Does Training for the Disadvantaged Work? Evidence from the National JTPA Study.

What employment and training strategies work or don't work? For what groups? The authors report and interpret the findings of the largest and most rigorous evaluation ever done of programs designed to increase the employment and earnings, and reduce the dependence, of America's disadvantaged. This study of 16 Job Training Partnership Act programs measures effectiveness separately for adult men, adult women, female youth, and male youth. It finds modest successes for adults but confirms that we have yet to find a generalizable strategy that increases the labor market chances of disadvantaged youth.