Basic ICT skills training | only one piece of the puzzle for employment

There are a wide variety of factors that affect the employment opportunities of low-skilled and unemployed groups. As I discussed in a previous blog, trying to map all these factors is fruitless since it is very difficult to pin point what factor - or combination of factors - was more influential for achieving positive employment outcomes and the extent to which the experience of one individual can be extrapolated to represent an entire group.

For the research conducted in Washington State, we wanted to know specifically the contribution of ICT skills training program to promote employment outcomes. However, since ICT skills training is one of many employment-related training and services that workforce organizations provide, it is necessary to expand a bit the array of variables to paint a more comprehensive picture of the contribution of these programs to employment outcomes. In few words, we need to put the contribution of ICT skills training to employability in perspective.

NGOs and public agencies working on workforce development usually provide a wide array of services and types of training to up-skill and/or re-skill unemployed groups. The basket of services these organizations provide depend on the target group they work with, the resources available, the organizations' social mission, the locality, and the barriers to employment that their beneficiaries face, to name a few. For example, an NGO that serves immigrant communities would have a bigger emphasis on language training, appropriate housing, cultural integration, etc., than an organization that works with dislocated workers laid off because of the closure of a local manufacturing plant.

The different methods and channels used to provide the training and services also vary across organizations. In my experience working with organizations in Washington State, I found three somewhat distinct types of service-provision:

1. Organizations that provide all the training and services in-house
2. Organizations that function as intermediaries or referrals for unemployed individuals and provide bridges to partners for different types of training and services
3. Organizations that provide some training in-house and partner with other organizations to expand the basket of services available for their beneficiaries

The types of service provision are not always so clear cut. In many instances, organizations that provide all the training and services in-house look for partnerships with Community Colleges, for example, to provide longer term career paths to unemployed individuals. Regardless of the methods and channels used, there are certain employment-training and services that are available across all the organizations. Basic adult education, basic ICT skills training, job search tools and online applications, preparation of CVs and interviews, language training, industry-specific training (welding, office assistant, bank teller, etc), and different ways for connecting to employers are among the most commonly available.

Although employment outcomes are not only determined by the types of services and training available, it is important to understand that regardless of the mission, target group, and partners all the organizations interviewed for this study recognized that ICT skills training, albeit crucial, is only one piece of the puzzle to improve the opportunities for low-skilled, older workers, and long-term unemployed individuals in today's labor market. There is no techno-centric approach to employability among these organizations in Washington State and that is a fact.

ICT skills training and employment outcomes in Washington State | A brief note on the methodology

A couple of blogs ago, I briefly described the project we are working on in Washington State. We surveyed people who participated in ICT skills training between 2007-2008 at the organizations we selected in Washington State (NGOs, One-Stop shops, and Community Colleges). In total, we have 464 people in our sample representing five metropolitan areas in the State: Seattle, Spokane, Bellingham, Mount Vernon, and to a lesser extent Tacoma. Most of the people who responded to our survey have a high school diploma (42%), the rest continued to either 2 year (26%) or 4 year college (22%). The vast majority are women with an average age of 48 years old.

As in any other research, there are many limitations in this study that are worth discussing even if briefly. In the spirit of transparency and open research, the main limitations follow:

• The sample is not representative of the population in Washington State nor it represents the universe of people that benefit from the services provided at these organizations
• The ICT skills training, although basic, is designed and implemented in different ways and it varies in lenght, content, and teaching/learning approach.
• People were asked in the survey to self-assess their ICT skills level
• The motivations of trainees are very different (some enroll in the training by choice, others are required due to unemployment insurance benefits)

With this in mind, we confront the first research question head on: Did ICT skills training improve the employment opportunities of the people in our study? Did they find employment after the training, and if so, what can help us explain this positive outcome?

So, do low-skilled workers can improve their employability with ICT skills training?

I haven't blogged in a long time and I must admit I miss it dearly. Blogging helps me to articulate thoughts as the research process evolves and it is a great exercise to confront my own intellectual bottlenecks. I stopped blogging for reasons I can't explain and I profoundly regret it now that I am trying to articulate the findings of a research project that is as we speak in deadline crisis mode. So here I am again...

In September last year, we started a research project in Washington State working with organizations that provide ICT skills training and other employment-related services to help low-income, low-skilled, and unemployed people improve their employment opportunities in the labor market. We were interested in exploring three particular research questions:

• Do ICT skills training improve employment opportunities for these groups?
• Do ICT skills and use of ICT at work has an effect on wages for those employed after the training?
• Are there any aspirational benefits that contribute to employment outcomes?

Three type of organizations participated in the study: 1) Non-governmental organizations; 2) One-stop shops which are financed with state and federal government resources; and 3) Community Colleges. In total, we had 16 organizations in 6 metropolitan areas of the State. We surveyed the trainees that participated in ICT skills training at these organizations between 2007 and 2008. We sent 5000 surveys and received 454 responses back (around 13% response rate considering those surveys returned to addressee).

