Funders invest billions of dollars in workforce development every year. Yet many are still left with a fundamental question: Is it actually working?

Not because programs lack ambition or effort. But because the field has long measured the wrong outcomes. Training completions. Certifications earned. Job placement rates. These metrics show that someone crossed a finish line. They say very little about what happened after.

Did the job pay enough to cover basic needs? Was it stable? Did it offer dignity, belonging, or a path forward? 

There’s a better way to measure success. Job quality, not just job placement, should be the North Star for philanthropic investment in workforce development. High-quality jobs drive wellbeing, financial stability, and lasting economic mobility. Programs that measure and deliver on quality create exponentially better returns for graduates, employers, and society.

The Hidden Cost of Low-Quality Jobs

Not all jobs create economic mobility. Some perpetuate cycles of instability.

Low-quality work looks like this: part-time hours that never add up to a living wage. Just short-term contracts that end without warning. Work that feels meaningless, where people show up for a paycheck but leave their potential at the door. Workplaces where they don’t belong, where they’re invisible.

This isn’t a small problem. The World Economic Forum reports that millions of workers globally are trapped in precarious employment—jobs that don’t provide stability, dignity, or a path forward. Underemployment keeps people busy but broke.

The human cost is staggering. Low-quality jobs correlate with poor mental health, chronic financial stress, and an inability to plan for the future. When work doesn’t pay enough to cover basic needs, when schedules change without notice, when there’s no sense of purpose, people suffer. Their families suffer. Communities suffer.

The Funder Implication

When the field lacks a shared standard for job quality, funders often end up backing outcomes they cannot fully see. A program reports strong employment numbers, and it looks like success. But if those jobs do not pay a living wage, do not last, or do not offer dignity, purpose, or belonging, the impact is more fragile than it appears. In those cases, the investment may have met a target, but it has not gone as far as it could.

Think about it this way: We wouldn’t measure a hospital’s success by how many patients walk out the door. We’d ask: Are they actually healthy? Can they stay healthy?

The same logic applies to workforce development. Placement is just the beginning. Quality determines whether the outcome lasts.

The Five Pillars of Job Quality (And Why They Matter)

Job quality isn’t subjective. It’s measurable, and it predicts long‑term success.

Generation uses the OECD Job Quality Framework, analyzing five comprehensive factors that together paint a clear, comparable picture of whether a job can meaningfully change someone’s life.

The Five Factors:

1. Earnings Quality

Earnings quality refers to whether wages support a decent standard of living and offer predictability of pay. Adequate earnings allow individuals to cover essential needs such as housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and education, while predictable pay enables financial planning and stability.

At Generation, living wage serves as the benchmark for earnings quality. Today, 73 percent of Generation’s employed alumni globally earn at or above living wage. This outcome reflects intentional program and employer design that prioritizes job quality from the outset.

2. Job Security

Job security enables people to think beyond short-term survival. Stable contracts, whether permanent or fixed-term, reduce the risk of sudden job loss and allow individuals to invest in their skills, plan for their families, and develop a career trajectory.

It also encompasses access to benefits such as paid leave and health insurance. Together, contract stability and benefits reduce uncertainty and income volatility, providing the foundation people need to plan for the future and build durable careers across different labor market contexts.

3. Quality of Work Environment

A quality work environment is safe, supportive, and sustainable. This includes balanced and manageable working hours, protection from hazardous conditions, limited excessive stress, and a respectful social environment at work.

At Generation, sustainable working hours typically mean working at least 30 hours per week without being underemployed, combined with schedules that are predictable and manageable. In addition, feeling respected and supported at work creates psychological safety and strengthens professional identity.

4. Development Prospects

Development prospects refer to opportunities for training, upskilling, and advancement over time. Jobs that offer pathways for growth allow individuals to build skills, progress into higher-responsibility roles, and improve earnings over the course of their careers.

5. Purpose and Dignity

Purpose and dignity at work reflect whether individuals feel their work is meaningful, aligned with their values, and allows a sense of agency. Purposeful work supports motivation, persistence, and engagement, especially during periods of challenge.

