Pursuit's Take
The Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Inspector General (OIG) tracked participants in the Job Corps program over five years after their initial placement into employment or education. According to the report, “Job Corps was challenged in demonstrating the extent to which its training programs had helped participants enter meaningful jobs appropriate to their training.” This occurred do to a lack of following program policy and not providing participants with effective transition services.
OIG found that of the participants with a documented employment history, most were placed in jobs similar to their pre-training employment, and some even returned to prior employers. In addition, Job Corps could not demonstrate they had assisted participants in finding jobs. “One participant worked as a fast food cook and cashier prior to entering Job Corps, graduated after attending carpentry training for 347 days, and obtained a job working as a pizza restaurant waiter. Five years after exiting the program in 2010, this same participant was working at a convenience store earning approximately $11,000 per year. Job Corps reported this as a successful graduation and placement.”
“Job Corps paid millions of dollars to transition services contractors, but [OIG] found insufficient evidence demonstrating they had provided the services required by their contracts.”
Read the full report