Career development services for unemployed adults with lower skills

1. Career development services for unemployed adults with lower skills Gaps, Innovations, and Opportunities March 13, 2013

2. Project objectives Three-part investigation to develop these options: • Review existing literature and Canadian program evaluations – to identify knowledge gaps and research needs • International consultations – to identify innovative practices in other jurisdictions • Canadian consultations – to explore gaps and innovations with Canadian practitioners in CDS and training delivery Exploratory study to identify options for testing innovative interventions to support positive labour market transitions for adults with lower-skills

3. Project scope 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

4. Conceptual Framework and Literature Review

5. Conceptual framework, 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

6. Conceptual framework, literature review

7. Canadian program evaluations • 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

8. Quantitative results - access • 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

9. Quantitative results - outcomes Summative Evaluations and EI Monitoring and Assessment Reports suggest there is substantial heterogeneity in outcomes

10. Key questions arising from evaluations 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?

11. Summary - Knowledge Gaps • 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

12. Summary - Knowledge Gaps • 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

13. Canadian Consultations Interviews with Canadian Practitioners in Employment Services and Training Delivery

14. Design for Canadian fieldwork • 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

15. Findings – system gaps 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

16. Recommendations Five options to test innovative approaches to enhancing service delivery and improve outcomes • Common approach to assessment and service decision making • Partnership approach to CDS planning • Comprehensive set of CDS intervention based on client need • Partnership approach to training provision • Pathways approach to skills development

17. 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  

18. 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 • 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)

19. 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

20. Governance • System-wide oversight • Governance • Program Sponsor • Governance • Oversight & Policy Consortium Member Service Delivery Consortium Member Service Delivery Program Manager Consortium Member Service Delivery Consortium Member Service Delivery Consortium Member Service Delivery Consortium Member Service Delivery 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

21. 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 well-suited or responsive to the needs of working age adults • 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

22. Conclusions • 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