Long-Term Evaluation of the American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) and Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Grants

This follow-on contract will build on the original contracts with Abt Associates Inc. for the National Evaluation of the American Apprenticeship Initiative (AAI) grant program (DOL-ETA-16-F-00006) and the Evaluation of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) Round 4 Grants (DOL-ETA-14-F-00013).

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO), in collaboration with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), seeks to conduct supplemental, longer term longitudinal analysis of employment outcomes for participants of the AAI and TAACCCT grants. Many of the grant participants are underserved by, or underrepresented in, registered apprenticeship and post-secondary education and other job training opportunities and middle-income occupations.

A follow-on study of the AAI and TAACCCT evaluations would allow DOL to examine impacts on labor market participation of both programs and whether the findings both are sustained longitudinally for those participants on which outcomes were previously reported and the long-term outcomes of those participants not included in the original assessment due to timing constraints.

Having this information by industry and participant (by sub-population, in the aggregate) can inform future programming investments, continuous improvement, and technical assistance to the field. The results also help inform ongoing management, program development, and evaluation of career pathway programs, including those with registered apprenticeship and other work-based learning programs that link academic, technical, and professional skills.

Additionally, the findings from this follow-on study may inform a number of Federal initiatives, such as the modernization and bolstering of registered apprenticeship, good jobs, American Rescue Plan, infrastructure, and other initiatives.