Recommendations of the
National Association of State Workforce
Investment Policy Council Chairs

Rodo Sofranac, Chair

December 1994


Prepared and edited by Martin J. Simon of the
National Governors' Association

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The National Association of State Workforce Investment Policy Council Chairs, formerly the National Association of State Job Training Coordinating Council Chairs/Human Resource Investment Councils, was originally organized in 1988 by the chairs of state job training coordinating councils authorized under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). These councils advise Governors on JTPA programs and related education, job training, and employment policy and programs. The association expanded its membership in 1993 to include the chairs of state human resource investment councils authorized under the 1992 amendments to JTPA and other similar state councils with broad oversight of state workforce development policy and programs. The association provides a unified voice for state councils on workforce investment policy issues; works to strengthen employment, training, and education programs; and coordinates with other national organizations engaged in areas of common interest. Staff support is provided by the Employment and Social Services Policy Studies Division of the National Governors' Association Center for Policy Research.


Copyright 1994 by the National Association of State Workforce Investment Policy Council Chairs, 444 North Capitol Street, Washington, D.C. 20001-1512. All rights reserved.

This publication was prepared for the National Association of State Workforce Investment Policy Council Chairs by the National Governors' Association. However, the opinions and recommendations contained in this paper do not constitute the policy positions of the National Governors' Association or individual Governors.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

FRAMEWORK FOR A NATIONAL
WORKFORCE INVESTMENT SYSTEM

Purpose
Guiding Principles
Customers
Key Products
Governance
Key Features of the Service Delivery System
Investment Resources
Accountability and Quality Assurance

RECOMMENDATIONS

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX: Letters of Comment from Other National Organizations

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper reflects the dedication and work of State Workforce Council Chairs, Alternates and Staff who gave generously of their time, knowledge, and insights during the past year to frame a new direction for the nation's workforce development programs. Without their continuous involvement and contributions, this paper would not have been written. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

Special recognition is given to Linda Holthaus, who is with Proctor and Gamble Company and who served as the vice chair of the Ohio Human Resource Investment Council. Her enthusiasm and considerable organizational and group process skills contributed greatly to the focus and quality of this paper.

Finally, appreciation is expressed to the staff with the National Governors' Association, Training and Employment Program and Public Affairs Office who contributed to preparing this paper for publication.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

This paper presents the National Association of State Workforce Investment Policy Council Chairs' framework for how to restructure the nation's workforce development system. It calls for a coherent, comprehensive national workforce investment system that provides youth and adults with opportunities to prepare for, and advance in, the labor market throughout their lifetimes while providing employers the skilled workers, both entry level and incumbent, they need to remain competitive in the global economy. Such a system would contribute to a strong U.S. economy. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

In 1993 the National Association of State Workforce Investment Policy Council Chairs-formerly the National Association of State Job Training Coordinating Council/Human Resource Investment Council Chairs-issued "Bring Down the Barriers," a policy paper that identified major barriers to an integrated, high-quality workforce investment system. The paper asserted that the nation's economic future depends on finding common ground to advance the development of its workforce. A number of policy recommendations were presented to maximize current resources as the nation transitions from a collection of independent, overlapping employment and training programs and services to a comprehensive, integrated system. The mission of this system is to build a globally competitive workforce.

Since the "Barriers" policy paper was issued, the General Accounting Office has published several reports highlighting the proliferation, fragmentation, and inconsistency of workforce development programs and calling for the consolidation of these programs into a comprehensive system that operates on the basis of common outcomes, definitions, and reporting requirements. Also, several legislative proposals have been introduced in Congress calling for various degrees of program consolidation and streamlining of the current system.

These legislative initiatives suggest that considerable progress is being made in moving forward with the national debate on restructuring the federal workforce programs. However, what has yet to be proposed is a national workforce development system that restructures the fragmented mix of federal workforce programs, now administered by a variety of federal, state, and local agencies, into a rational, customer-driven system that provides a continuum of opportunities for lifelong learning supported by a private/public partnership.

