 | Topics: Work Project QUEST, continued
A Report To The Ford Foundation Chapter 6: Institutional Change Chapter 7: Choices and Issues Appendix 1: Interview Respondents
Appendix 2: Survey Methodology
Appendix 3: Case Histories of Randomly Selected Participants
Appendix 4: About the Authors
References Chapter 6: Institutional Change "I was just tired of being poor."
(Focus Group Participant) Project QUEST thinks of itself in more ambitious terms than a traditional employment and training program. In a traditional program the nature of the external environment—the behavior of firms, the surrounding educational institutions, and the community itself—are taken as given and the program simply seeks to place clients successfully in that environment. Project QUEST has tried to become an active actor in the San Antonio labor market and education system and by doing so encourage institutional change. If successful this would mean that the impacts of Project QUEST extend beyond the experience of the clients themselves. In addition to the economic gains to clients, a full assessment of the effect of Project QUEST would include less tangible but possibly even more important improvements in the functioning of the San Antonio educational system and labor market. In this chapter we examine the nature of the interaction between Project QUEST and employers, the community colleges, and the community in order to discern whatever impacts Project QUEST has had as well as to simply learn some lessons about how a community based employment and training program can work with institutions in its external environment. Employers Early in the history of Project QUEST, and perhaps even now, the best known characteristic of the program was the claim that Project QUEST had received 650 commitments of jobs from San Antonio employers and all that remained was to select and train candidates for these jobs. Indeed, the role of COPS and Metro/Alliance in approaching the San Antonio business community and using these contacts as the basis to build the program is one of the distinctive aspects of the program. In fact, as we will see, what is most unique and impressive about Project QUEST is not so much the role of prior commitments as much as the success of the Project in involving employers in the design of training and the thinking through of future labor market needs. In thinking about the job commitments it is helpful, at least initially, to distinguish between the health sector (which, as we have seen, accounted for a large fraction of QUEST placements) and the rest of the economy. In San Antonio, at the time Project QUEST began, health employment was growing with no end in sight and in some occupations hospitals were recruiting from as far away as Canada and the Philippines. In this environment it was relatively easy to make employment pledges. Outside of health there was much less certainty and, according to QUEST staff, of the 180 "pledges" received in non-health fields only 2 worked out. It is not hard to see that firm employment pledges are difficult to make. Given the length of the selection and training period if Project QUEST were to literally work according to the model of an employer placing an "order" or making a "pledge" and the QUEST selecting and training candidates, a two year or longer lag between "pledge" and hire would result. It is a rare employer than can make such a commitment. This is also becoming true even in health care as some hospitals are laying off, or considering the need to layoff, several occupations such as unit clerk or respiratory therapist, regarding which they had made commitments to Project QUEST. Indeed, Project QUEST recognizes the reality of job pledges and one staff member described the pledges to us as really "moral commitments." What is distinctive about Project QUEST is that it works with employers in identifying likely future needs and in designing training curriculum to meet those needs. When this works well QUEST is functioning as an extension of the firm's human resources department and is adding value because QUEST can have a broader view of the labor market and of educational institutions than does any single employer. In our interviews we observed a number of examples of QUEST functioning in this way: - QUEST worked with banks and with community colleges to develop a financial customers services training program. This was an occupational category and certification which had not previously existed and QUEST identified the need and convinced the parties to combine some skills and create the new certificate.
- Also in banking, one of the bank presidents we interviewed reported that QUEST was instrumental in creating a forum in which bank presidents and human resources staff from a variety of banks talk more with each other about labor market issues.
- In health care Project QUEST has generally placed its students into nursing programs which due to state regulations have fixed curriculums. In some instances, however, QUEST has been active in working with employers to shape jobs. In an occupation called health unit clerks training was redesigned to reflect employer input. Employers requested that certified nursing assistant training be included in a revised curriculum, as the demands of unit clerks were no longer just clerical. This change came about through discussions among employers, community college administrators and QUEST staff.
Community Colleges The community college system in San Antonio provides nearly all of the training to QUEST students. QUEST found that it could not simply enroll students into existing programs. In some cases the appropriate programs did not exist, while in other instances new organizational arrangements had to be made to accommodate the needs of QUEST students. The development of strong working relationships with the community college system and the institutional changes which were achieved are among the major accomplishments of QUEST. - As already noted, QUEST quickly learned that its students required more remedial work than expected. QUEST worked with the community colleges to establish the Basic Skills Academy. The Academy was organized to encourage more flexibility than the typical community college program and the community colleges were sufficiently pleased with the innovation to make it available to all of their students.
- In two certificate programs, CIS and office systems technician, QUEST worked with the instructors to effectively implement a pedagogical device—open entry/open exit instruction—which provides much greater flexibility to meet the complicated schedules and the personal needs of the students. This involved the development of new curriculum materials and testing. The community college staff expressed considerable pleasure with this innovation. One of the community college faculty commented to us that "Project QUEST is always quoting something to us about new ideas for our program."
- We have already described the role QUEST played in the creation of the new financial customer services representative program.
- Project QUEST was instrumental in encouraging the community colleges to begin conversations with the San Antonio Manufacturing Association and the Contractors Association regarding training needs of employers in the area More generally, prior to Project QUEST the community colleges were not oriented towards working with the employer community and Project QUEST has played a major role in changing the perspective of the community colleges.
In order to provide a flavor of how Project QUEST works with community colleges, we will describe one program in detail. Diesel Mechanic The experience of QUEST with diesel occupations provides the strongest example in which QUEST altered other training institutions. QUEST's diesel mechanic students are trained at the South West campus of St. Philip's College (SPC). In early 1993, this program was in trouble. It had low enrollment and was not generating graduates. The college had been doing internal review of its programs and had targeted the diesel program for dismantling. The college recommended that the Texas Higher Education Coordination Board eliminate the diesel program, along with others that were not operating well. This board has a mandate to approve all programs and to enforce standards concerning the competencies of students, the number of graduates and placement rates. In May 1993, the board refused to approve the program cuts and told SPC to straighten out the problems with the diesel program. The whole college was in a period of transition. A new chancellor was also appointed, who was interested in change and open to new program improvement ideas. At this time QUEST was exploring job demands of employers and they had identified an interest in diesel mechanics (in large part because of NAFTA). QUEST approached the college to talk about their diesel program. QUEST indicated an interest in placing their students in the program, and made suggestions about improving its operation. One of QUEST's occupational analysts, Richard White, played a central role in the changes that occurred in the diesel program. This is evident in a memo of August 25, 1993 from the deputy chancellor of the community college district: I have made arrangements with Jack Salvadore of Project QUEST to allow us to use the services of Rich White to assist us with the revision of the diesel program and the certification of the Airframe and Powerplant Program. We're grateful for their assistance...Mr. White will be helping us a couple of days a week. If he does not already have office space, please see that he has an appropriate office. I am hopeful that Mr. White will provide the catalyst for these program revision, and I ask that you assist him and make him a part of our team. With White's involvement, the college had embarked on a number of program improvements by September of 1993: removal of excess equipment from the diesel bay, training needs analysis, curriculum revision, and acquisition of new equipment. In October, program and QUEST staff also started to rearrange the diesel bay, to enhance the lab, repair training aids and to design new mock-ups and training aids. One important change that White initiated was to improve the operation of the college's occupational advisory committee. White brought in employers with commitments to Project QUEST, and joined them with long-standing members of the SPC advisory committee. It is now composed of the original college committee, staff, faculty, and QUEST counselors and employer representatives. Prior to these initiatives, the college's advisory committee for diesel mechanics met, but only for the minimum number of meetings and duration required by Alamo Community College District regulations. The advisory committee became much more active in terms of curriculum review, but particularly in getting donations of equipment and scholarships. According to one college administrator, the advisory boards in the past typically operated with college staff transmitting information on current program operation to industry people, but without much input in the opposite direction. The involvement of QUEST employers, who are committed to employing graduates of the program, increases the motivation and activism of the committee. The training program has also changed significantly. Based primarily on employer input, a new cycle of classes has been created for QUEST students that is now being opened up to non-QUEST students and spread to other programs. The course cycle is now 4 courses per semester, 8 weeks per semester, four days on and one day off per week and a 9 month completion time for the certificate program. [Originally, the program had been 3 courses a semester, 16 weeks per semester and a year completion for the certificate.] QUEST had pushed for this, saying that employers thought the 12 month course was too long and included unnecessary subject matter. Employers wanted generic training in the program; they wanted to train their employees in specific skills themselves. QUEST also wanted students to be in classes all day since they had to pay for daycare for some of them. The curriculum in this shortened program cycle has also been altered, eliminating some subjects that weren't essential for a basic entry-level mechanic. For example, some courses intended more for agricultural application of mechanical concepts were eliminated, and an introduction to computers was added. An internship was also developed for the program to give students practical experience. Each syllabi within the program was also examined and updated. SPC administrators and instructors continued to work with QUEST staff on devising and implementing changes in the diesel program. Chancellor Ramsay supported the program and worked with QUEST on needed improvements. He also made one important shift in college operation by appointing Linda Rodriguez to be the Dean of the South West Campus. Prior to her appointment, there had been no local management of this site of the campus. Rodriguez was also sympathetic to QUEST objectives and worked well with program administrators. The diesel instructors also participated in program improvements by periodically arranging for donations of equipment like material to build engine stands (Advisory committee minutes, Feb. 24, 1994). This cooperation between the college and QUEST staff ultimately generated tangible shifts in local training practices. Enrollment in the diesel mechanic program has increased from about 7 students in 1993 to 47 in the spring of 1995. Some of this shift has come at the expense of other training institutions; employers and college administrators now claim that fewer companies send their employees to Texas State Technical College (TSTC) in Waco, Texas for diesel mechanic upgrade classes. The experience of the college with Project QUEST also led to other, broader changes. One closely related development is that the success of the diesel program fostered the design of a hydraulic forklift program. The college has also started more high-school /college vocational training partnerships, partly due to the positive reaction to the diesel program. For example, the Northside School District in San Antonio decided in 1995 that it could no longer afford to keep its program. As a result, they loaned their vocational training equipment to the college and enrolled their students in joint-credit community college course. Other programs within the college are also under revision, and college administrators are trying to mimic some of the changes they enacted in diesel; they are trying to make advisory counsels more active, to seek out information from employers, and to generate more equipment donations. It is still an open question whether the community college has been permanently transformed, with the initiative and ability to pursue such desirable changes on its own. There are some within the community college system who believe this to be the case — some even who argue it could have been done without QUEST. But, there are others who acknowledge that it was helpful to have an outside change agent pushing for the alterations in the diesel program, and who believe that replicating its success will be harder without this. We should note that, despite the inroads in shaping some community college institutions, employer reactions are mixed. This is even true with respect to the diesel mechanic program. In one company that was very involved in the innovations outlined above, senior managers note that they already have close linkages with another college, TSTC, and continue to look to it as their first choice for recruitment. Some colleges seem to do better at initiating links with industry than SPC. A Final Word on QUEST's Links with Community Colleges Overall, the community colleges are very pleased with their relationship with QUEST for several reasons. Project QUEST has provided students, in some case programs such as surgical technician training would have been eliminated were it not for QUEST. [1] In addition, in the view of community college staff, and as we already noted, Project QUEST support services has increased the probability of graduation relative to non-QUEST students. [2] More fundamentally, however, QUEST has transformed the community colleges, altering their curriculum and transforming their relationship with the employer community. It seems apparent that the institutional changes along these dimensions have been quite substantial. Community Institutions:
Changes for COPS and Metro Alliance In this section we document the impact that Project QUEST has had on another set of institutions, namely community organizations. We do this by exploring the changes in the relationships that QUEST participants have to community groups, before and after their experiences in the program. We also consider other ways the two IAF organizations themselves may have changed as a result of their involvement in Project QUEST. The participants in Project QUEST had limited community involvement prior to entering the program. Our survey data show that only 43 percent were involved in some type of community activity, including sports and religious groups. We also asked questions specifically about participants' prior involvement in COPS and Metro Alliance. The results from these questions are summarized below in Figure 6-1. Although many QUEST participants appear to have been aware of the two IAF organizations, particularly COPS, few were active participants prior to entering the training program. Put differently, Project QUEST serves a much broader constituency than IAF-affiliated people. Figure 6-1
Involvement in the IAFs
(modified from a graph format to a table for on-line viewing) | Aware COPS | 62% | | Active COPS | 6% | | Aware Metro | 35% | | Active Metro | 3% | (Source: Survey) In the survey and in our interviews and focus groups, we found that Project QUEST has a small, but meaningful community-building effect. Our qualitative data shows that community leaders are energized by the high visibility and success of Project QUEST. According to COPS and Metro Alliance, community leaders contributed 16,000 hours of time in the interviewing and selection process. It is also certainly true that Project QUEST has given COPS and Metro Alliance more credibility in the community and political system of San Antonio. The training program has also translated into at least one tangible benefit for the IAF: our interviews revealed that a number of new parishes have joined the Industrial Area Foundation, in large part due to the strength of its performance on job training. We also found a slight increase in participants' awareness and planned activity in IAF activities. As Table 6-1 below shows, while current activity in COPS and Metro Alliance has remained fairly stable, overall awareness of these groups increased among QUESTers during the duration of their programs. Table 6-1
Involvement in IAF Organizations of QUEST Participants | | Before
Entering QUEST | Currently
(At Time of Survey) | | Aware of COPS | 62% | 83% | | Active in COPS | 6 | 6 | | Aware of Metro Alliance | 35 | 63 | | Active in Metro Alliance | 3 | 2 | (Source: Survey) Our survey also asked QUEST participants about their future plans for involvement in the community. [3] Figure 6-2 below documents their responses. It shows that 41 percent of QUEST participants plan community organizations. Figure 6-2
Planned Increase In IAF Involvement
(modified from a graph format to a table for on-line viewing) | Definitely | 14% | | Good Chance | 27% | | Unsure | 45% | | No | 14% | (Source: Survey)
Chapter 7: Choices & Issues "I have a goal now. I have something to look forward to. "
(Focus Group Participant) The previous chapters have described the experience of Project QUEST to date. In this chapter we will discuss what we think are some of the important issues and decisions which Project QUEST will need to address in the near future. Some of these issues emerge from the experience of the program while others are based in shifts in the environment within which Project QUEST must operate. In raising these issues we deliberately avoid making recommendations about how to respond. Given the complex set of stakeholders involved in Project QUEST as well as the difficult financial environment within which the program must operate we believe that a careful review and process of debate and discussion will be required in order to arrive at the best decisions about how to respond to the issues we raise here. Several of the issues which we raise, including concerns about program length and retention and others, might be considered operational. However, the more difficult questions concern the shifting environment in which Project QUEST must operate and the implications of these shifts for the overall strategy of the program. In our view, the most important shifts or changes in the environment surrounding Project QUEST are the following: - The health care sector is an increasingly uncertain source of jobs. To date health has accounted for 60.2 percent of placements. Indeed, it was agreements with local hospitals which gave Project QUEST its initial momentum. It is well known, however, that the health sector is undergoing substantial reorganization and there is good reason to believe that employment levels will decline. Although new opportunities will emerge, it nonetheless seems likely that health will be a less reliable source of large numbers of placements. A related problem is that the lengthy gestation period between enrollment and the completion of training is risky when the industry rapidly changing. The risk is that it is difficult to accurately forecast demand in such circumstances. The possible decline in the importance and reliability of health sector placements is particularly troubling, given the finding that placements outside the health care sector average below $7.50 an hour.
- Other employers may be changing their human resource practices in ways which will create complications for Project QUEST. In particular, the growing use of temporary, contingent, and part-time employees in lieu of hiring for traditional entry level jobs challenges Project QUEST's ability to place its graduates in the kind of high quality positions which are at the core of the model.
- As we have noted, Project QUEST has established good relationships with many large employers in San Antonio. However, the pool of such employers may soon be exhausted. This will force Project QUEST to search for new relationships, perhaps in the small business sector, which is notoriously difficult to organize, or in the tourism sector, whose pay and working conditions tend to be below the standards of Project QUEST.
- The closing of Kelly Air Force base will increase the labor market supply of skilled workers. Although it is too soon to know, this may reduce the incentives of employers to work with Project QUEST and may increase the competition facing Project QUEST graduates.
- The community college system has, in large measure due to the efforts of Project QUEST, improved its skill at working with employers. The support system provided by Project QUEST remains far superior to that of the community colleges but nonetheless the community colleges may emerge as a potential competitor in terms of assisting firms in meeting their human resource needs.
- The public policy environment is changing. First, obtaining steady, reliable, and adequate funding is likely to become even more problematic in the future. Second, the move to block grants will create a new state level employment and training system and Project QUEST will have to think hard about how it fits into the new structure.
These challenges notwithstanding, it is very possible that, operating at the scale of a few hundred graduates per year, Project QUEST can continue with much the same structure as it has in the past. By making a few operational improvements (some of which are discussed later) Project QUEST might prosper by simply building upon its past achievements. Nonetheless, the shifts in the environment seem sufficiently dramatic that, with these developments in mind, it seems to us that Project QUEST needs to think through the following possible responses. Again, note that in listing these responses we are not necessarily advocating any particular one but rather believe that each raises a serious issue which demands consideration. - Broadening the range of people served. As we have seen, Project QUEST serves people who face significant labor market barriers. The concern that Project QUEST "creams" is not born out by the facts. Nonetheless, the requirement of a high school degree and the fact that over half of QUEST participants have some college insures that Project QUEST does not serve people at the bottom of the labor queue. We have not explored the situation in San Antonio of persons in greater difficulty than the typical Project QUEST student nor have we assessed the range and quality of programs already available to them. It may be that this group is already well served. Nonetheless, the high professional quality of Project QUEST and the substantial infrastructure which QUEST already has in place suggests that Project QUEST consider broadening its mission. To do so would, however, require a substantially different programmatic model and considerable thought would need to be given to design and resource issues. In addition to meeting a possibly unmet need, offering a broader range of employment and training services would then enable Project QUEST to play a more central role in whatever form the new employment and training system takes.
- Providing a broader range of services to employers. A second possible response is for Project QUEST to think about ways to enlarge its portfolio of services. One possibility is to take on some of the role often played by manufacturing extension services (although these functions need not be limited to manufacturing). In this model QUEST would provide technical assistance on a range of human resource issues such as training the incumbent workforce or instituting quality programs. If successful such an effort would generate revenue as well as establish relationships which would be useful for placing Project QUEST graduates. The difficulty is that such an effort would require an investment in staff skills and such an investment obviously entails risk. An additional option is for Project QUEST to operate as a temporary help firm. In this model the program graduates would be employees of Project QUEST and, if successful, they would enjoy permanent well paid jobs albeit with the actual work taking place in a variety locations. The advantage of the model is that the demand for these services is growing and Project QUEST seems well positioned to meet some of that demand. It may, however, be difficult to use public funds to support services which compete directly with private firms.
- Aggressively seek an expanded role in the new employment and training system. The devolution of Federal funds to the states will lead to a new structure. Rather than simply continue as a training agency Project QUEST might seek to play a more central administrative and planning role in the new system. Again, the demonstrated quality and competence of Project QUEST argues in its favor. However, the close ties to particular communities might make such a more general role difficult or, alternatively, should Project QUEST seek to expand its role it may need to expand its community base.
- Seek new employer contacts. The job developers at Project QUEST will obviously continue to seek job commitments as a normal course of business. Beyond this, however, several additional options need to be considered.
a. Project QUEST's initial success was based upon the success of COPS and Metro Alliance in using their resources to tap into the employer community. Recently this effort has been quiescent and QUEST has obtained new jobs on a "retail" rather than a "wholesale" basis. The time may have come when COPS and Metro Alliance will need to be once again active in using their resources to obtain a continuing supply of job commitments. This re-mobilization can occur either in the employer sectors which have been the traditional base for Project QUEST or in new areas. b.Two new employer groupings stand out as demanding consideration. First, small businesses are attractive because they provide a large number of jobs. However, there are several drawbacks to this sector. They are by their very nature difficult to organize. In addition, on average the quality of jobs—in terms of wages, benefits, and employer stability, is worse for small than larger employers. The traditional solution to the first problem is to work through business associations since they can reduce the cost of dealing on an employer by employer basis and because they are likely to enjoy greater access and trust. This solution, however, required an active and effective association to be in place. The second sector is tourism, a very large employer in San Antonio. The difficulty with tourism is job quality. Here, however, it may be possible for COPS and Metro Alliance to deploy their political resources to convince at least large employers to expand job ladders and up-grade wages and benefits. Finally, with respect to operational issues, we offer both our own conclusions and some final opinions from QUEST participants, as articulated in our survey. We asked QUEST students to describe one or two areas in which Project QUEST could improve its program. Their responses are presented below in Table 7-1. Table 7-1
Participants' Suggestions For Program Improvement | | Percent of Participants
Suggesting This Improvement | | More Emotional Support/Treat People Better/No Threats | 30.0% | | More Course Offerings | 29.8 | | Better Organized/Better Instructors/More Information/Consistent Policies | 29.7 | | More Academic Help/Tutoring | 29.5 | | Better Job Placement | 29.3 | | More Flexible Scheduling with Staff | 29.1 | | Longer Program/ Fewer Hours Per Day/Slow Pace | 28.9 | | Less Paperwork/Bureaucracy | 28.7 | | Less Waiting Between Testing and Admission | 28.6 | | Improve Counseling | 14.7 | | Better Financial Support | 13.4 | | More Care in Occupational Matching/More Areas | 6.1 | | Better Screening of Applicants | 6.1 | | Follow Through With Promises | 3.9 | | Program Should Be Shorter | 0.9 | (Source: Survey) It is evident from this Table that QUEST participants would like to see a range of changes in all areas of the program, from admissions, to academic program and counseling support. But the most frequently-mentioned suggestions that students made concern their relationships with QUEST staff. [1] Students would most like to see improvements in counseling and placement, more flexible scheduling of meetings with staff, and generally more emotional and financial support. Finally, in our view, the main operational challenge QUEST faces is reducing the rate at which negative terminations occur late in a person's career at QUEST. One approach is to find ways to shorten the program. Another strategy is to develop a more effective early warning system and strengthen the already impressive counseling and support process. Appendix 1: Interview Respondents Ray Arrendondo, Diesel Instructor
Kathleen Armstrong, Director of Admissions, Baptist Hospital
Jim Bailey, HR Director at University Hospital
Lawrence Baiza, Counselor, Project Quest
Carmen Badillo, COPS
Roger Barrera, Department Chairman of Repair and Manufacturing Technology, SPC
Bentley, Wm. David, Dean Applied Science and Technology, SPC
Joann Brown, RN Instructor, SPC
Peggy Brown, Human Resources, Baptist Hospital
Cliff Borofsky, Director of Occupational Analysis, Project Quest
Charlie Cheever, Broadway Bank, Chairman of the Board of Project Quest
Chris Caulin, Current Surgical Technician Student, Project Quest
Connie Collins, Assistant VP for Employee Management, Broadway Bank
Mary Coy, SPC Surgical Technician Program Director
Lisa Cummins, Nations Bank
Ron Donaldson, HR and Training Manager, South West Forklift
Lawrence Donoho, Occupational Analyst, Project Quest
Mai Lei Eng, Financial Services Program, Palo Alto
Teresa Gunter, COPS
Genevieve Flores, Metro Alliance
Tom Frost, President Frost Bank
Phyllis Harris, Director of RN Programs, Baptist Hospital
Homer Hayes, Dean, SAC
Larry Jackson, Counselor, Project Quest
Father A1 Jost, COPS
Chris King, University of Texas
Jim Lund, Current Executive Director of Project Quest
Arthur Mazuca, Project Quest
Bob McPherson, University of Texas
Jan Milsap, World Savings
Dr. Steve Mitchell, Deputy Chancellor, ACCD
Jose Morin, Surgical Technician Graduate, Project Quest
Valerie Noel, RN Instructor, SPC
Anita Otero, Project Quest
Mary Pena, Director of Client Services, Project Quest
Lou Pisano, Director of Personnel, Methodist Hospital
Connie Pough, Director of Office Systems Technology Programs at San Antonio College
Virginia Ramirez, COPS
Rudy Reyna, Southwest Bell Foundation
Lee Richards, Instructor in RN Program, San Antonio College
Linda Rodriguez, Dean of the South West Campus of St. Philip's College
Jack Salvadore, Previous Executive Director of Project Quest
Rachel Salazer, COPS
Callie Smith, President Baptist Hospital
Charlie Soell, H B Zackry
Tom Strack, Project Quest
Judy Valery, Director of RN Programs at Baptist
Father Will Wauters, COPS
Marcia Welch, Metro Alliance
Rich White, Occupational Analyst, Project Quest
Mildred Wilson, Instructor for Health Unit Coordinator Program, SPC
Barbara Witte-Howell, Program Director for Health Unit Coordinator, SPC
Valery Zinc, Primary Carenet
Various program participants by phone and in person
Several additional COPS and Metro leaders in lunch and dinner setting Appendix 2: Survey Methodology The survey we conducted was a telephone survey which attempted to reach all 825 persons who had participated in Project Quest up through the fall of 1995. The survey was designed by us and conducted by Galloway Research of San Antonio under the supervision of Ester Smith of EGS Consulting. The survey lasted about 30 minutes and prior to execution had been pretested among groups of graduates, negative terminators, and current participants. In order to contact the sample we used the AIM database record of current addresses and telephone numbers of participants as well as the phone numbers of secondary contacts which the participants had provided at the time of application. The survey research firm made an effort to interview all 825 persons and for each person made at least 10 attempts to reach them or the secondary contact. Calls were made during the day, in the evening, and on weekends. In the end the survey was administered to 541 persons, a response rate of 66%. This response rate is quite good for random telephone surveys, but somewhat below expectations for a survey based upon a list of program participants. The cases in which we failed to interview people were virtually never due to refusals. If a person was contacted he or she was willing to be interviewed. The problem was that neither the participant's phone numbers nor the phone numbers of the secondary contacts proved to be valid. Attempts were also made to contact people through Directory Assistance but these also failed. More specifically, the reasons we were unable to interview people were as follows. [1] | | Respondent | 1st Secondary Source | 2nd Secondary Source | | Refusal | 9.5% | 4.5% | 10.7% | | No answer | 8.8 | 15.9 | 18.3 | | Respondent not available | 8.5 | 14.0 | 8.6 | | Disconnected phone | 20.4 | 19.1 | 21.4 | | Wrong Number | 28.9 | 32.7 | 31.1 | Correct phone but person's
whereabouts unknown | 3.7 | 9.3 | 16.3 | | Other | 20.1 | 10.4 | 1.5 | In order to determine whether there was a systematic bias in response rates (i.e. whether the people who responded to the survey were different in any systematic way from the entire group of participants) we used the AIM database to estimate a statistical relationship between response and personal characteristics. Several characteristics did prove to be significantly related to the probability of response and in Table 1 below we provide the mean values of these characteristics for survey responders and for the group of participants as a whole. | | All Participants | Survey Responders | | Positive Termination | .54 | .56 | | Negative Termination | .22 | .13 | | Currently Attending | .24 | .31 | | Attended Some College | .23 | .30 | | Percent Male | .34 | .30 | It is apparent that the survey obtained responses from a group which was more likely to currently be in the program than the sample as a whole and which was somewhat better off in terms of being more weighted toward positive terminators and people with some college. There was also some gender bias. These biases should be kept in mind in interpreting the survey results. They probably lead to a somewhat more positive picture of participants' perceptions of the programs than would be true for the group as a whole. However, the differences are not great. In addition, much of our analysis of the survey is conducted within the subgroups of attendees, positive, and negative terminators and it is not clear that there would be bias within these groups. In addition, our estimates of the economic gains associated with Project Quest are based on two sources: the AIM data base and the survey. The results using the AIM database make no use of the survey and hence are not subject to any bias. Appendix 3: Case Histories of Randomly Selected Participants Not available on-line. Appendix 4: About the Authors Paul Osterman is Professor of Human Resources and Management at the Sloan School, M.I.T. He is the author of two books (Getting Started: The Youth Labor Market, and Employment Futures: Reorganization, Dislocation. and Public Policy), the co-author of The Mutual Gains Enterprise: Forging a Winning Partnership Among Labor, Management, and Government, and the editor of two books, Internal Labor Markets, and Broken Ladders: Managerial Careers In The New Economy. In addition, he has written numerous journal articles and policy analyses on topics such as labor market policy, job training programs, economic development, anti-poverty programs, and the organization of work within firms. He has been a senior administrator of job training programs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and consulted widely to government agencies, foundations, community groups, and public interest groups. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from M.I.T. Brenda A. Lautsch is a doctoral candidate in the Industrial Relations and Human Resource Department of the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management. She is currently engaged in research on the growth of contingent work, on its implications for firms and workers, and on the potential for community-based institutions to help workers adjust to uncertain work. Ms. Lautsch has also recently published a cross-national study on restructuring in manufacturing and service industries that focused on the adoption of total quality practices and of innovative team-based work systems. Her professional experience has also included a faculty appointment at the University of Regina, and consulting on negotiation techniques. She received her Masters Degree in Industrial Relations from Queen's University. References Campbell, Brett. Investing in People: The story of Project QUEST. San Antonio: Communities for Public Service and Metro Alliance, 1994. Ceasar, Pearl (Ed.). Texas IAF Network: Vision. Values. Action. Austin: Texas IAF Network, 1990. McPherson, Robert and Brian Deaton. The Job Training Demonstration Project. Phase 1: The Conceptual Design. Unpublished Manuscript. March 13, 1992. US Department of Labor. What's Working (And What's Not). Government Printing Office, January, 1995. Endnotes Chapter 6 [1] In at least some locations surgical tech was subsequently eliminated due to placement problems. [2] This impact is not uniform. Our interviews indicated, for example, that in the surgical technician program, Quest drop-out rates were higher than those for other students. Also, in one college that provides RN training, the dropout rate is virtually zero for non-QUEST and QUEST students alike. However, on balance the view of community college staff is that Quest retention rates are higher than those for comparable non-Quest students. [3] The wording of this question was: "Do you plan to become more active with COPS and/or Metro Alliance in the future?" Chapter 7 [1] This calculation is not shown in the above Table. It represents an aggregation of the percentage of responders who mentioned either that Quest should improve counseling or placement, provide better financial or emotional support, or more flexible scheduling of meetings with staff. Appendix 2 [1] The first column adds up to 100 percent because it describes what happened with all respondents that were not interviewed. The next two columns need not add to 100 percent because multiple efforts, and problems, could arise in efforts to contact people. Index Chapter 1: Introduction and Summary of Results
Chapter 2: History and Structure of Project QUEST
Chapter 3: Who Are The QUESTers?
Chapter 4: The Benefits and Costs of Project QUEST
Chapter 5: Staying In and Dropping Out
Chapter 6: Institutional Change
Chapter 7: Choices and Issues
Appendicies & References |
