Building a sustainable economy with broadly shared prosperity requires a robust, fully-funded federal workforce development system that is worker-centered and job-driven to meet the skill training needs of multiple populations and employers in regional economies. The anchor of that system in the United States is the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and its network of more than 2,500 American Job Centers that served nearly 23 million persons in 2015-16.
The AFL-CIO Working for America Institute (WAI) supports the continuation of that national system and the full engagement of unions, community organizations, workforce intermediaries, registered apprenticeship programs, and a public employment service in state and local workforce development boards. The WAI contributes to the system’s strength by providing technical assistance and training to members of state and local workforce boards; emphasizing the need for the system to support training for high-quality jobs with clear career pathways; collaborating with policy development, research and educational organizations that seek to improve employment and training services; and directly operating selected programs that expand registered apprenticeship and provide career development services to workers.
Publications
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: An Overview
Side by Side: Alliance for Quality Career Pathways Framework 1.0 and WIOA
Ready to Work: Job-Driven Training and American Opportunity
Sharing Success: Common Policies and Practices of Urban WIBs Reporting High Client Earnings