How effective are current federal job training programs, and how effective will they be in the future? In a new study, AAF President Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Data Analyst Tom Lee examine the two major adult-worker training programs along with federal apprenticeship programs. They conclude that while these federal programs are largely effective at placing workers in jobs, their focus is concentrated in industry sectors that are not projected to experience the bulk of job growth over the next five years.

Their central points:

• Federal job training programs offer both counseling and skills training, and those who participate in training are slightly more likely to be employed and ultimately earn more than those who participate in counseling alone, although about 80 percent of participants use career counseling only;
• The number of participants in the job training programs has dropped over the last five years, but the number of apprenticeships has risen; and
• While neither worker-training nor apprenticeship programs are aligned with future job growth, apprenticeships are most misaligned: Almost 75 percent of apprenticeships are in goods-producing industries, which are projected to produce less than 1 percent of new jobs over the next five years.

Read the study.