Workforce Development under the Recovery Act Washington Area Women’s Foundation Stimulus Forum Rachel Gragg

U.S. Jobs by Skill Level, 2006 U.S. Job Openings by Skill Level, Demand for Middle-Skill Jobs is Strong, Will Remain Strong in the U.S.

America’s Skills Mismatch: A Middle-Skill Gap America’s Jobs & Workers by Skill Level, 2004

Lots of Interest in Skills Attainment— Broadly Defined—in D.C. President Obama has challenged “every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. This can be community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an apprenticeship. But whatever the training may be, every American will need to get more than a high school diploma.”

“Three Pillars” of Economic Recovery Health care reform Clean energy Education (including workforce development)

Other New Workforce Initiatives “American Graduation Initiative” -- $12B (over 10 years) investment focused on community colleges

Purpose of the Recovery Act To create or save between 3-4 million jobs  Emphasis on infrastructure, green jobs, health care Jump start the economy (short-term) Rebuild economy (long-term)

Basic Structure of the Recovery Act $790 billion total cost (down from high of $940B in Senate version) Roughly 2/3 spending, 1/3 tax cuts Focuses on funding existing programs

Lots of POTENTIAL Workforce Funding Infrastructure and Energy Efficiency DOT: $20M OJT/SS DOE: $5B weatherization (up to 20% for training) HUD: $4B for public housing capital fund to retrofit and rehab public housing units

WIA Formula Funding TOTAL: $2.95B Adult: $500M Dislocated Worker: $1.25B Youth: $1.2B

“Key Recovery Act Provisions and Emphases of Note” Emphasis on serving low-income, displaced and under-skilled adults and disconnected youth. States required to ensure supportive services and needs- based payments made available (to support longer-term training). Funds “may be used for adult education, including basic or English language education, as delivered through community colleges…and community organizations…”

Measure What Matters Supplemental monthly reports must contain aggregate counts of participants who are: Low-income Receiving TANF or other public assistance UI claimants Veterans Individuals w/disabilities As well as data on numbers in training, type of training, and numbers receiving supportive services

Competitive Grants for High Growth Industries TOTAL: $750M $500M reserved for green jobs $250M prioritizes health care and other high demand industries

Green Jobs Are Middle-Skill Jobs

Green Jobs SGA Pathways out of Poverty Grants: $150 million for grants to national and local nonprofit organizations to provide career pathways for low-skilled or low-income. State Energy Sector Partnership (SESP) and Training Grants: $190 million for grants to state WIBs, in partnership with workforce agencies, LWIBs, and One-Stops, to provide training and related activities based on statewide energy sector strategy. Energy Training Partnership Grants: $100 million for grants to national labor-management organizations and statewide or local nonprofit partnerships to provide training for target populations. Green Capacity Building Grants: $5 million for grants to current DOL grantees receiving funding under certain programs, including Farmworkers, Prisoner Re-Entry, WANTO, YouthBuild, and others. State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants: $50 million for grants to state workforce agencies (or consortiums of agencies) to collect, analyze, and disseminate labor market information and to enhance the labor exchange infrastructure around green jobs.

Expectations for Workforce System under Recovery Act An “extraordinary and unique opportunity” versus “quickly and effectively”

Recovery to Reauthorization Important to connect work begun under Recovery Act to advocacy around WIA reauthorization (and other federal workforce programs)

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