Given research on the returns to education,1 we asked employment counselors and program managers about longer-term training. After defining longer-term training as training that may last a few weeks, a few months, or even longer, we asked what makes a participant a good candidate for long-term training.
The occupation participants train for depends on multiple factors, most important of which are the participant's interest and ability. Whether the occupation is in demand in their region is another important factor, as is the amount of training required (especially if the participant has limited financial support).
For instance, the Commercial Driver's License (CDL) training necessary to enter the Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers occupation is short-term and relatively inexpensive. The classroom training required to enter the Registered Nurses occupation is longer-term and more costly.
Consistently among the most popular is the Registered Nurses occupation, which has noticeably better than average outcomes (especially in income change). DEED's Labor Market Information Office has previously studied reported worker shortages in this occupation.
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Training by Program PollChart |
These figures show average outcomes among the following groups:
The top six most popular occupations trained for are specific to the workforce development program (Dislocated Worker or Adult) and are specific to the region (Southern MN, Twin Cities Metro, Central MN, or Northern MN). Note that these graphs do not show outcomes among those who received training in an occupation and were then employed in that same occupation, although that analysis is possible for future iterations of this tool.
In addition to several articles on the subject of education and employment outcomes2,3,4,5,DEED's Labor Market Information Office (LMI) hosts a series of data tools around employment projections and openings. A select few are listed here. For more information visit the LMI data tools website.
1 Among others, see:↩
