Insights and Perspectives

Celebrating Workforce Development Month: Looking Towards A Stronger Workforce for America Act with Promise and Excitement

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 19:41:20 GMT

What is Workforce Development Month?
Every September, Geographic Solutions celebrates Workforce Development Month and recognizes the importance of workforce development initiatives and professionals within the industry. Workforce Development Month was created in 2005 by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) to raise awareness about the importance of the workforce industry and highlight the efforts of organizations, policymakers, and professionals committed to helping prepare the labor force to meet the evolving needs of the labor market. NAWDP celebrates Workforce Development Month with initiatives like the ‘Workforce Heroes’ program, which highlights multiple workforce heroes over the course of the month.

A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA) was recently introduced to build on the foundation of, and reauthorize, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which has been the grounds of workforce development legislation for the past decade. We interviewed Melissa Robbins, CEO of the NAWDP, to gain further insights on the new legislation. Her wisdom offered a valuable perspective on the importance of Workforce Development Month, the promise of ASWA, and the future of the workforce industry.

Understanding A Stronger Workforce for America Act
A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA) was introduced on December 7, 2023, passed by the House of Representatives on April 9, 2024, and will go to the Senate next for consideration. Since then, ASWA has received support from workforce organizations and policymakers, who view it as essential for meeting the changing needs of the labor market. ASWA aims to build upon the existing Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Signed into law on July 22, 2014, WIOA was the first major reform of the public workforce system since 1998, with the goal of helping job seekers access employment, education, training, and support needed to thrive within the labor market and match employers to skilled workers.

Melissa Robbins shared what she thought to be the biggest challenge in workforce development today and how ASWA addresses that challenge. “I think right now the biggest challenge is to make sure that we’re meeting the needs of businesses and job seekers in the current environment,” said Robbins. “WIOA passed in 2014, so we’re ten years from the last legislation passing, and a lot has happened in those years.”

Robbins added that while the workforce system did a wonderful job adapting, especially during the pandemic when we had to find ways to deliver our programs and services without human contact, that the legislation hasn’t changed. It is imperative that the new legislation focuses on flexibility to meet the changing needs of businesses and job seekers. WIOA’s reauthorization via ASWA aims to modernize education and training programs to better align with current and future job market needs.

Components of A Stronger Workforce for America Act:

Skills Upgrading: Allocate 50% of funds to upskill workers through Individual Training Accounts (ITAs), on-the-job learning, and prioritizing employer-led programs for skill training.
Efficiency and Accountability: Focus on the Eligible Training Provider List to streamline outcomes and ensure that programs align with employers' demands. Fully implement a performance accountability system to hold states and local workforce boards accountable.
Economic Opportunity: Places a greater emphasis on work-based learning for youth, supports reentry programs, and strengthen workforce education programs at community colleges.
Innovation and Hiring: Provide flexibility to states and local workforce boards to modernize their workforce systems and support skills-based hiring practices.

Differences From WIOA:
When asked about the main differences between ASWA and WIOA, Robbins stated that while the new legislation builds on WIOA, it also introduces the following changes:

Focus on Eligible Training Provider List: The new legislation emphasizes the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL), a public statewide list of qualified training providers eligible for WIOA worker training funds.
Funding: ASWA addresses fund ceilings and floors. WIOA allocates specific percentages to various programs and activities, compared to ASWA, which allows states and local boards to diversify programs and funds.
Flexibility: Overall flexibility for programs so that they can adapt to the changing needs of the industry.

Potential Challenges, Benefits, and Outcomes
Geographic Solutions President, Paul Toomey shared his insights on the benefits of ASWA in a recent Forbes article where he stated, “This legislation’s renewed vision for creating a stronger, more adaptable workforce offers numerous benefits to not only the economy, but also to dislocated, remote, and future generations of workers.”
ASWA will have short and long-term benefits for job seekers and employers. In the short term, changes will allow state and local workforce boards to take on new initiatives that were not previously possible. “Any kind of change in the legislation, there's going to be things that change quickly," said Robbins.

One of the main challenges in implementing ASWA will be ensuring that everyone is trained on the new compliance requirements. Robbins stated, "Just like WIOA, with any new legislation, there's going to be new compliance issues that are going to be black and white, and we have to make sure that they get rolled out to everybody."

She further explained that workforce organizations need to be aware of the complexity of new legislation as it involves hundreds of pages of laws and regulations. Then states and local boards will add their own additional things particular to their area, further complicating compliance requirements. Workforce organizations will need to be prepared to ensure a smooth implementation.

Workforce organizations may also encounter challenges in balancing innovation with compliance while implementing the new legislation. ASWA aims to create innovative strategies and partnerships. Robbins highlighted the need to balance innovation with compliance:

"How do we strategically impact the new innovative ideas on how we're going to implement… the essence of this new legislation," said Robbins.

The role of NAWDP will evolve with the implementation of ASWA, as it has since the early 80’s and adapting to legislative changes and integrating non-traditional workforce partners. Robbins emphasized that NAWDP will remain committed to meeting the needs of its members and the workforce industry.

