Does Job Training Yield Positive Outcomes for Women on Public Assistance?

Abstract

Recent welfare reform movements have clearly limited job training opportunities for women on welfare. Previous studies suggest this is due to the ineffectiveness of the training for this population. This study examined which women on public assistance programs received training and whether training was associated with a higher probability of obtaining employment and better individual incomes. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) of 2004, this study found that women who seemed the most job ready were the most likely to receive training. The results also show that the odds of women on public assistance gaining employment were almost 14.6 times higher when they received job training. Training was also associated with a 72 % increase in individual incomes among those working. The findings of this study indicate that placing barriers to job training for women on public assistance programs is difficult to justify.