Feigning Training
Job training and placement programs aren't cutting it.
In 1982, Congress passed the Job Training and Partnership Act. Now the largest federal employment training program, its goal was to boost the earnings and employment rates of economically disadvantaged adults and youths. It funds a network of federal, state, and local agencies to the tune of $1.6 billion a year. Working through vocational high schools, community colleges, and other community-based organizations, the JTPA annually trains about 1 million participants and helps them find jobs.
But according to a new report from the General Accounting Office, the program's results are less than impressive. Despite months of training and placement assistance, JTPA participants rarely earn much more than comparable non-participants, and their employment rates are only slightly higher. In fact, the programs are so ineffective that the GAO "could not attribute the higher earnings to JTPA training rather than to chance alone."
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
cydggf