Inside the Black Box - Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

in the industry. Professional credentials or certificates signal to the employer that the person has both the
knowledge to perform a job and the motivation to learn and succeed.
Additionally, necessities such as bus passes, gas cards, and clothing or housing assistance are crucial
elements to a graduate’s employment retention prospects, helping them maintain their job and support
their family while reducing their reliance on public supports. These supports are not typically funded by
grants that support the program, but are deemed necessary so that providers find a way to make them
available once participants graduate from their program. One organization offers placed graduates a
matched savings incentive—graduates who stay in the same job and make a minimum monthly
contribution to a savings account are rewarded with a five-to-one match on their savings account at the
end of the first year (up to $1,000). They also have a thorough 12-month post-placement plan with all
graduates, offering personal and professional support, guidance, and advocacy on their behalf. By
meeting regularly with the graduate and their employer, the post-placement plan aims to ensure that all
potential barriers and setbacks, in the workplace and at home, are addressed before they happen, thus
improving the graduates’ likelihood of success.
Prepare Participants for Successful Job Placement
Workforce development programs all have job placement as a primary goal for participants in the
program. The organizations in this study place a strong emphasis on sustainable placements of
participants with employers, in an effort to fulfill their goals for participants’ economic self-sufficiency.
They do this by carefully assessing participants’ characteristics and improving their job skills to ensure a
successful job placement match occurs at the end of the program—one that satisfies both the needs and
capabilities of the program participant.
Because of its importance for the organizations in this study, job match and placement is typically
considered as participants first engage with the program. An assessment of work readiness and career
interests, and meetings with employment specialists, often occur before or immediately after an individual
has enrolled in the program. One organization measures participants’ level of “employment hope” with a
25-question survey upon entrance into the program. The survey asks participants how their past and
present experiences, needs, and supports will affect them in securing a job, along with questions to
understand their levels of self-efficacy, confidence, and problem-solving skills. The results of this survey
are used to understand their employment and work goals, and they aid the organization in identifying and
recruiting potential employers for successful matches. Another organization conducts career interest
profiles at orientation to begin thinking about what employers and types of jobs will be good matches for
their participants’ interests. A third organization described their assessment process as a two-stage process
beginning with
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