Even with unemployment rates at historic lows over 6 million American remain out of work; among those who are working, many struggle to earn family sustaining wages. At the same time, help wanted signs are pervasive across the country, and employers are struggling to find, hire, and retain the talent they need to remain competitive and viable in today’s rapidly evolving global economy.
Our Work
AIR has an experienced team that is passionate about improving workforce outcomes to expand economic opportunity. Our experts have decades of experience in workforce development policy and practice, providing technical assistance to improve processes and outcomes, and conducting research and evaluation to identify what works and help apply it to practice.
Working with our federal, state, local, foundation, and private sector partners, AIR offers expertise in:
Harnessing Evidence-based, Innovative Approaches
We bring streamlined access to a range of proven and innovative methods to help our clients improve policies, programs, strategies, and practices:
- Integrated research and evaluation (R&E) and technical assistance (TA)
- Human-centered design
- Behavioral insights
- Data analytics and strategic solutions
- Human capital solutions
We anchor our methodological expertise with deep knowledge of target populations, systems, and regional and local contexts.
Helping Program Administrators Improve Services
Workforce programs can only reach their full potential efficiently if they can access and implement best practices. We leverage AIR’s deep expertise in providing evidence-driven technical assistance across a range of programs. AIR’s recent work includes:
- Modernizing the Job Corps curriculum
- Strengthening staff capacity for customer centered design and data driven decisionmaking
- Supporting work-based learning initiatives in states
Helping Policymakers Learn What Works, When, and for Whom
We focus on develop rigorous evidence on a wide range of workforce programs that can help guide strategic decisions on how to best invest funding in increasingly scarce resource environments. Some of our work in this area includes:
- Evaluations of welfare to work, transitional work-based learning, and career pathways programs
- Studies and consumer information tools on labor market returns to education
- Rapid cycle evaluations of behavioral nudges for labor programs
Helping Employers Find, Retain, and Reward Talent
AIR’s industrial and organizational psychologists use research-based principles to prepare employers, industry, and public agencies to recruit, develop, and retain the human capital needed for organizational success and to facilitate worker acquisition of skills needed for life long employment. We offer services and have experience in:
- Job analysis and competency modeling
- Employee recruitment and selection
- Training and professional development
- Performance management
- Human factors and usability testing