When people feel respected and able to contribute meaningfully, they are more likely to remain in the workforce and invest in their own growth. Without dignity or purpose, even jobs that meet basic material needs can fail to deliver lasting impact.

The Composite Score

Each factor receives a score of 0 or 1. Add them up, and you get a clear, comparable metric:

• 4-5 = high quality
• 3 = medium quality
• 0-2 = low quality
  

This framework works across industries, countries, and income levels. The result? 83% of Generation’s employed alumni work in high-quality jobs globally, across all sectors and country income levels. 

Related to this topic:
The Durability Dividend: Why Long-Term Impact Measurement Is the New Frontier in Workforce Philanthropy

The Wellbeing Dividend: How Quality Jobs Transform Lives

High-quality jobs don’t just pay bills. They fundamentally change people’s trajectories.

The data from Generation’s 2025 Global Alumni Survey shows strong patterns among alumni in higher‑quality jobs: 90% of Generation alumni report high life satisfaction and a clear sense of purpose, and 89% report confidence in achieving professional goals and optimism about the future. These are leading indicators of sustained success.

The Contrast Is Clear

The differences become most evident when job quality declines. Alumni in low‑ to medium‑quality jobs report wellbeing levels approximately 15 percentage points lower across every measure tracked, closely resembling the wellbeing reported by unemployed alumni. This suggests that employment alone does not guarantee improved wellbeing if job quality is lacking.

The data highlights a consistent relationship: higher job quality is associated with greater stability, confidence, and optimism, while lower job quality is associated with ongoing stress and fragility. These patterns reinforce why measuring job quality alongside employment and earnings provides a more complete picture of impact.

The Ripple Effect

Economic mobility doesn’t stop with one person. 49% of Generation alumni support their households financially. They’re not just changing their own lives. They’re lifting entire families.

The numbers are remarkable:

• 31% invest in better housing
• 26% build family savings
• 25% help pay down family debts
• 21% paid for better healthcare
  

When someone lands a high-quality job, their children get better educational opportunities. Their family moves to safer housing. Their household builds a financial cushion for emergencies. The impact compounds across generations.

Funders might be thinking: “This sounds expensive. Can programs really deliver this at scale?”

The ROI proves they should.

The Business Case: Quality Delivers Superior ROI

High-quality job placements are more cost-effective in the long run.

The evidence is clear. Generation programs deliver 3-7x ROI over five years versus baseline employment outcomes. Graduates earn 6-22x more income over five years compared to their baseline situation. To date, Generation graduates have earned more than $2.3 billion in total wages globally.

Why Quality Drives ROI

Durability: The 76% employment rate holds steady from 2-5 years post-graduation. Quality jobs stick. People don’t churn out and need to start over.

Career progression: By year five, 71% of employed alumni have advanced beyond entry-level roles. They’re not stuck. They’re climbing. Quality jobs open doors to better opportunities.

Wage growth: Living wage attainment grows over time, especially in tech sectors where it rises from 86% at 2-3 years to 91% at 4-5 years post-graduation. Quality jobs provide a foundation for continued growth.

Employer satisfaction: 87% of employers would hire Generation graduates again. 94% say graduates perform at or above peer level. Quality creates trust, and trust creates partnerships.

The Compounding Effect

Programs that prioritize quality create repeat employer partnerships. This reduces recruitment costs and increases placement speed over time. Quality becomes a competitive advantage, not a cost center.

Employers come back because they know what they’re getting: prepared, motivated workers who stay and grow. That’s worth far more than a quick placement that doesn’t last.

The Alternative Is More Expensive

Quick placements into precarious work require repeated interventions. Graduates churn out, employers lose trust, programs lose credibility. The “cheap” approach costs more in the long run, in dollars, in human potential, and in wasted opportunity.

Partner with Generation to Build Lasting Impact Together.

See how Generation’s approach delivers measurable, lasting impact. Explore our methodology and outcomes data or learn more about our research on job quality and economic mobility.