Members of the National Association of State Workforce Investment Policy Council Chairs believe that this nation neither has the time nor the resources to totally dismantle the current system and rebuild it from the ground up. By thinking strategically and drawing on the best practices from the current mix of public programs, with their broad range of providers, as well as the experiences of the private sector, it is possible to quicken the transition and consolidate and streamline these programs into a "world-class" system. Based on this premise, the chairs agreed to initiate a process for proposing such a system. "Advancing America's Workforce" proposes a framework for a national workforce investment system and presents recommendations to begin the process of building one.

FRAMEWORK FOR A NATIONAL WORKFORCE INVESTMENT SYSTEM

Designing the next generation of a national workforce investment system requires a major shift from a mind-set of curing the needs of clients to a vision of investing in the potential of individual workers while preserving the commitment to those individuals with the greatest needs. This requires: [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

• moving from programs that stigmatize and classify individuals as members of various marginal, dependent populations to a system that respects individuals as customers who have unique talents and capabilities and the potential to take responsibility for their economic well-being;
• moving from an unemployment-focused system designed to deal with temporary layoffs and minimal skill development to an employment and investment system designed for the twenty-first century to deal with major economic shifts that result in ongoing skill upgrading and retraining needs;
• moving from low-skill, short-term training programs resulting in low-wage jobs to a high-skill training system that provides continuous education and training opportunities leading to skill advancement and economic security through placement into high-skill/high-wage jobs with a future; and
• moving from a patchwork of second-chance, disconnected programs targeted to specific populations to a coherent, comprehensive, outcome-driven system with universal access and eligibility that is part of a mainstream system of lifelong learning valued and used by individuals and employers alike and mutually supported by public and private resources.

Purpose

The purpose of a national workforce investment system is to provide every youth and adult with the opportunity for continuously upgrading their skills in order to advance economically and socially throughout their lifetime, and in turn, to provide employers with the skilled workers necessary to be competitive in the twenty-first century global marketplace, thereby contributing to a strong U.S. economy.

Guiding Principles

Customer choice and market-driven. The system must be designed to address the needs of individuals and employers in local labor markets. It should be easily accessible and responsive to the needs of these customers, providing customer choice through good information on the labor market, provider performance, and a variety of funding vehicles. Customers should have the option to select the best service providers available in their community, and service providers should be accountable to customers for delivering high-quality services and meeting high performance standards. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]
Private sector leadership and direct involvement. Employers and workers must be involved in governance at all levels of the system and in defining the outcomes to be achieved by the system. The public and private sectors must share responsibility for achieving these outcomes. The system must be valued and used by employers and workers; provide a direct link to private sector training systems; and promote and support work-based training, especially in small and medium-sized firms.
Outcome-based and accountable. The system should be guided by a limited set of clear and readily measurable outcomes that are defined at the national level and adjusted or added to at the state and local levels based on customer needs. Performance management systems should be in place throughout the system to measure the value added at each level of the system and by each intervention. Methods to continuously improve the achievement of outcomes and the evaluation of impacts should be applied throughout the system.
State-based and locally designed and delivered. States and localities must have the flexibility to jointly design a system that reflects statewide and local labor market needs, with the authority to integrate similar programs, determine appropriate governance for the system, and set outcome-based standards for services. The responsibility for designing the service delivery system should rest with the entities closest to the customer.
Streamlined governance and operation. The system should reflect the consolidation and streamlining of existing workforce development programs across all relevant federal agencies. It should aim to simplify governance at all levels; modify funding approaches; consolidate planning at the state and local levels; utilize common definitions throughout the system; establish standard eligibility requirements, synchronize program operating years; simplify fiscal management and reporting systems; and integrate the system with other public and private support systems.
Continuous system of lifelong learning. The system should encourage and support lifelong learning. It should concentrate on moving individuals into jobs to gain experience in the labor market as early as possible, supported by ongoing education and training opportunities to continuously upgrade their knowledge and skills. This requires a seamless system that connects elementary, secondary, postsecondary, adult, and work-based training and education supported by public and private resources. The system should be guided by a common set of academic and occupational skill standards leading to portable credentials that can be updated as needed.
Workforce and economic development connections. Workforce development activities must be part of federal, state, and local economic competitiveness strategies to ensure that the supply of workers matches the demands of the local and national labor markets and that well-paying jobs are available for all workers. This entails creating competitive workplaces by encouraging the adoption of high-performance methods of operation, supporting job creation and retention activities, and investing in worker training. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

Customers

All youth and adults, including those in transition from school to work, welfare to work, unemployment to work, and work to work, as well as others in a variety of career transitions, are customers of the system and are eligible for services.
All employers, including individual entrepreneurs and small, medium, and large firms, are both customers and users of the system.

