the range of needs of unemployed Canadians with low
skills? Can a “typology” of learner needs be identified?
◦ Need more information on the nature of barriers to access
◦ Need more analysis of the role of foundational skills in training readiness
◦ Need more evidence on effective approaches to needs assessment

To what extent do unemployed Canadians have the information
and guidance to make informed career development choices?
◦
Limited evidence on the quality of information and counseling provided to
unemployed low skilled adults
◦
Need more information on the importance of economic preferences to
career decisions and how information and services can be tailored

Which promising approaches and effective practices would work
best in the Canadian context?
◦ There is a growing international literature on promising design and
partnership-based delivery models to meet diverse client needs
◦ Need more analysis of their relevance to a Canadian context in terms of the
unique client base and economic and policy context

To what extent are Canadian programs using best practices?
What are the major gaps? What are the opportunities?
◦
Beyond the EI Part II template, the available information on nuances in
program design and delivery varies across provinces
◦
Need more evidence on the degree that existing training and employment
services are matched to BOTH learner and labour market needs
Canadian Consultations
Interviews with Canadian Practitioners in Employment
Services and Training Delivery

Objective: to explore gaps and innovations to develop
options suitable for the Canadian context

Methodology: in-depth interviews and focus groups in
three provinces; MB, NS, BC
◦ Employment Counsellors - current experience and expertise with intake,
assessment, and employment supports for the target group
◦ Training Providers - current experience and expertise in instructional design
or training delivery to the target group
◦ Other selected experts - managers, policy makers in CDS and Skills
Development
Intake and Assessment

Assessment and service decision models are fundamental to effective delivery

Lack of evidence about which processes and tools works best for which clients
Career and Employment Services

Many programs, but often with narrow eligibility criteria leading to ‘mismatches’ and gaps

Lack of options and wrap-around supports for clients with complex needs
Skills Development

Employment services, training programs and economic development initiatives operate in silos

Lack of high-quality, in-demand programs that are responsive to both the needs of working age
adults and the needs of employers
Transition to the Labour Market

Need stronger job development function to better connect job-seekers with local jobs

Lack of opportunities to combine skills development with work experience

Lack of retention supports
Recommendations
Five options to test innovative approaches to enhancing
service delivery and improve outcomes
1. Common approach to assessment and service decision
making
2. Partnership approach to CDS planning
3. Comprehensive set of CDS intervention based on client
need
4. Partnership approach to training provision
5. Pathways approach to skills development
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1. Common approach to assessment

Test the efficacy and feasibility of a common approach to assessing
needs and identifying interventions
Rationale
• Strong agreement on
need for assessment
• But gaps about what
works best with whom
• And tension between
standardized approach
vs. outcomes based
approach
• Test a model that
conceptualizes
assessment as a rigorous
but flexible process
Comprehensive
Transferable
skills
Specialized
• Considers skills, motivation,
expectations, self-efficacy,
structural barriers, personal
circumstances.
• Assesses essential skills which
may be critical to ensuring fit
between the client and
proposed interventions
• Some clients may need special
assessments to identify learning
barriers and other disabilities
2. Partnership approach to CDS and
employment services planning

Test whether collaborative approaches to service delivery improve
outcomes for job seekers and employers
Rationale
• System can be
chaotic and confusing
for both jobseekers
and employers
• Inconsistent options
and referral across
and within delivery
sites
• Many services, no big
picture
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Several examples of promising approaches
of integration at the local level. Examples
include:
•
•
•
Toronto Region Immigrant Employment
Council (TRIEC)
Partnership to Advance Youth;
Employment (PAYE)
Collaborative Partnership Network (Nova
Scotia)
3. CDS options based on client need

Tests an approach to ensuring clients have access to the right type
and dose of service at the right time depending on need
Rationale
In the context of rapidly
changing labour
markets, clients may
benefit from career
exploration programs
that range in terms of
intensity and depth
depending on client
needs
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CDS Intensive
Intensive approach for multibarriered clients
Transferable Skills
Portfolio approach to identifying
strengths and gaps
Web-based CDS
Flexible online service for
easier to serve clients
4. Partnership approach to training
design and delivery

Test a partnership approach to the planning of skills training
programs
Rationale
• Current approach
leads to gaps and
duplication
• Opportunity to
ensure short-term
skills development
programs are high
quality and
responsive to needs
of individuals and
employers
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Governance
Governance
Governance
Program
Sponsor
Oversight &
Policy
System-wide
oversight
Consortium
Member
Consortium
Member
Service
Delivery
Service
Delivery
Program
Manager
Consortium
Member
Consortium
Member
Service
Delivery
Service
Delivery
Consortium
Member
Consortium
Member
Service
Delivery
Service
Delivery
5. Career pathways approach to skills
development

Test a career pathways approach that provides modular based
curricula with multiple entry and exit points that adults to combine
school and work and advance over time to better jobs and higher
levels of education and training
Rationale
• Adults often need
foundational training
before they can enter
and successfully
complete occupational
training
• Most diploma
programs are not wellsuited or responsive to
the needs of working
age adults
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Career pathways approaches tend
to share five features:
 Demand-driven partnerships
 Integrated essential skills and
occupational training
 Multi-level pathways
 Wrap around support
 Continuous improvement

The major finding of our research is that gaps in existing
employment and training systems are now well-known

Broadly speaking, there is emerging consensus among
practitioners on both promising approaches and
opportunities to move forward

Governments can build on these opportunities to
improve system effectiveness by rigorously testing
promising approaches and building an evidence base on
what works for whom under which conditions
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