Training women on welfare for “High-tech” jobs: Results from a demonstration program

Abstract

This paper reports the findings from the evaluation of an innovative demonstration program for training female welfare recipients participating in the Work Incentive (WIN) Program as electronic technicians eligible for skilled jobs in private industry. The results indicate that the women completed the training in numbers consistent with expectations based on the performance of non-WIN students, and that the majority of graduates were placed in training-related jobs that paid high enough salaries for achieving independence from the welfare system. Childcare arrangements, transportation to training, personal finances, the client's health, and the children's reactions to their mothers' participation in the training are important factors in the likelihood of the client's completing a program. The initial placement experiences of program graduates reveal other problems which may be characteristic of training programs serving similar target populations, especially problems in paying for the cost of relocation and in replacing public aid services such as health care. Results are interpreted with respect to their implications for the employment problems of low-income, female heads of households as well as state “workfare” programs.