Project QUEST was founded in 1992 to enable San Antonio residents to prepare for good jobs in
growing sectors of the local economy. Since then, it has helped more than 10,000 people
complete training conducted primarily by local community colleges. Mobility’s ongoing randomized
controlled trial evaluation found:

• Project QUEST participants earned $54,000 more than the control group during the 14-year follow-up period.
• Project QUEST and the community colleges invested an average of $16,244 (2022 dollars) in each participant over the fourteen years following study enrollment, resulting in a 234 percent return on investment. Moreover, program graduates moved out of poverty and into the middle class, earning close to $60,000, on average, in the final year of the study. 
• Participants ages 35 and older at the time of enrollment experienced the greatest benefit from Project QUEST, earning a remarkable $138,577 more, on average, than their counterparts in the control group over the fourteen years.

The findings are among the most impressive of any rigorous evaluation of a U.S. workforce development program and are a strong endorsement of the potential value of long-term skills training for low-income job seekers.

To view the full report, click here.