GRIC Career Pathways Evaluation

The GRIC project focused on five high-growth industries – hospitality, construction, government (fire department), small business development, and healthcare. It linked occupational skill and basic skills education, including an educational “coaching” program designed to help participants meet the basic educational thresholds required for the given sector training program. The GRIC project also provided “wrap around” support services to increase program retention (e.g., offering transportation).

GRIC’s status as a sovereign tribal community required the establishment of partnerships across jurisdictional boundaries with community colleges and private companies in addition to partnerships with tribal departments, entities, and businesses. The GRIC project's goal was to create systemic innovations that other sovereign tribes, nations, and communities can adopt and replicate. The program enrolled a total of 113 participants.

The evaluation of the GRIC Career Pathways Project used implementation process methodologies as well as outcome measures to identify barriers, strengths, and implementation needs, along with measures of the effectiveness and/or impact of the service delivery. The evaluation was designed to respond to the concurrent efforts of the project. The evaluation included a “two-tiered” design with the following evaluation strategies:

1. An implementation evaluation focusing on system-change; and
2. Participant outcomes focusing on service delivery and employment outcomes.

The implementation study found that strong partnerships based on flexibility, mutual education about stakeholder needs, and cultural understanding were essential for developing career pathways in the tribal community. Specific findings included:

• Developing appropriate partnerships and establishing key roles and responsibilities for each partner was a crucial step in developing the structure of the five career pathway sectors.
• Some sectors already had established training programs and/or curricula, whereas other sectors had to determine the appropriate training, and who could provide it. Some initial educational partners could not provide the needed training, and additional providers had to be developed.
• The completion of a degree or certificate that was purposefully linked to the needs of each sector was a statistically significant predictor of employment in an un-subsidized position.
• Participants who received work readiness training were significantly more likely to complete the Career Pathways training program and more likely to be employed post-training.

The evaluation team provided the following recommendations:

1. Continue to develop tribal buy-in for innovative workforce development projects;
2. Prioritize development of career pathways in industries that are appropriate for the economic context;
3. Continue to assess the value of the career pathways approach to different stakeholders and develop additional tools for career pathways practitioners;
4. Foster stakeholder buy-in through meetings and communication;
5. Improve program infrastructures, especially as related to data management, recording case management information, and transportation services; and
6. Address sustainability concerns with other sources of funding.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2016
• Author(s): Ann MacEachron, Timothy Perry, Christopher Sharp
• Funding Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Placido Gomez
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies