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Workforce Update - January 2024

E-Newsletter Sponsor:

Stronger Workforce for America Act

TAWB hosted a virtual discussion January 19 on "H.R. 6655, the “Stronger Workforce for America Act,” – the bipartisan WIOA Reauthorization proposal. Our guest for the meeting was Chris Andresen, Senior Vice President with Dutko, GR, a Washington-based lobbying firm. Mr. Andresen works with the US Workforce Association and, in that role, serves as an advisor to several state workforce associations and other workforce organizations.


Although H.R 6655 includes several improvements to WIOA, there have been concerns raised over several provisions, including:

  • 50% Training Requirement: 
  • Increased Governor's Set-aside for "Critical Industries Funds”; and
  • Redesignation of Local Workforce Development Areas


During the meeting members discussed the potential changes to programming under a 50% training requirements policy and the importance of local control and autonomy. In addition to the 50% training requirement, the prospect of increasing the Governor’s permissible set-aside from 10% to 25% of WIOA funding, if Texas opted to do so, would cause further changes in programming, according to members in the meeting. Those changes might include the potential to serve fewer people, reductions in employers services, the closure of Workforce Solution offices and reductions in the ability to provide necessary support services in order to improve training and education outcomes.


They also discussed the need to educate Congress on the impact of the bill on local workforce development system. TAWB will be reaching out to members and others over the next several weeks to compile information to be shared with policy makers.


Related Resources

Stronger Workforce Bill Summary

Stronger Workforce Bill Fact Sheet

WIOA Training Services Definition

Stronger Workforce Bill Text

Stronger Workforce Bill Section-by-Section


Latest News

Longtime HCC leader Margaret Ford Fisher selected as system's new chancellor

Longtime higher education administrator Margaret Ford Fisher will serve as the Houston Community College System’s ninth chancellor after months of serving in the interim position.


Will AI Take Your Job? Maybe Not Just Yet, One Study Says

MIT researchers suggest that AI job displacement might be gradual rather than immediate. While computer vision AI can automate tasks equivalent to 1.6 percent of worker wages in the US, only 0.4 percent of the economy would be cheaper to automate at current costs.


Texas Labor Market Reached Historic Highs in 2023

Texas' employment growth rate continued to outpace the nation by a full percentage point, with 2.7 percent annual growth in the state from December 2022 to December 2023, compared to the nation’s 1.7 percent.


Perryman: People and Places

New population estimates have been released, and once again Texas gained far more residents than any other state, writes Texas-based economist M. Ray Perryman. The flip side of the Lone Star State’s continued rapid population growth is that it requires significant and ongoing investments in education and infrastructure to avoid eroding our quality of life and to assure that the economic engine is sustainable.


Billionaire Mike Bloomberg pours $250M to open health care high school in Dallas, others

The new schools will partner with healthcare systems as students work on training, certification and experience.


Career and technical education faces obstacles to meet demand

Challenges for these programs include lack of funds, teacher shortages and outdated stigmas, said panelists during a House subcommittee hearing.


Texas’ school ratings remain in limbo as the state and school districts fight over how strict the grading should be

Dozens of school districts sued the Texas Education Agency last fall, claiming revisions to the state’s accountability system would hurt them.


In the Texas Panhandle, a nonprofit is fighting rural child care deserts

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TWC Launches MyTXCareer App to Connect Texans with Career Pathways

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A new way to fund Texas community colleges focuses on student success, not enrollment

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Events

Jobs for the Future Webinar: Navigating Youth Labor Law and Liability in Youth Apprenticeship

January 30, 2024; 1:00 - 2:00 PM CST

In this webinar, you'll gain crucial insights into youth labor law and liability, learn from leading policy and program implementation experts, and acquire practical knowledge and tools for real-world application.

REGISTER


TEDC Webinar: Boosting Economic Competitiveness With ACT Work Ready Communities

Wednesday, February 7, 2024; 10:30 -- 11:45 AM CST

Presenter: Tony Garife, ACT Work Ready Communities

We all have a stake in making our country more competitive and closing the skills gap. Change starts at the grassroots level by providing a community-based framework that:

• Links workforce development to education

• Aligns with the economic development needs of communities, regions and states

• Matches individuals to jobs based on skill levels

REGISTER


NAWB Forum: Forging Tomorrow's Workforce Today

March 23 - 26, 2024 Washington, D.C.

Learn directly from the nation’s most informed experts about workforce policy, initiatives, and trends. The Forum attendees will deepen their understanding of the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act, hear practical examples of its application, and get to ask questions firsthand.

REGISTER


Workforce Development Resources

NAWB Response to WIOA Reauthorization Proposal

NAWB responded to the latest WIOA reauthorization proposal on Dec. 12, 2023, in a letter addressed to the chair and ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. Read the full letter below.


U.S. Conference of Mayors Letter on WIOA Reauthorization

Letter from U.S. Conference of Mayors CEO Tom Cochran to House Committee on Education and the Workforce Leadership.


