Assessing the Impact of Career Resources and Support across the Employability Dimensions

1. Assessing the Impact of Career Resources and Support across the Employability Dimensions Alberta Human Services Manitoba Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade Canadian Career Development Foundation

2. Project Overview • Part of a national research agenda to better understand “what works” in career services and build the field’s base of evidence • This project builds substantially on previous research on the impact of labour market information conducted in partnership with New Brunswick and Saskatchewan

3. This Study • Also began with a needs assessment, but expanded to 4 needs: • Career decision making • Skills enhancement • Job Search • Job Maintenance • Each client received a tailored resource package, but it moved beyond LMI to include activities to help them to reflect and personalize.

4. Employability Dimensions • CAREER DECISION MAKING: Not yet clear about work/learning goal; needs to understand personal skills, interest, values and personality and more about different potential occupations in order to develop a vision for a preferred future • SKILLS ENHANCEMENT: Has career goal, but needs to explore skills and qualifications needed for the work they want and how to acquire them • JOB SEARCH: Has career goal and necessary skills/qualifications for desired work; needs skills, strategies and tools necessary to conduct a successful job search • JOB MAINTENANCE: Has difficulty keeping work; may need to address personal/life issues (e.g. health, behaviour, transportation, child care) or may need to work on the skills/attitudes required for success at work. The last part of this Guide is appropriate for someone already working, but wanting to improve their chances of keeping the job.

5. This Study • Clients randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: • independent (in which they worked independently with their Resource Guide for 4 weeks) • supported (in which they also worked with their Career Consultant for 4 weeks). • Examined: • Differential impact across treatment conditions • Differential impact across labour market attachment & self-help ability

6. Research Question If clients are given a comprehensive needs assessment to determine their employability need(s), what is the differential effect of independent and consultant-supported career resources on clients who are weakly attached to the labour market versus those who are strongly attached to the labour market?

7. Research Hypotheses • Regardless of participant condition (weakly or strongly attached to the labour market) or delivery mode (independent or consultant-supported), positive client change will result. • Stronger results will be seen among those clients who are more strongly attached to the labour market, regardless of delivery mode (i.e. both groups will change, but clients who are more strongly attached will change more than clients who are weakly attached).

8. Research Hypotheses • Regardless of participant condition (weakly or strongly attached), the consultant-supported mode will result in more significant client change than the independent mode of delivery. • For clients who are weakly attached, the differential effect of the two delivery modes will be more pronounced than for the strongly attached group (i.e. weakly attached clients may be less likely to benefit from independent self-service than strongly attached clients).

9. Self-Help Index • We created a “Self-Help Index” that blends somewhat with the “Labour Market Attachment Index” to see if: • The propensity for self-help can be measured • If the ability to self-help affects client outcomes

10. Desired Sample

11. Actual Sample Composition

12. Locations • Alberta • Brooks • Fort McMurray • Hinton • Calgary North • Edmonton North (Northgate) • Manitoba • Winnipeg • Brandon • Steinbach

13. Key Preliminary Findings • Analyses are in process – stay tuned!