Supporting Workforce Development for a Stronger Future
Geographic Solutions is dedicated to supporting workforce development initiatives and providing job seekers with the support they need to succeed within the labor market. As workforce legislation and development change, Geographic Solutions remains committed to building a strong and adaptable workforce.

Workforce development takes a collaborative effort between workforce agencies and service providers to close the skills gap, increase job placements, reduce unemployment durations, and ultimately strengthen economic development initiatives. Workforce Development Month gives us a chance to honor those who go to great lengths to positively impact the workforce. We give our thanks to all workforce professionals, the true heart of workforce development.

Click here to watch the whole interview with Melissa Robbins.

Workforce Development Month: An Opportunity To Recognize The U.S. Workforce System

Mon, 13 Sep 2021 15:05:00 GMT

The United States Senate recently passed Resolution 346, which designates September as Workforce Development Month, and pays homage to a system of more than 550 workforce development boards and 2,400 American Job Centers that, according to the National Association of Workforce Boards, interacts with 1 out of 12 citizens in the U.S. each year. The system is part of critical infrastructure that originated with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal legislation during the Great Depression.

According to the resolution, jobs that require more than a high-school diploma but not a 4-year degree comprise 52 percent of the labor market, a discrepancy that limits career growth since only 42 percent of workers in the U.S have been able to access training at that level. The text of the designation highlights that 76 percent of business leaders noted in surveys and research that greater investment in skills training will help their businesses flourish.

The events of the last 18 months have brought workforce development to the forefront of many initiatives. President Biden is calling on Congress to invest $100 billion in programs that will target underserved groups and students as part of the American Jobs Plan. The Build Back Better Agenda seeks to invest more in workforce development and fill jobs in growing sectors, such as construction and health care, through high-quality career and technical education pathways and registered apprenticeships.

The increased focus on workforce development in 2021 is also our chance to peer into the history and definition of the movement.

The Roots of Workforce Development

In the United States, workforce development’s beginnings can be traced back to 1862 and 1890’s Morrill Acts. These acts funded educational institutions by granting federally controlled land to states to sell, raising funds to establish colleges. Each college would teach practical skills in agriculture, science, military science, and engineering.

In 1913, President William Howard Taft signed the act that established the U.S. Department of Labor. The movement to establish this federal department hinged upon a long-running campaign to establish a voice for the working population. The basis of their platform included needed enhancements to the welfare of working people and an improvement in working conditions.

The New Deal in 1933 allowed the federal government to invest in workforce development services. In 1965, President John F. Kennedy’s Manpower Development and Training Act was designed to provide training to unemployed adults and a small percentage of youth workers whose skills needed upgrading. In 1973, the Manpower Act was revised to implement the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA).

1982 saw the creation of Regional Service Delivery areas (a predecessor to modern-day Workforce Investment Areas) and a focus on providing training for unemployed adults and youth through a variety of programs with the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA).

In a Work First Foundation article by Rachel Tropp, a fellow at the organization, workforce development truly matured by the 1990's and now connected skills and vocational training services with industry demand and community-level economic needs.

In 1998, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) focused on the delivery of workforce development programs and related services through a nationwide network of one-stop career centers. President Obama reaffirmed WIA with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), legislation designed to improve the public workforce system by increasing coordination among federal workforce development and related programs. WIOA’s five titles authorized job training and related services to unemployed or underemployed individuals; authorized education services to assist adults in improving basic skills; amended the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and provided the needed provisions for transition between WIA and WIOA.

Sustaining Communities with Economic Growth

What does workforce development mean today? The movement is essential for bridging the skills gap that naturally occurs with advancements to technology. Its approach to economic development maintains region’s economic stability and prosperity by focusing on people rather than business. Sector and place-based approaches dictate supply and demand, and modern-day philosophies prefer to blend the strategies together.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has a more general definition. According to the financial institution, the phrase describes a “wide range of activities, policies, and programs employed by geographies to create, sustain, and retain a viable workforce that can support current and future business industry.”

Colleen LaRose, President and CEO of the North East Regional Employment and Training Association gets right to the point and succinctly describes workforce development as a government system that helps put people to work.

Reaffirming Our Commitment to Workforce Development

Growth in the workforce requires a collaborative approach between workforce agencies and partner programs to close the skills gap, increase job placements, reduce unemployment durations, and ultimately strengthen economic development initiatives. We support this effort with VOS Sapphire 21, a software solution that has transformed the way career centers deliver services to job seekers and employers.

Join us in celebrating Workforce Development Month, the federally supported workforce system, and its unique partner programs. We’re invested in playing a large part in the effort to rebuild the economy, and provide career pathways that support families and help businesses find the skilled workers they need to get the job done.

Painting It Gold: Mining Data From The PIRL To Make Informed Decisions

Sat, 23 Mar 2019 15:25:00 GMT

This article is part of a series where we periodically feature guest-authored blog posts from leaders within workforce development to share their insights and perspective. This week, we hear from Geoff Smith of FutureWork Systems. Since the early 2000s, Smith has helped states and workforce development boards manage, track, report, and analyze performance data.

By Geoff Smith

Did you know that there are 488 data fields in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act’s (WIOA) Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL)?

Created through a collaborative partnership between the U.S. Departments of Labor and Education, the PIRL is a common set of definitions that are shared across multiple programs for performance reporting.

Within the almost 500 fields of data are irresistible nuggets of gold that can be mined to paint colorful -- and powerful -- performance pictures. These visualizations can be used by a diverse set of organizations, including all DOL regions, individual states, workforce development boards, American Job Centers, and eligible training providers, to go above and beyond the required WIOA performance indicators.

And while the PIRL data allows us to adequately report on the essential WIOA performance indicators, we can dig much deeper by using advanced business intelligence (BI) tools. Using these tools allows us to gain greater insight into participant activities, characteristics, and outcomes which ultimately help inform our program and policy decisions.

For example, data is collected on participants who receive training services funded by the WIOA. When participants receive training, we record in the PIRL the occupation that best applies to the training they receive. By recording that information, we can not only see how we are performing on the WIOA indicators by those trained for certain occupations, but we can also monitor the participant flow activity within these occupations trained, and even calculate new, custom indicators, such as training completion rates by occupations trained.

The number and variety of questions we can explore just by focusing on 1 of the 488 PIRL data fields can be eye opening. Are people being trained in occupations that are part of their sector strategy? Are they getting the outcomes they want or expect? How many are completing training? How many withdrew? How does this break down by demographics?

It’s easy to see that many paths of analysis can be explored and examining specific fields within the PIRL data such as Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Training 1, can yield exciting insights.

To illustrate this point, we created the following interactive dashboard by tapping into the DOL’s national PIRL data and using FutureWork Systems’ Performance Matters National BI Application. It examines WIOA Title I participants who received training services from April 1, 2017 through March 30, 2018, and cross references the occupation code classification of the training they received.

The dashboard displays the top 25 occupations trained by state, including the top 10 job families. You can use the state drop down list to choose the state(s) that interest you, adjust the veteran filter to focus on veteran vs non-veteran, or leave the data unfiltered to see data for the entire population.

Filter settings and state selections carry over into the WIOA Training Grid tab on the dashboard. The grid shows the percent share and total count of WIOA program participants who exited the WIOA program from April 1, 2017, through March 31, 2018, and who received training services by these job families and occupations.

Click below to interact with the dashboard in a new browser tab:

Open Top 25 WIOA Occupations Trained Dashboard

This dashboard is just one example of how data mined from the PIRL can yield valuable insights. See more examples of how BI tools can radicalize the data by attending this year’s Workforce Technology Conference.

About the Author: Geoff Smith has spent his career advocating for the use of advanced web-based technology tools and services that can leverage data to inform program and policy decision-making in workforce development. He has assisted numerous state and local boards in their move from a reports-driven culture, to one of democratized data and evidence-based decision support. He continues to play an active role in FutureWork Systems’ marketing, business development, client relations, product design, and development.

Honoring Presidential Contributions That Benefited The American Workforce

Mon, 18 Feb 2019 14:40:00 GMT

On Presidents’ Day, we traditionally celebrate the importance of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays, two heads of state that greatly impacted American history. But this calendar observance is also a chance to reflect on how a few commanders-in-chief left noteworthy marks on the workforce during their office tenure.

By definition, developing skilled labor traces its roots much further back than Roosevelt’s New Deal, which was enacted in the midst of the Great Depression to lay the groundwork for our modern economic infrastructure. Anecdotal evidence reveals that in 1563, Queen Elizabeth I mandated laws that helped English trade unions find young apprentices.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

On June 6, 1933, President Roosevelt signed the Wagner-Peyser Act into law as part of the Wagner Unemployment Bill, essentially creating what we know today as “labor exchange.” The law came to light through a collaborative effort from Rep. Theodore A. Peyser, Sen. Robert Wagner (both from New York), and Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the act a reality.

The law established a nationwide employment system and fostered a network of public employment offices known as the United States Employment Service. The system provided the foundation for what would later become the U.S. Department of Labor.

Bill Clinton

During Bill Clinton’s second term as president, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 was enacted to replace, among other pieces of legislation, the Job Training and Partnership Act of 1982. Relying on the framework of state and local workforce investment systems, WIA’s central tenets aimed to increase participants’ employment opportunities, retention, and earnings, while also increasing occupational skill attainment.

The Clinton administration hoped that this act would improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency, and enhance the nation's productivity and competitiveness.

Barack Obama

On July 22, 2014, President Barack Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) into law. The law was designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete in the global economy. Marking the first legislative reform in 15 years, WIOA superseded WIA and enhanced Wagner-Peyser.

Peering Into the Future of Presidential Impact on Workforce Development

As technology continues to transform the labor force, presidential prowess will continue to mold and shape America’s workforce. In October 2018, President Trump pledged his commitment to developing training opportunities and called for support from businesses and organizations of all sizes.

With unemployment rates at a 49-year low and a record 7.1 million job openings in the United States, there will undoubtedly be opportunities for our current and future presidents to influence the labor market.