American Institutes for Research’s Post

Check out this new Workforce System Equity Framework some of my colleagues, Gabriel Matthews, Gina Wells, Darcee Simon, Lynn Bajorek, Brittany Lenertz, and Layli S. Whyte-Oliver developed. You can use this framework to learn about inclusive program design along with 5 other elements. #equity #workforce

Do you review your state and local workforce development policies through an equity lens? Learn about how policy, along with 5 other elements, impacts equity in AIR’s new Workforce Development Equity Framework.

Many of us have weathered the iterations of workforce funding over the years and have gotten lulled into a “wait and see” mentality. This is not the time for that. The current proposed legislation has legs and complaining after passage will be too late. Each LWDA should do the homework to determine how many staff you will need to cut or AJCs will need to close to implement a 50% ITA mandate. How many LESS job seekers and businesses will you be able to serve? Those hard numbers should be flooding LinkedIn and the offices of your congressional representatives. Keep in mind the ITA mandate does not count all the funding needed for participant support. In times of low unemployment customers utilizing the public workforce system need more support, not less, to be ready for successful ITA completion. The increase in State holdback from 20% to 25% puts even less funding into local ecosystems. Coming from a State that already severely restricts “local control” I assure you…that is not the model we want nationwide.

Initiating and sustaining statewide workforce initiatives builds our economy and community. Discover how the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) is taking action to make sure that workforce organizations and agencies have the necessary resources and information to successfully implement the Michigan Statewide Workforce Plan. Read more about how this statewide effort can create opportunities and growth in Michigan. https://bit.ly/3Vl8swB #economicdevelopment #albion #LEO #workforcedevelopment

🚨 ⬇ National Skills Coalition SKILLS BLOG ALERT ⬇ 🚨 State workforce development agencies should pursue partnerships not just with other governmental entities but also with organizations that have deep knowledge of and roots in the communities they serve. The New Mexico Worker Equity Initiative (NMWEI) provides an example of such a partnership between state and local workforce leaders- working to provide systemic solutions that create a more equitable, human-centered workforce development ecosystem grounded in workers' voice. #workervoice #wfsystemchange #WIOAreauth https://lnkd.in/gpD68sKS

🗣💼 We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts and recommendations on the King County WIOA Local Plan. Your input is crucial to shaping the future of workforce development. 🔗 Take a look at the draft workforce plan for 2024-2028 here: https://lnkd.in/ggUf4nV2 📧 Share your feedback with us at info@seakingwdc.org. The public comment period ends April 4, 2024. #WorkforceDevelopment #SeattleJobs #CommunityFeedback

Recommendations for Reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. As WIOA turns 10, policymakers should reauthorize it to remake and prepare the U.S. federal workforce development system for the next decade. https://lnkd.in/gy8hixvA

A New Approach to Workforce Development❓ 🚀 #WorkforceWednesday 🚀 🙌 The March 12th issue of Ed Central, the newsletter of the New America's Education Policy Program, featured an article - by Mary Alice McCarthy, Founder and Senior Director of the Center on Education & Labor - that KRA believes is worth sharing with our partners and other stakeholders. 🌎 As workforce-development professionals, we know that education - academic, occupational, technical, vocational - is a critical prerequisite for effective and sustainable employment and advancement in the workplace - now and in the future. 📍 Dr. McCarthy writes, “Over the last six years, there have been profound shifts in U.S. economic policy. The decades- long consensus on free trade has given way to industrial policies that protect American companies and workers. The pandemic was met with a robust and sustained fiscal stimulus that shored up household finances and invested in long- term infrastructure projects – a far cry from the austerity policies of the Great Recession.” 📰 Read her entire thought-provoking article, "It's Time For a New Approach to Workforce Development": https://bit.ly/4cBL3xu #KRAatWork #WorkforceDevelopment #Innovation #Education #FutureOfWork

#WIOA is the primary law that establishes our nation’s public workforce system. Congress must get reauthorization legislation right to meet the needs of working people, advance racial equity, and engage employers to provide pathways to quality jobs so that everyone can thrive. In a new blog today, National Skills Coalition and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions share what they seek in reauthorization legislation. https://lnkd.in/eQ7tnNCH

At a time where the need for skilled workers continues to be the pain point of employers nation wide, we must rethink how we fund our workforce system. "A well-funded workforce development system can empower people to increase their economic mobility, help businesses grow, and prepare youth for the world of work. Unfortunately, the U.S. workforce development system has been underfunded for years. Funding for the three primary formula grant programs for youth and adults under WIOA has sustained a 50 percent cut (when adjusted for inflation) since 1990. If we are going to employ America’s workforce development system to effectively serve workers—especially those who have historically faced systemic barriers to economic advancement—policymakers must prioritize the needs of jobseekers and workers and significantly increase funding for this ecosystem. This includes an increase in WIOA funding to a level of at least $35 billion (about $110 per person) for the adult, dislocated worker, and youth formula grants; and funding for the broader workforce development ecosystem at a level of $80 billion (about $250 per person), consistent with the investments of other member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development."