Job-Oriented Basic Skills (JOBS) Training: A Long-Term Evaluation

Abstract : An evaluation of the Navy's Job Oriented Basic Skills (JOBS) training program was conducted for the period from 1979 through 1987. Through examination of TRAINTRACK and Survival Tracking File data bases, demographic characteristics and attrition rates in A and basic electricity and electronics (BE/E) schools and in the fleet were compared for nearly 7,000 JOBS and over 200,000 non-JOBS students (those qualified to attend Navy technical schools based on their Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) scores). The study involved 30 A schools, 12 BE/E schools, and 7 JOBS schools. Minority participation in Navy 'A' schools was found to be 30 percent higher for JOBS than for non-JOBS students. Although average Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) scores of JOBS students were only half as high as those of non-JOBS students, 93 percent of JOBS students graduated from JOBS schools; 83 percent, from A schools; and 74 percent, from BE/E schools. Attrition rates from A and BE/E schools averaged 7 percent higher for JOBS than for non-JOBS students. Differences in attrition varied greatly from one school to another, but were fairly stable over time. Fleet attrition of 'A' school graduates was approximately 8 percent higher for JOBS than for non-JOBS students. Keywords: Navy training; Aptitude tests; Personnel selection.