Findings at a Glance 

Highlights from the Report 

“Encouraging Evidence on a Sector-Focused Strategy” 

WorkAdvance Boosts Earnings for Low-Income Workers

June 2016

What is WorkAdvance?

WorkAdvance seeks to boost the earnings of unemployed and 

low-wage working adults by helping them obtain quality jobs 

in targeted sectors with opportunities for career 

growth. WorkAdvance prepares, trains, and places unemployed and low-wage workers in quality jobs with established 

career tracks. After placement, the program continues to assist participants to help them advance in their chosen careers. WorkAdvance was implemented under the auspices of 

the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a public-private partnership 

administered by the Corporation for National and Community 

Service. WorkAdvance was implemented in NYC, northeast 

Ohio, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. WorkAdvance is part of CEO and 

the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City’s SIF portfolio, 

which also includes five other programs. 

 

“Encouraging Evidence on a Sector-Focused Strategy,” a report from CEO’s research and evaluation 

partner MDRC, discusses the impacts of WorkAdvance. MDRC conducted a Randomized Control 

Trial (RCT) evaluation of the impacts of WorkAdvance on participants’ earnings, employment, and 

other economic outcomes. These findings are particularly important as policymakers seek to find 

better ways to improve economic outcomes for 

low-income workers. 

Key Evaluation Findings

MDRC’s evaluation shows that WorkAdvance 

improved earnings for participants when compared to a control group that did not receive 

WorkAdvance services. In particular: 

 WorkAdvance significantly increased employment in the target sector at all providers. 

 By the second year after entering the program, participants at three out of four sites 

saw annual earnings increase significantly. 

 At two sites that were newer to this approach, 

the program had much larger impacts on 

earnings and employment for those who 

began the study later in the study period, 

showing that WorkAdvance takes time to fully 

implement. 

 WorkAdvance was able to increase earnings 

and employment rates for the long-term 

unemployed. 

The chart on the right shows the difference in annual 

earnings (in dollars) in the second year after entering the 

program for all participants (the “WA group”) compared 

to the control group and then breaks it down by labor 

market attachment. Statistical significance is signified by 

an asterisk (*).

Annual Earnings Impacts in Year 2 by Employment 

Status 

$1,946*

$1,000

$2,373*

$2,347*
Affecting Policy

The US Department of Labor, implementing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), signed in 2014, directs states and cities using federal workforce funds to utilize sector-based strategies and a career pathways approach. 

The impacts of WorkAdvance show the potential of this strategy, but also that this requires strong implementation on 

the part of workforce providers. Results suggest that it takes time to get a strong sector program up and running and 

for impacts to emerge. 

WorkAdvance Increased Percent Employed in the Target Sector at all Providers 

40.7* 16.4*

11.9*

16.5*

Looking Ahead

The WorkAdvance research provides critical data on what works in successful sector-based programs, and the workforce 

development field is poised for additional learning over the next few years. 

 MDRC is hoping to continue to follow the WorkAdvance participants and look at impacts at the 3 and 5-year marks. 

This research would also include a cost-benefit analysis of the program. 

 All of the WorkAdvance providers continue to implement sector-based, advancement-focused workforce development programs that have been informed by the WorkAdvance experience. 

 WorkAdvance will continue to inform implementation of career pathways and sector strategies locally and nationally. 

WorkAdvance Partners and Additional Information: 

Providers: New York City — Per Scholas, St. Nicks Alliance; Northeast Ohio — Towards Employment; Tulsa — Madison Strategies Group.

Link to Report: http://www.mdrc.org/publication/encouraging-evidence-sector-focused-advancement-strategy

WorkAdvance Implementation Report: http://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/WorkAdvance_CEO_SIF_2014_FR.pdf

Funders: The Corporation for National and Community Service Social Innovation Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Open Society 

Foundations, The Rockefeller Foundation, Altman Foundation, Common Bond Foundation, Ford Foundation, The Fund for Our 

Economic Future, George Kaiser Family Foundation, The Ira W. DeCamp Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, The Kresge 

Foundation, Robin Hood Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Tiger Foundation, Tulsa Area United Way, Tulsa Community Foundation, and The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc. 

For more information about CEO, please visit: http://www.nyc.gov/ceo

Percentage of respondents employed in target 

sector in current or 

most recent job. The 

numbers indicate the 

percentage point 

difference in employment rates between 

program and control 

groups. All differences 

are statistically significant.