Workforce Development
Abt strengthens America's workforce in partnership with federal, state, local, and Tribal workforce agencies, education and training providers, employers, and community organizations. We evaluate what works, strengthen program delivery, build workforce system capacity, and turn data into action.
From apprenticeships and career pathways to reemployment services and emerging workforce needs, we help clients respond to changing labor markets and build skills and connections. We combine rigorous research with hands-on technical assistance, data and digital solutions, and deep workforce expertise to improve outcomes for workers, employers, and communities.
Clients Include
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Social Security Administration
State Workforce Agencies
Foundations and Community Organizations
Our Work
Evaluation of how registered apprenticeships affect worker earnings, employer returns, and access to apprenticeship in new sectors and populations
Employer and employee surveys that assessed use and perceptions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), updated to reflect emerging policies
Evaluation of career pathways programs for less-educated workers that found increased employment in some industries but no meaningful earnings change
Study to determine effectiveness of a federal program that helps Unemployment Insurance claimants return to work more quickly
Expansion and enhancement of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research
Evaluated innovative employment programs to boost earnings and economic security for low-income Americans, including those with substance use disorders.
Our Experts
Insights
Spotlight On: Boosting Skills and Earnings
For more than 30 years, Abt Global has conducted research on workforce development programs and their effectiveness raising participants’ skills to meet employers’ workforce needs and to increase employment and earnings prospects for workers.
Spotlight On
Building Better Pathways: An Analysis of Career Trajectories and Occupational Transitions
Abt Global’s analysis of careers in mid-level occupations found the features of occupations and workers that affected wage increases.
Publication
Evaluating Year Up’s Programs for Young Adults
Prospects for young adults without postsecondary credentials have steadily worsened in recent decades. With few chances at well-paying jobs, millions give up on school and withdraw from the labor force. Helping low-skilled young adults access training…
Project
Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE)
The Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) study was designed to produce rigorous evidence for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers about the effectiveness of nine career pathways approaches that sought to increase credentials, employment, and self-sufficiency among low-income, low-skilled Americans.
Project
Spotlight On: Disability Policy & Research
Abt helps clients improve their policies and programs with objective research and implementation support in the areas of employment, income supports, education, housing and health.
Spotlight On
Abt Implements SSDI Benefit Offset Demonstration
In 2015, Congress directed the Social Security Administration (SSA) to test mitigating the effects of ending Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits when earnings exceed the cutoff level. The test allowed beneficiaries to keep $1 in benefits…
Project
Technical Assistance for Behavioral Health Workforce & Apprenticeship Programs
Communities across the nation often need more support and access to behavioral health providers. The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Bureau of Health…
Project
Integrating Employment Services with Substance Use Treatment and Recovery: The Experiences of Five Programs
An Abt-led report reviews five programs that combine SUD treatment and recovery services with employment services and makes recommendations for practitioners.
Publication
Spotlight On: Evaluation Technical Assistance Services
Abt’s Evaluation Technical Assistance team has helped hundreds of evaluators provide real-world, rigorous evidence of program effectiveness.
Spotlight On