Evaluation of The WorkPlace's Platform to Employment

Evaluation of program that assists older, long-term unemployed workers.

In 2013 and 2014, the Heldrich Center conducted an evaluation of Platform to Employment, an initiative of The WorkPlace, the Workforce Investment Board for southwestern Connecticut. Through Platform to Employment, The Workplace offers assistance to long-term unemployed individuals, especially those who have exhausted extended Unemployment Insurance benefits, to help them prepare for returning to work. The model recognizes that extreme long-term unemployment can take a devastating toll on job seekers’ psychological state, rendering many virtually unemployable, and incorporates an emphasis on mental health counseling. It also includes opportunities for subsidized work experience with employers that have committed to participating in this effort to reduce long-term unemployment. With funding from the AARP Foundation, The WorkPlace adapted the model to serve a group of older job seekers who have been disproportionately represented among the long-term unemployed. The Heldrich Center documented the program and evaluated the part of the effort that focused on older job seekers.

Work Category
Funded By
AARP Foundation through a grant from The WorkPlace
Status