Are community college students prepared for tomorrow’s labor market?

Community colleges have been tasked with a major responsibility—to train and support socioeconomic mobility and serve their local communities—without sufficient funding to back it up. This study takes a deeper look at the relationship between community college programs and employment needs to better understand how well these institutions prepare students for in-demand occupations.


Accelerating Alignment: Texas Workforce System Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2024–2031

Approved by Governor Abbott, Accelerating Alignment: Texas Workforce System Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2024–2031 was created using the systems approach to workforce planning. The plan is intended to guide system partners in implementing workforce programs, services, and initiatives designed to achieve the strategies, system objectives, and goals that are outlined in the plan.


Elevating Youth Worker Voice

This toolkit guides youth-serving organizations on how to listen to and support youth voice within their own organizations, build youth skills to advocate for themselves at work, encourage employer partners to make space for youth voice, and elevate youth worker voice in community and policy conversations.


January 2024 Texas Labor Market Review

Monthly newsletter produced by TWC Labor Market and Career Information Department covering issues relating to the Texas economy.

TAWB Partners Spotlight

C2 Global Professional Services was founded to offer a viable, and now successfully proven, alternative to what is available in terms of service providers. We look for Workforce Investment Board partners to commit to working beyond workforce dogma to improve communities, invest in staff development to achieve exceptional customer service and invest in innovation and technology to improve the system.


iCEV: Since 1984, iCEV has specialized in providing quality CTE curriculum and educational resources. iCEV is the most comprehensive online resource for CTE educators and students, offering curriculum for several major subject areas, including agricultural science, trade & industrial education, business & marketing, career exploration, family & consumer science, health science, law enforcement and STEM education. Additionally, iCEV acts as a certification testing platform for industry certifications. Nationally and internationally recognized companies and organizations utilize iCEV as the testing platform for their certifications. For more information, visit www.icevonline.com.


The Conover Company has been developing tools for over 40 years to help workforce professionals assess and train their clients with the social and emotional skills for success. Their online tools help you stay focused on outcomes by making sure the assessments drive training so it is meaningful for every individual client you serve and you get the results you are looking for.


Equus Workforce Solutions: Our dedicated and passionate team of 2,500+ workforce

professionals puts the industry's best practices to work across more than 350 North American locations, assisting approximately 1.9 million job seekers and thousands of employers annually. Together with our partners and collaborators, we work every day to change lives, advance economies, and help communities thrive.


Geographic Solutions is the leading provider of integrated software for state and local workforce agencies in over 35 states and U.S. territories. For 30 years, the company has developed innovative online solutions for job seekers, employers, service providers, and agency staff that enhance service delivery and increase customer satisfaction. Geographic Solutions’ custom software solutions effectively manage all federally-funded partner programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and have been designed specifically to meet the diverse needs of American Job Centers, economic development agencies, human service entities, unemployment agencies, departments of corrections, and educational institutions.


Grant Associates is a national, award-winning workforce development company. Since opening our doors in 1997, we have collaborated with government agencies to develop workforce programs and solutions that create the opportunities that advance job seekers, businesses and local economies, all with exceptional results. At Grant Associates, we know every community's workforce needs are unique. With proven models and in active partnership with government, Grant Associates' mission is to tailor solutions that build workforce capacity, proving over the past two decades that our approach helps a community reach its true potential.


KRA Corporation, a national leader in workforce development for 40+ years, supports workforce boards by delivering WIOA, TANF, SNAP-E&T, and related programs, including initiatives targeting specific employer and jobseeker requirements. A black-owned company, KRA leads efforts to integrate DEI into workforce development. We also lead the industry in delivering a consultative approach to business services, and infuse family-focused principles into everything we do. KRA leverages all available resources, partnering to integrate education, skills development, occupational training, support services, and employment. KRA provides the highest levels of innovative programming, exceptional service, and trusted results for all valued clients, businesses, and jobseekers.


Metrix Learning® is an online learning platform designed to meet the needs of states, workforce boards, and their customers. Learners can assess their job skills, remediate skill gaps, and take over 100 certification training programs to prepare for new employment opportunities. Metrix Learning® offers over 6,000 online courses, career pathways tools, digital badges, gamification, and is integrated with WorkInTexas.


Purpose Co is a workforce consulting firm that specializes in designing and implementing custom workforce solutions and strategies that create sustainable outcomes for people and businesses, including pathways to quality in-demand jobs, economic mobility, competitive businesses and regional economic prosperity, including solutions that address the specific needs of job seekers, workers, employers and practitioners.


QuickStart exists to create world-class technologists by personalizing and individualizing training to address the massive skills gap in the IT industry. Through 20 years of research and data analysis, we’ve learned that a modern learner prefers to learn through multiple modalities such as self-paced online learning, virtual instructor-led training, on-the-job training, implementation and hands-on experience through labs, mentoring, and social and peer-to-peer learning. We packaged all the modalities into a single cloud-based platform called CLIPP.