Creating and Expanding Regional Workforce Partnerships for Skilled H-1B Industries and Occupations

In May 2017, DOL’s Chief Evaluation Office contracted with Mathematica and Social Policy Research Associates to conduct an evaluation of the America’s Promise Job-Driven Training grants. The evaluation examines the implementation and impact of grants awarded to 23 organizations in 2016. These grants, funded by DOL’s Employment and Training Administration, support creating and expanding regional workforce partnerships—including workforce development agencies, institutions of higher education, economic development agencies, employers, and community-based organizations—aimed at preparing workers for careers in middle- to high-skilled industries and occupations. Through virtual site visits, phone interviews, a grantee survey, partner network survey, and grantees’ performance data, the evaluation examines the approaches America’s Promise grantees used to establish regional partnerships and provide services to unemployed and underemployed individuals, and incumbent workers.

Beyond this report, the grantees’ implementation experiences are further explored in a series of issue briefs examining how the partnerships responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, employer voices, and employer engagement.