| 摘要 | Key Points
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is the primary federal legislation that authorizes many training and workforce development services. These services help train job seekers with skills, but administrative hurdles limit its effectiveness.
Congress allocates roughly $4.8 billion for WIOA programs that serve six million participants. While smaller than other postsecondary aid programs, job seekers can combine WIOA funding with other state and federal aid to pay for training—although relatively few individuals navigate eligibility requirements needed to do so.
Additionally, few WIOA participants receive and use funding for actual training services. Policymakers and WIOA caseworkers should prioritize training and simplify reporting requirements to encourage a healthy marketplace of WIOA-eligible training providers.
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Executive Summary
Policymakers at the state and federal levels have expressed concern over the emerging “skills gap”—the mismatch between the job skills employers are looking for and the skills that applicants in the labor market possess. The skills gap is most acute for middle-skilled jobs; that is, jobs that require training beyond high school but less than a four-year college degree program. According to analysis by the National Skills Coalition, middle-skilled jobs account for 53 percent of the United States labor market, yet only 43 percent of the labor force is trained to the middle-skill level. Some estimates have concluded the skills gap costs the US economy $160 billion annually in terms of unfilled labor output, reduced productivity, and depressed earnings.
To address these labor market challenges, many have turned to America’s workforce development system. Recent efforts from Congress and the White House confirm that policymakers are serious about expanding job-training opportunities. But even with the heightened focus, a shockingly small percentage of individuals leveraging the workforce system combine available Department of Labor training funds with money from other federal and state programs—despite that many more might qualify for additional aid. Incongruent bureaucratic processes commonly inhibit the effectiveness of workforce training, and policy requirements are not clearly communicated to training seekers, financial aid administrators, and private entities.
If the goal is to increase the number of job seekers that participate in high-quality training programs, more can be done to improve the coordination between the Department of Labor and these groups. This report offers recommendations for enhancing the federal workforce development system by reviewing and identifying inefficiencies in the current system. It concludes by forwarding several policy suggestions aimed at improving the way that Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding is used by job seekers and training providers.
Introduction
Policymakers at the local and federal level have expressed concern over the “skills gap”—the mismatch between the job skills employers are looking for and the skills that applicants in the labor market possess. Economists have cited many reasons for the gap.1 Jobs that require routine tasks are increasingly automated, technological innovations have contributed to a greater demand for specialized workers, and globalization trends have led some companies to relocate oversees. The skills gap is most acute for the middle-skilled jobs; that is, jobs that require training beyond high school but less than a four-year college degree program.2
Even with today’s historically low unemployment rate, approximately 6.3 million unemployed individuals are looking for work, and another 4.6 million workers are in part-time jobs even though they would prefer full-time employment.3 Meanwhile, the Department of Labor reports over 6.7 million unfilled job openings in the economy today.4 Why are interested job seekers unable to fill these available jobs?
Researchers at Harvard University find that many of these job openings—such as health care, transportation, retail, and production—require workers with middle skills.5 Estimates from the National Skills Coalition suggest that up to 53 percent of jobs require middle-skills workers but that only 43 percent of the labor force has that level of training.6 In the years ahead, the Department of Labor estimates that health care jobs will be among the occupations in highest demand. These jobs often require interpersonal skills, are not easily automated, and usually necessitate more training than a high school education.7
Employers and workers would do well to begin thinking about the coming shifts in the economy since the shortage of qualified workers can create real economic costs. Some estimates have concluded the skills gap costs the US economy $160 billion annually in terms of unfilled labor output, reduced productivity, and depressed earnings.8 Technological innovation and more globalized markets could displace a growing number of workers if they are not retrained with skills needed for the modern economy. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that in the next two decades, roughly 35 percent of American jobs could be at risk of being automated or requiring markedly different skill sets.9 While automation can create new jobs, those jobs commonly require higher levels of training.
With these labor market challenges, many have turned to America’s workforce development system to reequip job seekers with needed skills to put them back to work. In fact, policymakers have already taken some actions to address the skills gap. In 2014, Congress reauthorized the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the primary federal legislation that supports workforce training. Recent efforts from the White House confirm that policymakers and business leaders are serious about expanding job-training programs. President Donald Trump has increased annual federal funding for apprenticeships from $90 million to $200 million, established an apprenticeship task force, and signed several executive orders to help strengthen partnerships among employers, training providers, and job seekers.10 More recently, Trump proposed combining the Departments of Education and Labor to be the “Department of Education and the Workforce,” reiterating the administration’s vision that the purpose of education is to not only learn but also prepare workers to participate in the labor force.11
While more focus is now on the workforce development system, training seekers still face difficulties combining federal aid available through the Department of Labor for training with other sources of funding. A shockingly small percentage of individuals leveraging the workforce development system combine Department of Labor training funds with student aid programs issued through other federal and state agencies, even though many more might qualify for additional aid, such as Pell Grants or career and technical education state grants. In many cases, this is because incongruent bureaucratic processes inhibit the effectiveness of workforce training, and policy requirements are not clearly communicated to training seekers, financial aid administrators, and private entities.
If the goal is to increase the number of workers participating in high-quality training programs, more can be done to improve the coordination between the Department of Labor and these groups. Accordingly, this report offers recommendations for enhancing the federal workforce development system. It begins by describing the workforce development system, including its size, number of participants, available services, eligibility requirements, and program providers. In the second section, the report identifies inefficient and counterproductive policies and offers possible improvements. With a balanced approach, WIOA can be enhanced so that job seekers better use available funding and engage in a healthy marketplace of workforce development and training providers.
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