Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce (2017) / Chapter Skim
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3 The Public Policy Context
3 The Public Policy Context
Pages 39-62
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From page 39... ...
The nation has no single, centralized system for developing a skilled technical workforce and -- given the dynamics of its political and economic systems -- little hope of practically achieving one. Skilled technical workforce development in the United States is the concern and shared responsibility of students; workers; labor unions and other worker associations; families; educators; businesses; industry associations; and the federal, state, and local governments.
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From page 40... ...
created a Workforce Development Council as a USCM standing committee to ensure that workforce development would be a key focus of cities. 4 The council works to shape legislative and policy agendas related to technical skills development; provide timely information to support these efforts at the local level; and build capacity by creating networks, identifying innovative approaches, and providing technical assistance.
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From page 41... ...
In addition, several other initiatives, such as the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015, and small business and trade facilitation programs, provide policy direction for certain types of initiatives aimed at skilled technical workforce development. In addition to state and local programs, several federally funded programs in the United States target specific populations such as ex-offenders, disconnected youth, and displaced or injured workers.
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From page 42... ...
3.3 FEDERAL-LEVEL POLICIES AND PROGRAMS As Table 3-1 shows, federal policy has provided scope for many federally funded employment and training programs that apply to a wide range of workforce development issues and populations. In a review of these programs for FY 2009, the GAO noted that almost all of them overlap with one or more other programs in that they provide at least one similar service to a similar population, although differences may exist in eligibility, objectives, and service September 10, 2015, and February 17, 2016.
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From page 43... ...
THE PUBLIC POLICY CONTEXT 43 TABLE 3-1 Federally Funded Employment and Training Programs by Agency, Fiscal Year 2009 Agency Programs Department of Labor • Community-Based Job Training Grants • Employment Service/Wagner-Peyser Funded Activities • H-1B Job Training Grants • Homeless Veterans' Reintegration Project • Job Corps • Local Veterans' Employment Representative Program • National Farmworker Jobs Program • Native American Employment and Training • Registered Apprenticeship and Other Training • Reintegration of Ex-Offenders • Senior Community Service Employment Program • Trade Adjustment Assistance • Transition Assistance Program • Veterans' Workforce Investment Program • WIA Adult Program • WIA Youth Activities • WIA Dislocated Workers • WIA National Emergency Grants • WANTO • YouthBuild Department of Education • American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services • Career and Technical Education - Basic Grants to States • Career and Technical Education - Indian Set-aside • Grants to States for Workplace and Community Transition Training for Incarcerated Individuals • Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Program • Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education • Projects with Industry • Rehabilitation Services - Vocational Rehabilitation Grants to States • State-Supported Employment Services Program • Tech-Prep Education • Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Institutions (Continued)
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From page 44... ...
However, seven programs accounted for about three-fourths of that spending, and most participants received employment and training services through either the Employment Service/Wagner-Peyser Funded Activities (Employment Service) or the Adult Program of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA)
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From page 45... ...
. Looking at the sources of federal funding for postsecondary education assistance in 2013, she observes that this funding comes disproportionately from the Title IV federal student aid programs -- not from the 47 federal employment and training programs identified by the GAO study and not from the 3 programs dedicated specifically to workforce development and career and technical education.
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From page 46... ...
The remainder of this section and the section that follows provide an overview of the four federal laws the committee believes are most likely to contribute to synchronizing activities focused on skilled technical workforce development across the nation and provide the greatest support for postsecondary education and training. This section continues by describing recently enacted laws that are directly related to workforce development: WIOA and the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.
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From page 47... ...
Observing that WIOA has yet to be fully implemented, Heinrich provides the following suggestions for policy makers: • Begin training earlier for youth through approaches that blend vocational and on-the-job training, and involve employers as partners in the delivery of the training. • Provide more funding and technical support to better link secondary, postsecondary, and workforce development data; assess the value of skills acquired in programs; and better direct job seeker training choices and American Job Center strategies.
