Upskilling Through Non-Degree Credentials
Training for Tech Jobs
Social Policy Institute forged a partnership with LaunchCode in 2020. The St. Louis-based nonprofit organization offers free technology education and job placement. LaunchCode’s mission is to build a skilled workforce by creating pathways for driven people seeking careers in technology. This initiative will explore the impact of LaunchCode programs, identify best practices, and assess possibilities to scale programming.
Research will focus on:
- Economic mobility: SPI will examine how much better off LaunchCode participants are after graduation in terms of employment, earnings, credentials and competencies. By comparing the economic mobility outcomes of graduates to similar individuals, we can understand the impact of LaunchCode.
- Equity in local labor markets: LaunchCode was created to teach individuals with any level of education and background new skills needed to be successful in a tech career. SPI will study demographic trends related to persistence across a variety of LaunchCode programs and suggest strategies to increase diverse program engagement and completion. Ultimately, these efforts will be able to increase equity in local labor markets.
The demand for skilled workers in technology is increasing faster than jobs can be filled. SPI is studying organizations providing technology education and job placement in order to identify best practices that can help fill the skills gap. Successful upskilling programs will be able to increase equitable participation in local labor markets within these in-demand fields. Evaluation of these programs can be leveraged to support social policies related to upskilling initiatives across the US.
Prison & Reentry Program
The Social Policy Institute will be partnering with LaunchCode and the Missouri Department of Corrections on a three-year study of their new Prison and Reentry Program. This coding education program is expected to help currently incarcerated persons build social, human, and financial capital in their pathways to higher education and high-skilled employment. The research will also demonstrate the return on investment for this innovative program—strengthening the argument for policies that facilitate program expansion.
The research will be broken into three phases. The first phase will evaluate the short-term impacts of participation such as building problem-solving skills, social-emotional skills and habits of the mind. The second phase will evaluate long-term impacts, such as social, educational and economic outcomes. In the third phase of our research, we will conduct a return on investment (ROI) analysis of the program and consider its cost-effectiveness.
By demonstrating the impact of innovative prison education programs—those that focus on high-growth, high-value and high-tech skills while providing a concrete link to employment through apprenticeships—we will be able to offer policy-makers a new method for improving the lives of individuals when they start the critical re-entry period from incarceration. This can increase social mobility for formerly incarcerated individuals and ultimately reduce rates of recidivism.