On April 9, the House passed comprehensive, bipartisan workforce development legislation which reauthorizes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or WIOA. The vote was 378-26. This is a very positive development for our sector.
In addition to reauthorizing and fully funding all the workforce development programs embedded in WIOA the bill would:
- Dedicate 50 percent of the adult and dislocated worker funding toward upskilling workers through “individual training accounts” (ITAs).
- Manages the nation’s network of One-Stop Career Centers.
- Administers the Job Corps program with increased performance accountability.
- Streamlines the application process for “eligible training providers” to promote faster eligibility determinations and minimize administrative burdens for training providers active in multiple states.
- Encourages innovative sector partnerships by allowing states to invest in critical industry skills initiatives.
- Authorizes state and local workforce boards to aid employers in implementing skills-based hiring practices.
- Places greater emphasis on work-based learning for youth and on workforce education programs at community colleges that align with in-demand jobs.
- Establishes grant programs that support employment and training services for formerly incarcerated individuals.
- Strengthens the workforce data system by promoting the use of real-time labor market information, facilitating access to wage records data and promoting data transparency.
- Incentivizes regional consortia for workforce development areas so that workforce development boards may ensure that jobseekers are connected to industries and employers that are prominent in a region’s economy.
To read the fact sheet for A Stronger Workforce for America Act, .
To read the summary for A Stronger Workforce for America Act, .
To read the section-by-section for A Stronger Workforce for America Act, .
The bill now proceeds to the Senate where its path forward is uncertain. ý will be checking in with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee staff to obtain a better sense of the upper chamber’s plans on this issue/legislation.