Key Products

Information that is easily accessible and understandable is the lifeblood of the system. It must be comprehensive, available in a timely manner, and delivered through a variety of mediums, including automated technology. Customer information should include job openings and requirements, training and education opportunities, available support services, occupational skill and education requirements, and available providers and their performance records. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]
Quality services that effectively meet individual and employer needs define the performance of the system. Services-including employment, education, training, and support services-must be comprehensive, easily accessible and understandable, readily available, and tied to employment opportunities and career advancement.

Governance

The system must be governed through a new federal/state/local partnership, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities at each level. Overall direction and oversight for the system should be provided at the federal level, with less policing of process and procedures. States and localities should have greater flexibility in the design of the system and the delivery of services, with increased accountability for achieving outcomes across the system and improving responsiveness to customers.

The federal role should be framing the vision for the system; developing broad policy; establishing national priorities, policies, and performance standards; evaluating and disseminating best practices; providing technical assistance and support for capacity building; and maintaining funding consistency.

The state role should be defining a state vision; establishing statewide priorities, policies, and performance standards; developing a statewide strategic plan; building federal/state and state/local partnerships; determining funding needs in consultation with localities; deciding on substate funding allocations based on needs; providing technical assistance and capacity building support; and overseeing the state system.

The local role should be developing a strategic plan, based on local priorities; designing and administering the local delivery system, including establishing performance measures, overseeing and evaluating the performance of local providers, determining customer satisfaction, and implementing processes to continually improve the quality of services.

The governance structure should include workforce investment policy boards at all levels of the system with strong private sector representation along with representation from all key stakeholders in the system. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

A federal board should be appointed by the president, in consultation with Congress. Its membership should include relevant department heads and representatives from business, labor, state and local government, and service provider organizations.

The responsibilities of the board should include advising the president and Congress on workforce-related policy issues; establishing broad federal workforce investment policy; establishing a central expedited process for waiver approval; establishing core definitions, reporting requirements, performance measures, and audit/compliance requirements; engaging in integrated, strategic planning; conducting research and evaluation and proposing changes as needed; and overseeing the operation of a national labor market system.

A state board should be established and appointed at the discretion of the Governor with majority business representation and representation from labor, state and local government, education, and other stakeholders.

The responsibilities of the state board should include advising the Governor and state legislature on workforce issues; establishing state goals and budgetary authority, as appropriate for directing resources to meet those goals; establishing outcomes and performance measures; establishing the governance structure and overall framework for the state workforce investment system, including a quality assurance system; overseeing the operation of the state labor market information system; and providing technical assistance and capacity building support.

Local Boards should be established based on an agreement between the Governor and local elected officials. Members should be appointed by local elected officials with majority business representation and representation from labor, education, community organizations, and other stakeholders.

The responsibilities of local boards should include strategic planning and budgetary authority based on the agreement between the Governor and local elected officials; developing a single local workforce investment plan; setting local performance measures and establishing a local performance management system; designing and overseeing the operation of the local service delivery system, including the provision of labor market information; and monitoring, evaluating, and documenting provider performance.

