Bridge to Healthcare Employment Brief (PACE)

The Bridge to Employment in the Healthcare Industry job training programs enables eligible adults to develop the skills and knowledge needed for emerging career opportunities in health care by providing financial assistance, extensive case management, and support services for training. The Bridge to Employment is one promising effort to help low-income, low-skilled adults access and complete occupational training that can lead to increased employment and higher earnings.

The following approaches were implemented into the program:

1. Assessments to determine eligibility for training programs;
2. Navigation and case management services to help students choose their training and address barriers to participation;
3. Individual training account (ITA) vouchers to cover the cost of training;
4. Supportive services for transportation, child care, and other services; and
5. Employment services to help participants find employment after training.

The program randomly assigned 1,007 study participants to either the treatment group or the control group. Study participants were older than traditional college students, were economically disadvantaged, and had limited education. The Bridge to Employment evaluation’s implementation study examined the design and operation of the program and the treatment group’s participation patterns, and its impact study measured differences in education and training and employment outcomes.

The primary research questions were:

1. Was the intervention implemented as designed?
2. How did services differ between study participants who could access the Bridge to Employment program versus those who could not?
3. What were the effects of the program on credentials received?

1. More than 80 percent of treatment group members enrolled in a healthcare training program using an ITA from the Bridge to Employment program. The most popular programs included training to become certified nursing assistants, phlebotomists, medical assistants, and medical records and health information technicians.
2. Most treatment group members who attended training (more than 75 percent) chose to enroll in training offered by for-profit private schools. Bridge to Employment participants could use their ITAs at any accredited training provider. More participants chose private for-profit schools instead of community colleges because they could generally enroll in the training more quickly and complete the training programs in less time. Additionally, community colleges did not accept ITAs. Thus, participants would need to pay upfront and get reimbursed.
3. Bridge to Employment increased the percentage of its participants who received a credential. After 18 months, 64 percent of treatment group members received a credential compared with 34 percent of control group members, a 29-percentage point impact.
4. Bridge to Employment produced positive impacts on employment. The program increased the proportion of study participants working in a job requiring at least midlevel skills. Also, more treatment group members than control group members were working in a healthcare occupation. The program did not increase the percentage of treatment group members who were working in a job paying at least $12 per hour.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2019
• Author(s): K. Gardiner
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies