Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information regarding the characteristics of youth participating in Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs, focusing on youth who were high school graduates or dropouts.
GAO found that: (1) of 5,000 surveyed youth participating in 63 JTPA programs, 42 percent of out-of-school youth participants were school dropouts, 53 percent were members of minority groups, 24 percent were from families receiving welfare assistance, 15 percent were single parents with a dependent child, and 72 percent lacked recent work experience; (2) JTPA programs generally served youth with greatest need for assistance in roughly the same proportion as their representation in the eligible population; (3) 53 percent of out-of-school youth received occupational training, with 69 percent of them receiving training for moderate- or higher-skill jobs; (4) 26 percent of out-of-school youth received nonoccupational training, including remedial education and short-term work experience, to improve their basic skills; (5) 21 percent of out-of-school youth received only job search assistance; (6) 79 percent of out-of-school youth either were placed in jobs or had other positive outcomes, such as entering other training or schooling; (7) the average starting wage for job placements was $4.36 per hour; (8) youth who received occupational training were more likely to be placed in moderate- or higher-skill jobs and have a higher starting wage; (9) many JTPA programs' on-the-job training contracts allowed excessive amounts of time for training; and (10) black males were less likely than other youth to receive occupational training, particularly for moderate- or higher-skill jobs.