In the next series of blogs I'll try to articulate the findings of the study and confront through this some of the roadblocks that are getting me stocked and my own internal intellectual struggle to move this project forward

Understanding LIKTA's work on e-inclusion | The project Latvia@World

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to meet with Mara Jacobsone and her team at the LIKTA office in Riga. The Latvian Information and Communications Technology Association (LIKTA) is a professional NGO that encompasses the ICT industry and ICT professionals. Established in 1998, LIKTA works to promote the development of the information society, ICT education and e-skills, and to encourage the growth of the ICT industry. LITKA represents over 80 organizations from the ICT industry, research, and educational institutions.

Of particular relevance for our discussion on e-skills and employability is LIKTA's initiative Latvia@World. The goal of this initiative is to provide opportunities for different undeserved groups to acquire the basic skills needed for using computers and the Internet while strengthening social networks at the local and national level through participation and cooperation. Within this e-inclusion initiative, LIKTA partners with local social organizations in different regions of the country providing them with training materials and train-of-trainer programs to build the e-capacity of these organizations. During this field research, we will have the opportunity to visit LIKTA's social partners and learn more about their work in two locations: Preili, in southern Latvia and Ventspils, a port town in the west side of the country.

Something that is worth mentioning is that LIKTA is an special kind of NGO since through their work the organization is able to reach and bring together three different spheres that affect significantly e-inclusion initiatives: 1) The social organizations or NGOs sphere; 2) The private sector sphere; and 3) The government sphere. Finding ways in which these three spheres intersect is very unique of the work LIKTA does.

The details of these intersections will become more clear in the next posts

Fighting misperceptions about disabled people in society and in the labor market | key component of employability programs

The active participation of NGOs in promotion campaigns that help society and the labor market change their perceptions about what disabled people can accomplish, may seem as a small step forward towards reaching employability goals, but it is actually a very important one. Similar to what we learned in Poland, for a long time disabled people were not given the same educational and work opportunities because of the misconception of what they can achieve as citizens and in their professional life.

Changing these misconceptions is crucial for opening the much needed doors to the labor market. Through campaigns, awareness workshops, and active participation in policy discussions organizations like Apeirons create a more welcoming and enabling environment for disabled people in the job market. In Latvia there is a wide spread problem of people drinking and driving and becoming disabled because of car crash accidents. The problem is endemic and wide spread and through prevention campaigns organization not only fight prejudice against disabled people but also help prevent one of the main causes for people becoming disabled. I can't underscore enough the importance of comprehensive approaches at all levels. No contribution is small!

These are some of the posters for an awareness campaign that Apeirons organized together with Art Students here in Riga:

Mobility and Independence for Disabled People





Drink, Drive, and Join the Club











More pictures of the poster exhibition are in my flickr

The work of Apeirons | providing e-skills and employability programs for disabled people the Latvian way

On Monday, I had the opportunity to visit Apeirons and learn about the work this organization is doing on the area of e-skills training and employability for disabled people. Although this connection between e-skills and employment is the focus of this research, it is not possible to discuss this connection without understanding the broad range of activities that organizations like Apeirons do to integrate into society people with physical disabilities.

As I mentioned, Apeirons has a range of programs but there are three that are particularly relevant to the area of employability:

1. The organization provides e-skills training (basic and advanced) in their location here in Riga, but it also reaches smaller cities and rural population through its Mobile Classroom that was donated by HP.
2. Apeirons is an official certifier for accessibility standards in offices, buildings, etc. The government recently enacted a mandate for all new buildings in the country to be accessible for disabled people and the organization works with architects to certified these accessibility standards. It also works with other NGOs to help them improve and adapt physical spaces to make them accessible.
3. The organization developed an innovative online data base for people looking for employment where job-seekers and employers have the opportunity to learn about each other. A very interesting component of this data base is the use of video clips of the job seekers where people with disabilities introduce themselves, their interests, and disclose to employers the type of disability they have.

Similar to what we learned with the Foundation Supporting Mathematicians and IT Specialists in Poland, e-inclusion and e-skills programs for disabled people that incorporate employability goals work with an integrated approach that allows the organization to provide needed skills, improve access and work conditions making job spaces more adequate for the needs of disabled people, and connect job-seekers with employers. Once again, an integrated approach is the way to go.

The journey begins tomorrow

I am leaving Seattle tomorrow for the Republic of Poland

I am excited, psyched, thrilled, nervous, anxious... a whole array of emotions going on right now.

I arrive in Warsaw at 5:00 PM on Sunday and have few hours to walk around the city and have some dinner with Pawel, my friend and interpreter. He works with the Responsible Business Institute, a social enterprise that collaborates with other organizations in Podlasie to bring e-skills training to rural communities of this region.

My work starts on Monday in Warsaw visiting the Foundation for helping Physically Disabled Mathematicians and Computer Scientists. This organization provides professional and social rehabilitation to physically disabled people and offers, as part of its services, basic and advanced e-skills training to prepare them for the demands of today's labor market.