Discovering How to Effectively Support Underserved Populations │The PROMISE Center
While best-in-class sectoral programs have successfully raised participants’ long-term earnings, far too few individuals are able to reap the benefits of participating in these programs. Programs are limited in their capacity and reach, making it difficult to reach the millions of individuals who could benefit from their services. Also importantly, many vulnerable subpopulations, including adults with foundational skills needs and those involved with the justice system, experience barriers to participation in sectoral training and other workforce development programs.
The PROMISE Center is committed to helping uncover what additional strategies and supports are necessary to successfully integrate and effectively serve these underserved populations within a robust, equitable, and resilient workforce development ecosystem. To this end, we are conducting focused studies aimed at better understanding the barriers these populations encounter when seeking workforce training services and identify promising strategies to support their participation and success in such programs.
Our Work
Connecting Opportunity Youth to Strong Pathways to Adulthood and Career Success
We are committed to finding ways to more effectively meet the needs of all opportunity youth, including the most vulnerable who are often screened out of the best known programs.
Strengthening Workforce Training and Reintegration Supports for Young-Adult Returning Citizens
We seek to identify approaches with the potential to help large numbers of justice-involved young adults connect to supports needed to gain access to living-wage jobs and successfully reintegrate into society.
Helping Adults with Foundational Skill Needs Access Pathways to Economic Mobility
We are working to identify promising programs that integrate academic and workforce skills training to help millions of adults with foundational skill needs access high-wage, high-demand occupations.
Helping Displaced Workers Find New Pathways in the Future of Work
PROMISE Center researchers are undertaking the development of a proactive knowledge- and field-building agenda to discover and significantly expand the availability of effective supports for displaced workers.
For each of these populations, we are seeking to understand key barriers to workforce participation and success in occupational skills training, assess the existing knowledge base on effective and ineffective strategies, and undertake case studies of promising approaches to help identify frontiers for program improvement, innovation, and evidence building.