Key Features of the Service Delivery System

Universal access and eligibility for all customers. Access to the system should be readily available to all customers. Everyone in need of and seeking services should have equal opportunity and be eligible to receive a core set of services while ensuring that those most in need are not left behind. Common criteria should be in place for determining eligibility to access more intensive services. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]
Customer choice and responsibility. Service delivery should be designed to reinforce customer decisionmaking and to provide a variety of avenues to receiving information and services.
Convenient local points of service. Customers should have access to all available information and services in the system without regard to the point of entry. Access should be conveniently located within the community and should not be confined to one specific site or area.
Comprehensive services. The system should have the capacity to customize and provide a broad range of training, education, and employment services that address the unique needs of individuals and employers. The system should be transparent to the customers so that they can receive services without concern for what funding track or program for which they are eligible. Services should be provided using a variety of assessment and delivery mechanisms, including electronic tools.
Compatible information and integrated data systems. Intake should be streamlined so that customers do not have to provide the same information to the system each time they access it. Customer records should be transferable among service providers on a need-to-know basis, while maintaining confidentiality as required by the customer.
Broad visibility. The system should have a universal identifier that is easily recognized and understood by all customers. Various methods of promoting the benefits of the system should be implemented to ensure that everyone, particularly those out of the mainstream and in greatest need, are aware of the available services and have equal opportunity to access them.

Investment Resources

The responsibility for investing in the system rests with all stakeholders who stand to benefit from the system. The system should be supported by resources provided at all levels of the system. Government funds should be used to build and maintain the infrastructure and to provide access to and deliver quality services while leveraging private sector investments and encouraging individual investments. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

Sufficient public, private, and personal resources should be available to support the outcomes expected from the system. Any requirements imposed on the system by federal, state, or local governments should be supported with revenues generated by the appropriate level of government. Performance and accountability measures should be built into the system to ensure the appropriate expenditure of funds and to assure both public and private stakeholders that they are receiving an adequate return to justify their investment.

Accountability and Quality Assurance

The accountability and quality assurance system should be built on a new federal/state/local partnership that provides states and localities with greater flexibility to design and operate the workforce investment system and relief from burdensome reporting requirements and process audits. In exchange for greater flexibility, state and localities should implement accountability systems and continuous improvement processes tied to performance in achieving the outcomes defined for the system. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

The accountability and quality assurance system should include the following features:

• outcomes that are clear, measurable, and connected to the length of employment and self-sufficiency and that take into account state and local social and economic factors;
• shared federal, state, and local responsibility in defining standards and measures, with state and local responsibility for establishing the criteria for measuring program success based on customer input;
• high-level performance standards tied to outcomes established at each level;
• streamlined performance management systems across programs with common definitions and data elements, common reporting and auditing requirements, standardized fiscal and administrative procedures and cost categories, and compatible information systems;
• sanctions for nonperformance and rewards for exemplary performance that are clearly defined, understood, and carried out at all levels;
• evaluation to determine the impact of the system and the return on investment and to identify best practices based on customer achievement and satisfaction; and
• continuous improvement based on best practices to improve customer satisfaction and advancement and to meet changing needs.

RECOMMENDATIONS

A major step in restructuring the nation's workforce development system is having the federal government establish a national workforce investment policy-a coherent, consistent, comprehensive framework that connects existing public, private, and nonprofit education, training, employment, and economic development programs and sets forth national priorities for directing resources throughout the system. Such a policy framework should support lifelong learning as a fundamental principle and be flexible enough to guide future responses to changes in the economic and/or social environment. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

To initiate a national workforce investment policy, the National Association of State Workforce Investment Policy Council Chairs recommends the following actions, with shared federal, state, and local responsibility across the public and private sectors.

1. Create a system that reinforces individual responsibility and provides customer choice and easy access to services.

• Encourage individuals to invest in the continuous upgrading of their knowledge and skills by establishing tax-deferred saving vehicles such as individual training accounts and providing tax credits for work- or career-related education and training expenses. Support research and demonstration pilots to test these concepts.
• Provide incentives, in the form of Governors' discretionary funds or demonstration grants, to implement alternative payment vehicles such as training vouchers that promote individual choice and responsibility.
• Develop a national labor market information system as the heart of the workforce investment system that is centralized at the federal and state levels, is based on current local labor market information, and makes optimum use of advanced technology to provide multiple, user-friendly points of access at the local level.
• Establish local points of service (e.g., "one-stop" or "no-wrong-door" access points) that are easily accessible and that provide a core set of services, including intake, assessment, job search and placement, and referral to academic, occupational, or job training services.
• Include, as a component of each state's quality assurance system, customer information on provider performance that is readily available and useful to individuals and employers.
• Develop a national logo that becomes the symbol of quality for the national system and is part of a marketing strategy to promote lifelong learning as an individual and societal responsibility.

