Extensive information on participation in civilian, government-sponsored jobs and training programs was collected from 1979 through the mid-1980s for NLSY79 respondents. In general, information was gathered on enrollment patterns; program sponsorship; and types of training, supportive services, and job placement services provided. The primary concern of NLS questions was whether jobs held by the respondent had been obtained through a program funded by the government. The survey also explored whether training and supportive services had been provided.
Users interested in a full picture of government-sponsored jobs and training variables available for the NLSY79 should refer to the “On Jobs” section of the 1979–87 questionnaires; the accompanying Employer Supplements, which collected information on all jobs held by the respondent (including but not limited to government-sponsored jobs); and the 1979–86 “Government Training” sections, which asked those respondents not enrolled in school for information on other government training programs in which they had been enrolled and which were not already reported within the “On Jobs” section. Of related interest are the special series of questions administered during the 1981 survey on each respondent’s use of time during the past seven days. This supplement included questions on time spent in government training programs, that is, total hours in past week/per day, time spent studying and traveling to a government training program, and mode of transportation used.
The “On Jobs” section of the 1979–87 questionnaires, in conjunction with the yearly Employer Supplement, collected detailed information on all jobs reported by the respondent since January 1978 (for the 1979 survey) or since the last interview (for subsequent surveys). For each job identified as a government job, information was gathered from the respondent on the names of the government-operated job programs (see listing in Table 4.19.1), whether the program was part of a CETA/JTPA or WIN program, the reason the respondent entered this program, the kinds of services provided (job counseling, GED preparation, on-the-job training [OJT], classroom training for basic skills [reading-writing-arithmetic], or occupational skills training), whether the respondent had been placed in either subsidized or unsubsidized employment, the types of supportive services such as childcare or health care provided, and the respondent’s attitudes toward the program. The 1979 questionnaire contained a supplementary “On Jobs” section, which collected information on whether respondents age 16 and over had participated in a government-sponsored, in-school, or summer jobs program prior to January 1978. Beginning in 1988, the collection of specific information on government jobs ceased.
Table 4.19.1 Federally Funded Agencies Providing Government Jobs: 1979-87
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The 1979–86 “Government Training” sections collected two additional sets of information. First, retrospective information on up to five government-sponsored training programs in which respondents were enrolled prior to January 1, 1978, was collected during the 1979 survey. Included are the name of the government program (such as MDTA/CETA/JTPA, Job Corps, RTP Apprenticeship Program, Opportunities Industrialization Centers, Jobs for Progress, Urban League, Vocational Rehabilitation), the 3-digit Census occupational training category, whether the respondent completed the training program, and in what year the respondent left the program.
Second, information on up to two government-sponsored training programs in which a respondent was enrolled since 1978 or since the last interview was collected during the 1979–86 interviews. This series of questions was restricted during the 1979–83 interviews to respondents who were not enrolled in regular schooling (grades 1–12). Included is information on the name of the government program; the date participation ended; hours per week/per day of participation; current enrollment status; periods of nonparticipation lasting a week or more; whether the program was part of a CETA, JTPA, or WIN-affiliated program; reasons for entering/leaving each program; types of training services provided (job counseling, GED preparation, classroom training, English as a second language, skills training, and so forth.); Census occupational or OJT training category; type of subsidized (OJT, work experience, or CETA/PSE) or unsubsidized job placement; types of supportive services received (childcare, transportation, health care, college preparation, and so forth); income/rate of pay received during participation; and attitudes toward specific aspects of the training program.
The total number of government-related training questions was reduced beginning with the 1987 survey. A single question in that year asked all respondents whether they had received training or assistance from any (not specified) government-sponsored program.
However, government sponsorship of a training program was incorporated within the regularly asked “Other Training” questions beginning in 1988. All respondents continued to be asked for information on multiple training programs in which they were enrolled since the last interview. Questions differentiated between where respondents received their training (such as through an apprenticeship program, a business school, a vocational institute or vocational rehabilitation center) and who or what organization paid for the training program (such as self, employer, JTPA, TAA, Job Corps, WIN, the Veteran’s Administration, Vocational Rehabilitation, and so forth). Information was collected for each training program on dates of participation, total weeks enrolled, whether the respondent completed the program, whether the training was used on their most current job or helped the respondent obtain a different job, hours/week spent in training, and type of training program (occupational skills training, classroom training for basic skills, on-the-job training, job search assistance, or work experience). The 1990–94 surveys added questions on whether the training was promotion-related, either because it was required for a promotion or because it helped the respondent obtain a promotion. The "Training" section of this guide provides a comprehensive discussion of the types of nongovernmental training variables present within the NLSY79 data set.Survey Instruments: Both the main questionnaires and Employer Supplements (ES) are sources for the government jobs and training variables. The 1979 employer supplement series of questions was incorporated within the main questionnaire as Section 10 “On Jobs” for the 1979 survey year only. Relevant sections of the other questionnaires are as follows:
Government Training: Section 13 (1979); Section 10 (1980); Section 9 (1981 and 1982); and Section 8 (1983–87).
Government Jobs: Sections 9 and 10 (1979); Section 8/ES (1980); Section 7/ES (1981 and 1982); Section 6/ES (1983–87).
Post-1987 Training: Section 8 (1988–2006).
Questions of related interest on nongovernment training can be found in the “Other Training” sections of the 1979–87 questionnaires. The 1979 Employer Flap and the 1980–87 Employer Supplements identify the nature of government-sponsored jobs and contain detailed information on each job.
Data Files: Variables from the “Government Training” sections of the 1979–87 surveys are located in the “Government Training” area of interest on the main NLSY79 data set; government-related training variables for subsequent years are located in “Training.” Variables relating to government-sponsored jobs are located in the “Government Jobs” and “Misc. xxxx” areas of interest. Detailed information on each government job, such as dates of employment, hourly rate of pay, occupation, and industry, can be found within “Job Information.” The “Time Use” area of interest contains the 1981 time use questions. Note that data on government-sponsored jobs for the 1979–87 survey years are also found on the NLSY79 Work History Data, which includes information on whether any jobs (up to five) held by a respondent since the last interview were government-sponsored jobs.
Documentation: The "NLSY79 Glossary of Terms" (Appendix D of this guide) provides descriptions of some of the locally operated programs and the three Federal legislative acts authorizing employment and training funding which were in place during 1979–87. Background information on the development of Federally funded employment and training programs and descriptions of the various government-sponsored programs and service providers in existence in the late 1970s and early 1980s can be found in the various Center for Human Resource Research reports listed below.
| User Notes: Age restrictions relevant to Sections 8, 9, 10, and 13 of the 1979 questionnaire are discussed within the User Notes in the "Age" section of this guide. |
Federal Funding Sources/Types of Service Providers: Users should note that the sources of Federal funding and types of service providers reported by participants did not always keep pace with legislative reality. The Manpower Development and Training Act was replaced by the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) in 1973, which in turn was replaced by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) in 1982. Yet participation in defunct Federal programs was reported as late as 1985 for MDTA and 1986 for CETA. Although JTPA funding of local programs occurred as early as 1983–84, JTPA as a category in the government-sponsor questions is presumably included under ‘Other’ and appears as a coding category within the ‘Part of CETA/JTPA or WIN’ questions beginning in 1986. Finally, although Federally funded, these jobs programs were locally operated under a variety of names; appropriate Federal funding sources may or may not have been known to the recipient.
Job Placement Questions: The wording of questions on job placement within the Employer Supplements and the “Government Training” sections of the questionnaires changed beginning with the 1984 survey. Prior to 1984, a question on whether the government training program in which the respondent had participated had placed the respondent in a job “outside” the program was followed by a question on whether that outside job placement had occurred to a CETA or PSE (Public Service Employment) job and, if so, whether that subsidized job had been followed by another (presumably) unsubsidized job placement. Beginning with the 1984 survey and the enactment of JTPA, this rather complex series of questions was dropped and only two questions were asked: (1) whether respondents had been placed, as part of their training, in a subsidized on-the-job training (OJT) or work experience slot and (2) whether respondents had been placed in a job by the program after completion of training. These OJT questions supplement the already-asked, on-the-job training questions in the services provided sections.
Comparison to Other NLS Cohorts: For NLSY79 young adults, government sponsorship of a training program is incorporated within the regularly asked “Other Training” questions. Beginning in 2000, detailed information was asked only of the current or most recent training program.
In each round of the NLSY97, respondents were asked about whether they participated in government training programs. Additional questions asked for specific programs and their duration.
The original Older Men survey, conducted in 1966, asked the respondents about any vocational training programs they attended while in the Armed Forces. For the Young Men, details concerning training received in the military (other than basic training) were gathered in the 1966, 1969, 1971, 1976, and 1981 surveys. In 1975, among other additions, a new provider, “government program or agency”, was added to the “Training” section of the Young Women survey. Beginning in 1984, a new category, “government agency”, was added to the “Training” section of the Mature Women survey. Consult the BLS website at www.bls.gov/nls or each cohort’s User’s Guide for exact survey years and the types of information available.
References
Crowley, Joan E. “Government Sponsored Employment and Training.” In Pathways to the Future: A Report on the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Labor Market Experience in 1979. Michael E. Borus, ed. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1981.
Crowley, Joan E. “Government Employment and Training Programs: Comparison of Characteristics, 1978–79.” In Pathways to the Future: A Longitudinal Study of Young Americans. Preliminary Report on the 1980 Survey. Michael E. Borus, ed. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1981.
Crowley, Joan E. “Government Employment and Training: Changes FY 1979-FY 1980.” In Pathways to the Future: A Longitudinal Study of Young Americans. Preliminary Report on the 1981 Survey. Michael E. Borus, ed. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1982.
Crowley, Joan E. “Long Term Outcomes of Government-Subsidized Employment and Training Programs.” In Pathways to the Future: A Report on the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth Labor Market Experience in 1982. Paula Baker et al. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1984.
Hahn, Andrew and Friedman, Barry. “Did the CETA System Work for Disadvantaged Youth? An Overview of Program Impacts after Program Participation.” In The CETA Youth Employment Record: Representative Findings on the Effectiveness of Federal Strategies for Assisting Disadvantaged Youth. A. Hahn & R. Lerman, eds. Final Report to the U.S. Department of Labor, 1983.
Willke, Richard. “An Evaluation of Outcomes for Post-School Participants in Government Employment and Training Programs with Attention to Selectivity Bias.” In Pathways to the Future, Volume 5: Report on the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth Labor Market Experience in 1983. Paula Baker et al. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1985.
Willke, Richard. “Participation in Government Employment and Training Programs and Patterns in Employment, Income, Education, and Welfare.” In Pathways to the Future, Volume 6: A Report on the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience in 1984. R. D’Amico et al. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1986.