What Predicts Training Completion and Credential Receipt? (Issue Brief)

Key factors in training completion and credential receipt from the national experimental evaluation of the Adult and Dislocated Worker programs include:

• Trainees’ education levels and whether they had worked in the past five years predicted their completion of training programs. Age and health status predicted whether trainees received a credential.
• Trainees were more likely to complete and earn credentials from vocational training programs than educational programs. The occupational focus of the program also predicted completion and credential receipt.
• Trainees who received supportive services were more likely to complete training than those who did not. But receiving other services, such as meeting with an employment counselor, was not predictive of training completion or credential receipt.
• The most common reason given for not completing a training program was pregnancy or illness.