Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

Purpose. One out of four working parents in the U.S. cannot earn enough through full-time, year-round wage work to support his or her family. Yet historically, low-wage workers expected to move up economically if they increased their education and skills, generally through on-the-job training. Today, changing structures and policies in firms, such as the reduction or elimination of most worksite training, means that independent job training institutions are now the primary locus for human capital development, which effectively devolves advancement to individuals' efforts alone, rather than to individuals and workplace institutions together. Moreover, today's new or returning workers are often older with families, but less experienced and educated. In such cases, accessing training to increase earnings is crucial, but may be constrained by time, energy, and institutional expectations. Social service organizations are often called upon to provide extensive job-related services, even though few are funded or equipped to do so. In contrast, this research finds that when training and service institutions are part of multi-institutional workforce development networks, mobility opportunities for economically disadvantaged workers are enhanced. Methods. The data presented here are part of a five-year ethnographic study of economic mobility among participants in a workforce demonstration program in five U.S. cities.* The research team gathered prospective and retrospective data (1998-2003) from twenty-five low-income families and about 1000 auxiliary contacts that included job training providers and instructors, employers, and social service providers. Direct and participant observation, informal, systematic in-depth and “elite” interviews, shadowing and document review, together with administrative and census data, yielded new understanding about the dynamic ways that education, work and policy intersect with families to affect mobility. Qualitative software facilitated data management and construction of narrative accounts. Triangulation through multiple researchers, respondents and analysts, together with “member checking,” helped to reduce bias and increase the authenticity and credibility of the findings. Results. Welfare and workforce development programs, social service organizations, and firms are currently structured and financed as separate spheres, to the detriment of families and institutions alike. In contrast, when these spheres are knit into collaborative multi-institutional networks, that also include faith-based organizations, policymakers, and local government, the mobility chances of low-earning workers are notably improved. In this research, post-training job wages increased 40% on average over pre-training job wages, largely because networks of workforce and welfare programs and firms enabled the job seekers to access industries and occupations they couldn't access earlier. Similarly, networked firms and service organizations collaborated to develop workplace supports, such as mentoring programs and career guidance, that the workers' prior jobs did not offer. However, workers' mobility advances were imperiled when networks dissolved or did not incorporate critical community institutions. Implications. The workforce development networks in this research, with their multi-level, multi-institutional orientation to correcting labor market disadvantage through human and social capital strategies, initially mediated workers' mobility challenges. More permanent change requires broad-scale establishment of sustainable networks of firms, training institutions, social service organizations, policymakers and other vital community institutions. *Funded by independent grants from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.