Overview

A collaboration between Ascendium Education Group and MDRC, the Sector Training Evidence-Building Project (STEP) is a new effort to invest in the next generation of evidence-building for sectoral training programs led by nonprofit organizations. Such programs train people for quality jobs in specific industries and occupational clusters where there is strong employer demand and the opportunity for career advancement. 

STEP builds on a body of evidence from prior evaluations in the field, including MDRC’s WorkAdvance evaluation. This evidence shows that sectoral training programs can meaningfully and sustainably improve participants’ earnings, but only a few programs have been shown to do so, and it is unclear what is driving the effectiveness of those programs. New evidence on the critical elements of sector programs, and how successful models operate and for whom, will help more sector programs effectively serve more and different types of job seekers with low incomes. STEP complements other ongoing sector-focused initiatives led by MDRC that are also building additional evidence and provider capacity. 

Grants were awarded in 2025 to partnerships between researchers and sector program providers who are working together to build evidence in two areas: (1) determining the key elements needed to implement or expand access to effective sector programs and (2) assessing the effectiveness of sector programs that have not been rigorously evaluated and can expand understanding of the sector model. Funded projects are using a range of research designs, including experimental evaluation, implementation research, cost analysis, participatory-action research, and so on.  

The STEP grantees and projects are:  

• Abt Global and FareStart: A mixed-methods evaluation of culinary training programs for individuals facing significant employment barriers, exploring which program components and employer engagement strategies are associated with stronger employment outcomes for participants.
   
• American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Per Scholas: A mixed-methods study testing how and what type of generative AI tools can best support participants with job placement and reduce staff burden in an IT sector training program for adults from low-income backgrounds. 
   
• American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Propel America: A randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact and return on investment of a health care training program for young adults with low-income backgrounds, primarily serving young Black women. 
   
• EduDream and STRIVE: A mixed-methods evaluation exploring how trauma-informed wellness supports embedded in sector training programs can support job seekers with barriers to employment and improve their outcomes. 
   
• ideas42 and NPower: A randomized controlled trial testing whether adding a light-touch, automated, behaviorally informed tool as part of social support services can achieve the same (or better) employment outcomes for tech training participants as traditional wraparound supports. 
   
• MEF Associates and Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC): A quasi-experimental study examining which employer engagement strategies used by clean energy training programs are associated with more favorable job-seeker outcomes.  

During the three- to five-year grants, grantees are participating in a community of practice managed by MDRC. MDRC will also be synthesizing findings across the projects in public deliverables to be released starting in 2028.