Job Corps

The Job Corps, a $1 billion program run by the Department of Labor, has provided services to poor youths for more than 30 years. The Job Corps is intended to prepare youths to either obtain and hold gainful employment, pursue further education or training, or satisfy entry requirements for careers in the Armed Forces. Job Corps participants spend about seven months in the program, and the cost per participant has averaged about $15,000, making the Job Corps the nation's most expensive job training program. The reasons for the high cost include the program's severely disadvantaged participants, who face many barriers to employment, and its comprehensive services provided in a residential setting. This testimony focuses on Job Corps' vocational training services. GAO (1) describes Labor's efforts to ensure the appropriateness of vocational training and its relevance to local labor markets, (2) discusses the extent to which program participants are completing vocational training programs and landing jobs related to that training, and (3) examines the appropriateness of Labor's use of sole-source procurement for much of this training.

GAO noted that: (1) Labor has several activities to foster Job Corps employer and community linkages to ensure the appropriateness of its vocational training to local labor markets and its relevance to employer needs; (2) Labor has industry advisory groups regularly review vocational course curricula to ensure the training's relevance for today's job market; (3) Labor has also introduced a school-to-work initiative designed to link Job Corps with local area employers, combining center-based training with actual work site experience at more than half the Job Corps centers; (4) Labor involves local business and community leaders in deciding which vocational training programs to offer at newly established Job Corps centers; (5) in addition to these national efforts, three of Labor's regional offices have developed their own initiatives to improve linkages between Job Corps and local labor markets, including modifying vocational training to meet local employer needs; (6) information reported by Labor on the percentage of Job Corps participants who complete their vocational training and obtain jobs related to that training is misleading and overstates program results; (7) although Job Corps reported that in program year 1996, 48 percent of program participants nationwide completed vocational training, GAO's review concluded that only 14 percent of program participants had completed all requirements of their vocational training curricula; (8) the rest of the participants that Job Corps counted as completing training had completed only some of the duties and tasks of a specific vocational training program; (9) Labor also reported that 62 percent of the participants nationwide who obtained employment found jobs that matched the vocational training received in Job Corps; (10) the validity of about 41 percent of the job placements reported by Labor to be training related was questionable; (11) Labor has been awarding sole-source contracts to national labor and business organizations for vocational training for more than 30 years; (12) it has not adequately justified procuring these training services on a noncompetitive basis; (13) the main reason Labor has justified awarding these contracts on a sole-source basis is that these organizations are able to place Job Corps participants who complete their training; and (14) Labor has provided no data to support the extent to which these sole-source contractors actually place Job Corps participants nationwide.