2. Create a strong partnership with the private sector. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

• Encourage states and localities to establish workforce investment boards that have strong private sector representation, are chaired by business, and are responsible for strategic planning and program oversight.
• Support the use of industry-based skill standards as a common measure of skill achievement and credentialing in public and private training programs.
• Support the upgrading of incumbent workers, particularly those at risk of losing their jobs in small and medium-sized firms by providing Governors with discretionary authority to channel a percentage of federal workforce investment resources to encourage employer initiatives in this area.
• Leverage employer investment in worker training by providing incentives to employers, such as tax credits for employee training or investments in individual training accounts.
• Encourage economic development efforts leading to the creation of quality jobs with a future and support state and local efforts to improve the exchange of information on the requirements of local labor markets and the process of matching workers with employers.

3. Redefine federal, state, and local relationships. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

• Enact legislation to consolidate the current myriad of federal programs into major clusters such as youth preparation for work, adult entry to work, and worker reentry and skill upgrading. Provide states with the flexibility to create state-based, locally designed service delivery systems.
• Centralize the administration of the workforce investment programs into one federal agency and provide incentives to encourage states to take similar action.
• Create a federal workforce investment board to oversee all federal workforce development-related programs and to advise the president and Congress on national workforce investment policy.
• Adopt a broad and consistent policy of granting timely waivers to address federal statutory, regulatory, and administrative requirements that inhibit service integration and quality customer service.
• Provide state and localities with flexibility in the administration of federal workforce development programs. Encourage states to establish cross-program performance management systems and continuous improvement processes.
• Promote strategic planning of workforce investment resources across programs at both the state and local levels by allowing states and localities to prepare a single workforce investment plan for all federal workforce development programs.

4. Connect workforce investment, education, and economic development activities at all levels within the system.

• Include the U.S. secretaries of commerce, education, labor, and health and human services as members of the national board on workforce investment.
• Include representation from workforce and economic development agencies and educational institutions on state and local workforce investment boards.
• Provide timely labor market information that accurately projects the employment needs of the local labor market.
• Provide states and localities with the flexibility to work with small and medium-sized firms to support incumbent worker training as part of job retention and creation strategies.

5. Establish clear, simple, and measurable outcomes for the system. [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

• Define national outcome measures related to employment, job retention, earnings, and academic and occupational competencies that are gained by individuals assisted by services available through the system.
• Allow states and localities the option to further define outcome measures related to the unique needs of the state or local labor market.
• Make optimum use of unemployment insurance wage records, as well as academic and occupational skill standards when they are available, to measure performance in achieving outcomes.
• Develop common definitions, data elements, and reporting requirements to be applied throughout the system.

CONCLUSION [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]

The framework proposed in this paper calls for significant systemic change in the structure, administration, and operation of workforce development programs in this country building on best practices in the current system. It calls for a strong public/private partnership in designing and implementing a workforce investment system that is flexible, innovative, and adaptive to changing economic and social conditions. Ultimately, the system should provide individuals with the tools they need to assume greater responsibility for their economic and social advancement and employers with the means to access and train the skilled workers they need to remain competitive.

The National Association of State Workforce Investment Policy Council Chairs believes that advancing the knowledge and skills of America's current and future workforce is fundamental to the nation's economic competitiveness today and for the twenty-first century. It has proposed a framework for restructuring the current fragmented system of employment and training programs into a unified workforce investment system with the goal of building a competitive workforce through investment in opportunities for lifelong learning. The responsibility for achieving this end rests with government, education, business, labor, and individuals because it is a shared responsibility.

Appendix: Letters of Comment from Other National Organizations

National Association of State JTPA Liaisons [ Back to Contents || Top of Page ]
Interstate Conference of Employment Security Agencies, Inc.
U.S. Conference of Mayors' Employment and Training Council
National Association of State Councils on Vocational Education
National Association of Workforce Development Professionals
Human Resources Development Institute, AFL-CIO
National Association of Private Industry Councils
National Commission for Employment Policy
American Vocational Association
Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America

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