Economic Mobility Corporation

THE ECONOMIC MOBILITY CORPORATION (MOBILITY) IDENTIFIES, DEVELOPS AND EVALUATES PROGRAMS AND POLICIES THAT ENABLE DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS TO ACQUIRE THE EDUCATION, SKILLS AND NETWORKS NEEDED TO SUCCEED IN THE LABOR MARKET.

PARTNERSHIPS FOR SKILLS GAINS WITH FUNDING FROM THE W. K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION, MOBILITY MANAGED AN INITIATIVE, PARTNERSHIPS FOR SKILLS GAINS, TO IDENTIFY AND SUPPORT PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN EMPLOYERS AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INTERMEDIARIES TO UPGRADE WORKERS SKILLS. THE PROJECT SOUGHT TO PROMOTE GREATER INVESTMENT IN WORKERS SKILLS. MOBILITY ADOPTED THREE PRIMARY STRATEGIES TO SUPPORT THIS INITIATIVE: (1) CREATED A SUITE OF CASE STUDIES DOCUMENTING THE PRACTICES OF INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS; (2) DISSEMINATED THE THEMES AND KEY FINDINGS THAT EMERGED FROM THE CASE STUDIES AND A REVIEW OF ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL LITERATURE; AND (3) GAVE BUSINESS PLANNING GRANTS TO LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS TO SPUR THEIR SPREAD AND SCALE. MOBILITY PUBLISHED AND WIDELY DISSEMINATED A BRIEF ON THE PROJECT, PARTNERSHIPS FOR SKILLS GAINS: INVESTING IN FRONTLINE WORKERS, AS WELL AS PROFILES OF 40 PARTNERSHIPS AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT EMPHASIZED GOOD JOBS, REQUIRED EMPLOYERS TO COVER SOME OR ALL OF THE COSTS OF SKILLS TRAINING, AND FEATURED RELATIONSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY COLLEGES, NONPROFITS, AND/OR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARDS.PROJECT QUEST RCT EVALUATIONWITH A GRANT FROM ARNOLD VENTURES, MOBILITY EXTENDED ITS RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL STUDY OF PROJECT QUEST TO EXAMINE PROGRAM IMPACTS ON EARNINGS NINE YEARS AFTER STUDY ENROLLMENT, USING STATE ADMINISTRATIVE DATA. SINCE 1992 PROJECT QUESTS MISSION HAS BEEN TO MAKE WELL-PAYING CAREERS ACCESSIBLE TO LOW-INCOME SAN ANTONIO RESIDENTS WHILE MEETING EMPLOYERS NEED FOR SKILLED WORKERS. PROJECT QUEST PROVIDES COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT AND RESOURCES TO HELP INDIVIDUALS COMPLETE OCCUPATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND OTHER TRAINING PROVIDERS, PASS CERTIFICATION EXAMS, AND OBTAIN JOBS IN STRONG SECTORS OF THE LOCAL ECONOMY. THE EVALUATION FOCUSED ON INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE PURSUING CAREERS IN HEALTH CARE. BETWEEN APRIL 2006 AND OCTOBER 2008, 410 INDIVIDUALS ENROLLED IN THE STUDY, OF WHOM 207 WERE ASSIGNED TO THE TREATMENT GROUP, WHICH COULD RECEIVE THE PROJECT QUEST SERVICES, AND 203 TO THE CONTROL GROUP, WHICH COULD NOT. MOBILITY HAS PUBLISHED TWO REPORTS ON THE NINE-YEAR FINDINGS, NINE YEAR GAINS: PROJECT QUESTS CONTINUING IMPACT AND NINE YEAR EDUCATION GAINS: PROJECT QUESTS IMPACT ON STUDENT SUCCESS. WE FOUND THAT PROJECT QUEST HAD LARGE, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS ON EARNINGS AND POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIAL ATTAINMENT THAT GREW OVER THE NINE-YEAR FOLLOW-UP PERIOD. THE FINDINGS STRENGTHEN THE EVIDENCE BASE ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SECTOR-BASED TRAINING PROGRAMS AND COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIES TO HELP ADULTS WITH LOW INCOMES TO EARN POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALS THAT ARE VALUED IN THE LABOR MARKET.EVALUATION OF THE MA PATHWAYS TO ECONOMIC ADVANCEMENT PROJECT THE MA PATHWAYS TO ECONOMIC ADVANCEMENT PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, JEWISH VOCATIONAL SERVICES (JVS) BOSTON, AND SOCIAL FINANCE TO INCREASE ACCESS TO PROGRAMS THAT ASSIST ADULT ENGLISH-LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN MAKING SUCCESSFUL TRANSITIONS TO EMPLOYMENT, HIGHER WAGE JOBS, AND HIGHER EDUCATION. JVS PROVIDES LIMITED ENGLISH SPEAKERS, INCLUDING DOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES, VOCATIONAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSES, INTEGRATED WITH JOB SEARCH ASSISTANCE AND COACHING. JVS OFFERS FOUR DISTINCT PROGRAM TRACKS TO ACCOMMODATE VARYING LANGUAGE LEVELS, EMPLOYMENT OBJECTIVES, AND EDUCATIONAL GOALS AMONG PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS. THE PROJECT USES AN INNOVATIVE PAY FOR SUCCESS FUNDING MODEL IN WHICH PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTORS PROVIDE UPFRONT CAPITAL TO SCALE PROMISING PROGRAMS, AND THE GOVERNMENT PAYS BACK THE INVESTORS ONLY IF THE PROGRAMS ACHIEVE PREDETERMINED OUTCOMES. MOBILITY IS THE PROJECTS INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR. THE EVALUATION DESIGN DIFFERS FOR EACH PROGRAM TRACK, INCLUDING TRACKING POST-PROGRAM OUTCOMES, COMPARING PRE- AND POST-PROGRAM OUTCOMES TO ASSESS CHANGE OVER TIME AND, FOR ONE TRACK, USING A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL (RCT) DESIGN TO ASSESS PROGRAM IMPACTS ON EARNINGS TWO YEARS AFTER STUDY ENROLLMENT. OUTCOMES ARE MEASURED USING STATE ADMINISTRATIVE DATA ON PARTICIPANTS EARNINGS AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT. IN 2020, WITH FUNDING FROM ARNOLD VENTURES, MOBILITY PUBLISHED A REPORT ON THE INTERIM FINDINGS FROM THE RCT EVALUATION OF ENGLISH FOR ADVANCEMENT (EFA). WE FOUND THAT EFA HAD A LARGE, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE EARNINGS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS IN THE SECOND YEAR AFTER STUDY ENROLLMENT. WE WILL PUBLISH A FINAL REPORT ON THE FINDINGS FOR ALL FOUR PROGRAM TRACKS IN 2022.