Nov 7 -- The Employment Training Administration (ETA) invites comment to OMB by December 7, 2022 regarding Office of Job Corps collection of post enrollment outcomes for eligible Job Corps participants. To meet WIOA reporting requirements, the Office of Job Corps revised its post enrollment data collection system (PEDC) in 2019, which primarily collects data through survey instruments.
Job Corps is the nation's largest residential, educational, and career technical training program for opportunity youth. The Economic Opportunity Act established Job Corps in 1964, and it currently operates under the authority of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014. For over 54 years, Job Corps has helped prepare over three million students between the ages of 16 and 24 for success in our nation's workforce. With 121 centers in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia, Job Corps assists students across the nation in attaining academic credentials, including High School Diplomas (HSD) and/or High School Equivalency (HSE), and career technical training credentials, including industry-recognized certifications, state licensures, and pre-apprenticeship credentials.
Job Corps is a national program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) through the Office of Job Corps and six Regional Offices. DOL awards and administers contracts for the recruiting and screening of new students, center operations, and the placement and transitional support of graduates and former enrollees. Large and small corporations and nonprofit organizations manage and operate 95 Job Corps centers under contractual agreements with DOL. These contract Center Operators are selected through a competitive procurement process that evaluates potential operators' technical expertise, proposed costs, past performance, and other factors, in accordance with the Competition in Contracting Act and the Federal Acquisition Regulations. Many of the current contractors operate more than one center. The two centers under demonstration grants are run by State of Idaho and the National Guard job Challenge program respectively. Of the 121 current centers, 24 are managed and operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture—Forest Service (USDA) via an interagency agreement. Additionally, there are 26 public colleges and universities operating Job Corps Scholars Program demonstration grants.
The Job Corps program is responsible for collecting and reporting on the six WIOA-required primary performance measures. The information needed to report on one of those six measures, Measurable Skill Gains, is maintained within the Job Corps Center Information System. Information needed to report on the remaining five WIOA measures is addressed in this collection.
Those five measures are:
-- the percentage of program participants who are in education or training activities, or in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program;
-- the percentage of program participants who are in education or training activities, or in unsubsidized employment during the fourth quarter after exit from the program;
-- the median earnings of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program;
the percentage of program participants who obtain a recognized postsecondary credential, or
-- a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent (and, for those who obtain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, have also obtained or retained employment or are in an education or training program leading to a recognized postsecondary credential), during participation in or within one year after exit from the program; and,
-- the indicator(s) of effectiveness in serving employers.
Job Corps may also use the information collected from the proposed PEDC to measure and report participant performance under the following metrics mandated by Section 159(d) of WIOA:
-- the number of graduates who entered the Armed Forces;
-- the number of graduates who received a regular secondary school diploma;
-- the number of graduates who received a State recognized equivalent of a secondary school diploma;
-- the percentage and number of graduates who enter postsecondary education;
-- the average wage of graduates who enter unsubsidized employment on the first day of such employment; and on the day 6 months after such first day.
The second and fourth quarter data collection effort also provides a means to verify work and school placements for all placed graduates and former enrollees. In addition, it provides information responsive to the WIOA measure on the effectiveness of serving employers.
Job Corps Reports webpage:
https://www.jobcorps.gov/job-corps-reports
ETA submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202210-1205-002 Click IC List for questionnaire, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this webpage.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-24177
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806