Workforce Development Program Design
The problem.
For the Formally Incarcerated
ANWOL was experiencing challenges with attrition among participants in its existing workforce development program. The organization serves individuals who had been formerly incarcerated and while participants were receiving support to re-enter the workforce, many participants were not remaining in the jobs they secured. ANWOL recognized that a potential contributing factor was a lack of alignment between participants' interests and the career paths they were pursuing. They wanted to incorporate career assessment into their programming to help participants identify work that genuinely aligned with their interests, strengths, and preferences, with the goal of supporting greater job satisfaction and long-term retention.
To address this need, we partnered with ANWOL to develop a career assessment specifically tailored to the experiences and needs of individuals who had been formerly incarcerated. We began by conducting focus groups with participants to better understand their experiences, perspectives, and barriers to career exploration and assessment. Using these insights, we developed a customized career assessment with accessible language and a format designed to accommodate varying levels of reading comprehension and educational experience, while still providing meaningful information about participants' interests and potential career pathways.
We also trained ANWOL’s team to administer and interpret the assessment, equipping staff with the knowledge and tools to integrate career assessment into their existing programming. This approach allowed ANWOL to incorporate individualized career exploration into its workforce development model and help participants pursue career pathways that better aligned with their interests and strengths.
The strategy.
As a result of the collaboration, ANWOL now has a customized career assessment designed specifically to meet the needs of its participant population. We trained ANWOL’s team to confidently administer and use the assessment as part of their career development programming. The assessment has since been integrated into ANWOL’s programming and is now used with all participants, giving individuals an accessible and structured way to explore their interests, identify potential career pathways, and make more informed decisions about the types of work they pursue. This has enabled ANWOL to embed individualized career exploration into its broader workforce development model and provide more tailored support to participants as they work toward sustainable employment.