Multiple Employment Training Programs: Major Overhaul Needed to Create a More Efficient, Customer-Driven System

GAO discussed the government's multiple employment training assistance programs. GAO noted that: (1) many programs target the same clients, share the same goals, and deliver similar services while maintaining separate and duplicate administrative and delivery structures; (2) the multiplicity and fragmentation of such programs confuse and frustrate clients, employers, and administrators because the programs lack clear entry points and paths from one program to another; (3) most agencies do not know if their programs are effective because they lack basic data on clients and outcomes; (4) for those programs that compare client outcomes with nonparticipants' outcomes, the gains are modest at best; and (5) a major overhaul and consolidation of federal employment training programs is needed to create an effective and efficient customer-driven system that provides easy accessibility, better services, and flexibility while holding program administrators accountable for results.