Training Kentuckians for industrial jobs: a longitudinal study

Technical Report · Wed Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:6012151

Weseman, M; Preston-Anderson, A

This study has assessed the long-term impact of training at TAT on under-employed and unemployed, disadvantaged Kentuckians using such measures as employment stability, wages increases, and type of occupation. Despite the turbulent economy of the past few years, Kentucky TAT graduates have experienced high rates of employment and wages. These findings indicate that completing the TAT program has a positive impact on posttraining employment experiences. The high rate of posttraining employment of graduates contrasts markedly with the unstable, limited employment experiences of the comparison group noncompleters. All subgroups examined experienced favorable outcomes, although women and blacks reported similar employment rates but lower wage rates than whites and males. The most dramatic finding of the study is the increase in wages of graduates over pretraining rates. Current wages of graduates average two and half times pretraining rates. Most of the increase in wages may be reasonably attributed to completion of the program because (1) comparison nongraduates did not experience significant wage increases, and (2) the magnitude of wage gains is too large to be explained by maturation, inflation, and other factors. Stable employment and high wage rates experienced by most graduates demonstrate that training for industrial jobs is an effective strategy for moving the disadvantaged out of low wage, temporary employment and into the primary labor market. The high rate of employment at the time of the survey also suggests that the skills learned at TAT are still in demand despite the current economic slowdown. 6 tables.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Inc., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76OR00033
• OSTI ID: 6012151
• Report Number(s): DOE/OR/00033-T25; ON: DE83015196
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290000 -- Energy Planning & Policy
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990100* -- Management
EMPLOYMENT
FEDERAL REGION IV
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
KENTUCKY
NORTH AMERICA
PERSONNEL
TRAINING
USA
WAGES