Individuals with low incomes often struggle to advance in the labor market, yet at the same time, some employers report difficulty finding workers with the necessary skills. WorkAdvance is a workforce development model that seeks to address the needs of both of these groups through its "dual customer" approach. The model offers training…

These appendices accompany the full report that summarizes the implementation and evaluation of the Accelerating Connections to Employment (ACE) program. The ACE program model is designed to improve employment and employment-related outcomes for low-skilled workers through formal partnerships between Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) and…

WorkAdvance is a sectoral workforce development program designed to meet the needs of workers and employers alike. For unemployed and low-wage working adults, the program provides skills training in targeted sectors that have good-quality job openings with room for advancement within established career pathways. For employers in those sectors,…

This report summarizes the implementation and evaluation of the Accelerating Connections to Employment (ACE) program. The ACE program model is designed to improve employment and employment-related outcomes for low-skilled workers through formal partnerships between Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) and community colleges. Implemented at nine…

The budget for the U.S. Department of Labor for Fiscal Year 2010 includes a total of $45 million to support and study transitional jobs. This paper describes the origins of the transitional jobs models that are operating today, reviews the evidence on the effectiveness of this approach and other subsidized employment models, and offers some…

Describes successful career guidance and job placement model employed by a Utah Job Training Partnership Act program that is distinguished by the unusually synergistic nature of its organizational system. Explains how the program functions smoothly, in part, because of adherence to various principles of the general systems theory model of…

A supported work model has helped 167 persons with mild and moderate mental retardation maintain subsidized competitive employment for a 6-year period. The model features structured placement, job-site training by staff, and ongoing follow-along support. Policy implications of such an approach question traditional placement in sheltered workshops…

This interview between Mark Laird, statewide employment specialist with Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, and Gil Johnson, director of American Foundation for the Blind West, describes an innovative rehabilitation model that forges relationships with businesses and has doubled the number of consumers with visual impairments who find…

A cost/benefit study of fourteen area vocational technical schools in Kansas was conducted to assess payback periods and long run accrued benefits for vocational programs using an analysis model devised for this study. The majority of programs studied were economically successful but were highly succeptible to placement rates. (DS)

This paper describes a successful model of supported employment developed by a single small agency previously providing services as a segregated day activity center. Included is discussion of the service agency, program methodology, barriers to successful community-based employment, manner in which barriers were overcome, program outcomes, and…

The Computer Aided Art program offered at Northern State State University (Aberdeen, South Dakota), is coordinated with the traditional art major. The program is designed to familiarize students with a wide range of art-related computer hardware and software and their applications and to prepare students for problem-solving with unfamiliar…

This report describes the background and results of a project to establish a school-based job placement service in the Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. The center's activities, based on a previously-developed model, included these components: (1) Cooperative job development with the Bureau of…

Describes the need for schools to develop partnerships with businesses and presents five model projects designed to stay ahead of the job market and create new jobs. Provides follow-up data on two of the models. Lists common elements of successful programs and provides tips on developing partnerships. (AJL)

Fifteen placement project participants were enrolled in a refined competency-based continuation of a pilot program to train individuals to function as placement coordinators in their schools. They were enrolled in a weekly oncampus placement seminar at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale for the entire academic year (1979-80) and in a…

The "Bridges...From School to Work" project, funded at five sites by the Marriott Corporation, develops competitively paid internships for students with disabilities in their final year of high school. Of 762 students accepted by the program, 86% received internship placements, 82% completed their internships, and 75% were offered…