Work
Promising Practices: Work
Once you’ve identified key areas for action in your state or community, use the promising practices below to help inform your action-planning process. Click a promising practice below to learn more.
Note: The promising practices linked below have been suggested by our Research Advisory Committee members and ALICE stakeholders. United For ALICE does not endorse any specific strategy or organization linked below; local stakeholders are best positioned to select and implement strategies that fit their community’s strengths and needs.
Description: Benefit cliffs occur when individuals face a significant reduction or complete loss of public assistance benefits if their income exceeds certain thresholds. This sudden loss of support can impede financial stability the ability to earn more, as even with a raise, individuals can end up worse off financially due to the loss of benefits.
Description: An apprenticeship involves students working with an experienced employee of the chosen organization. The student is periodically evaluated for progress as per the skills and knowledge acquired, and generally paid for their time. At the end of the apprenticeship, the student receives a certificate of service. The student learns in a realistic environment and gets the opportunity to apply knowledge in real-world scenarios.
Learn More: https://www.apprenticeship.gov/career-seekers
Description: Career clusters are groups of related occupations and industries that share similar skills, interests, and educational pathways. These clusters provide a roadmap for students and job seekers to identify, explore, and plan their career paths and acquire the educational/ training requirements needed to pursue them.
Learn More: https://careertech.org/career-clusters
Description: In cooperative education, the work experience is planned in conjunction with technical classroom instruction. This method is used by universities that do not have access to state-of-art equipment required to transact the technical course practically. School-based enterprise: A school-based enterprise is a simulated or actual business run by the school. It offers students a learning experience by letting them manage the various aspects of a business.
Learn More: https://www.naceweb.org/career-development/internships/understanding-cooperative-education
Description: Beyond wages, there is so much more an employer can offer an employee that improve their overall financial wellness. By covering some or all the cost of an employer-sponsored health plan, employers can help employees maintain their health. Prioritizing benefits including paid time off, consistent scheduling, and more robust, equitable 401k plans help employees plan for family expenses and future needs. Explore the case studies below to see how area companies are tackling these issues to address the needs of their workforce.
Learn More: https://aliceatwork.org/employer-strategies/benefits-compensation.php
Description: Learning new skills takes time and resources, both of which are scarce for individuals that are already juggling the demands of family and work, sometimes even at multiple jobs. By offering training and growth opportunities, employers foster a culture where employees feel valued and they are often repaid in loyalty and dedication.
Learn More: https://aliceatwork.org/employer-strategies/professional-development.php
Description: Employers can help their employees meet basic needs including creatively addressing transportation challenges (e.g., via rideshares and car repair loans); connecting employees with support services; and supporting caregiving employees.
Learn More: https://aliceatwork.org/employer-strategies/work-support-resources.php
Description: Child care issues are one of the major reasons parents, particularly mothers, leave their job. There are several ways employers can help to support child care for their workers: Understand parents' child care needs and the pain points; provide partial or full tuition for subsidies for center or home-based care, flexible spending accounts for dependent care, or finance models; provide on-site care or contract with child care program to provide access on-site; establish flexible arrangements and hours; offer backup child care provider; educate your workforce about government programs and tax credits (CDTC); advocate for policies that support a better child care system, i.e. universal preschool.
Description: Having a reliable schedule is something that many of us take for granted, but for many hourly workers the lack of a dependable schedule wreaks havoc on a family’s ability to plan and budget for expenses. Small changes making a worker’s schedule more predictable and hours more consistent go a long way for their overall family and financial stability.
Learn More: https://aliceatwork.org/employer-strategies/scheduling-flexibility.php
Description: Providers, business leaders and nonprofits are working to integrate the private sector into early learning systems by changing the way employers engage childcare services, thus, supporting their workforce and improving productivity outcomes. For example, this initiative is gaining traction in Florida with the involvement of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Early Learning Coalition, the Children's Movement of Florida, and local organization such at the Women's Fund Miami-Dade, who seek to raise awareness in the business community about business tax credits and the various models they can create to support employees.
Learn More: https://www.flchamber.com/childcaretaxcredit
Description: Employment transportation strategies include promoting existing transportation services, Commuter Tax Benefits, connecting businnesses with local transportation planning committees/processes, adjusting shift schedules to better match public transportation times, surveying employees to assess transportation needs, provide direct transportation services (like shuttle service).
Learn More: https://nationalcenterformobilitymanagement.org/by-topic/by-topic-employment-transportation-strategies
Description: This strategy aims to support local entreneuship in communities that have experienced systemic disinvestment resulting from longstanding racist policies and practices. Key activities include business training, high-risk lending, technical assistance, and real estate opportunities.
Learn More: https://www.bfwalliance.org/
Description: Gain deeper insite into the local businesses and industries by sector. Address employment and industry gaps in local communities to better match where workers live to where they work.
Learn More: https://qwiexplorer.ces.census.gov/#x=0&g=0
Description: Promote emerging jobs that challenge sectoral stereotypes and equip ALICE to do high-tech, high-touch work.
Description: Adult vocational training includes programs/courses designed to provide specialized skills and knowledge to adults, in order to prepare them for specific careers in fields like healthcare, technology, trades, and more. Without formal education, median income for ALICE families is limited. As an affordable alternative, these programs enhance employability and earning potential.
Learn More: https://web-archive.oecd.org/2024-02-19/61526-vet.htm