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From page 48... ...
(6) For purposes of subtitle A and B of title I, to provide workforce investment activities, through statewide and local workforce development systems, that increase the employment, retention, and earnings of participants, and increase attainment of recognized postsecondary credentials by participants, and as a result, improve the quality of the workforce, reduce welfare dependency, increase economic self-sufficiency, meet the skill requirements of employers, and enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the Nation.
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From page 49... ...
It is in the national interest for the United States to provide veterans who served on active duty in the armed forces after September 11, 2001, with enhanced educational assistance benefits that are worthy of such service and are commensurate with the educational assistance benefits provided to World War II veterans. 11 The text of H.R.5740, the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, is available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/5740/text.
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From page 50... ...
3.4 FEDERAL LEGISLATION UNDER CONSIDERATION 3.4.1 The Higher Education Act HEA, which is administered by ED, authorizes numerous federal aid programs that provide support to individuals who pursue postsecondary education and to institutions of higher education. 14 Title IV authorizes the federal government's major student aid programs, which are the primary source of direct federal support to students who pursue postsecondary education, while Titles II, III, and V provide aid and support to educational institutions.
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From page 51... ...
3.5 STATE-LEVEL POLICIES Policies, programs, and funding streams for skilled technical workforce development at the state and local levels are extensive and varied. At the K-12 level, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
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. Local governance and funding for K-12 education can have an important influence on postsecondary skilled technical workforce development (see Chapter 5 for more detail)
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NOTES: This table is not exhaustive, and therefore, not every state policy found is included. STEM = science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
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3.6 CURRENT POLICY ISSUES RELATED TO DEVELOPING A SKILLED TECHNICAL WORKFORCE 3.6.1 Labor Law Reform U.S. labor laws and enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels regulate the rights, duties, costs, and benefits associated with the relationship between skilled technical workers and employers.
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From page 55... ...
Technological change presents a separate but related issue in skilled technical workforce development. 21 Most of the papers commissioned for this study, as well as discussions in the symposium panels, alluded in some way to the opportunities and challenges posed by technological change for skilled technical workers and their employers; however, these changes are an immediate and prevalent concern in the health care industry (Frogner and Skillman, 2015)
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From page 56... ...
In addition, entrepreneurs in new areas that overlap with a licensed occupation may find that they are required to obtain a license because a small part of their work overlaps with that of a licensed occupation. Finally, licensing can affect worker mobility and the availability of technical skills in labor markets.
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From page 57... ...
Licensing requirements can be particularly costly for some workers, such as military spouses, who are very likely to move across state lines. Constraints on worker mobility can create inefficiency in labor markets if workers are unable to migrate easily to the jobs in which they are most productive.
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From page 58... ...
explored STEM indicator data, examined recent STEM workforce studies and debates, and consulted numerous experts to develop insights that could facilitate more constructive discussions about the STEM workforce and inform decision makers (NSB, 2015)
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From page 59... ...
Moreover, most Americans believe that other countries are doing a better job of providing STEM education and supporting lifelong education and training (NSB, 2016, Chapter 7) : • Although the percentages of 4th-, 8th-, and 12th-grade students achieving a level of proficient or higher on National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics assessments increased from 2000 to 2013, those percentages remained well below the 50 percent mark.
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From page 60... ...
. 23 All stakeholders in workforce development seek high-quality data, analyses, and projections of 23 The WLMIS consists of systems and data owned and controlled by each state.
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. Based on Reamer's detailed analysis and supporting evidence from other papers and panel discussions, the committee observes that the WLMIS does not effectively support the country's skilled technical workforce development needs.
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From page 62... ...
CTE, which prepares secondary and postsecondary students for skilled technical jobs and postsecondary education; and (2) better articulation and alignment of the incentives of skilled technical workers, educators, employers, trade associations, labor unions, and industry to achieve workforce development objectives.
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