Report to the Honorable

Christopher S. Bond, Ranking Minority

Member, Committee on Small Business

and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Senate

United States General Accounting Office

GAO

October 2001 SMALL BUSINESS

Workforce

Development

Consortia Provide

Needed Services

GAO-02-80
Page i GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

Letter 1

Results in Brief 2

Background 4

Community Organizations Form Consortia in Response to Local

Workforce Needs. 8

Consortia Activities Address Current and Future Workforce Needs 12

Community Workforce Development Consortia Share Key

Principles and Best Practices 18

Limited Information Available on Program Outcomes 25

Conclusions 28

Agency Comments 28

Appendix I GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments 30

GAO Contacts 30

Staff Acknowledgments 30

Tables

Table 1: Community Workforce Development Consortia Overview 10

Table 2: Community Consortia Targeted Business and Industry

Sectors 18

Table 3: The Workplace Learning Connection Student Participation

- Fiscal Years 1999 and 2000 27

Figure

Figure 1: An Example of a Community Workforce Consortium

Consisting of Individual Member Organizations and an

Intermediary Organization 8

Abbreviations

CATF Capital Area Training Foundation

COWS Center on Wisconsin Strategy

CPCC Central Piedmont Community College

STWOA School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994

WIA Workforce Investment Act of 1998

WRTP Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership

Contents
Page 1 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

October 30, 2001

The Honorable Christopher S. Bond

Ranking Minority Member

Committee on Small Business

 and Entrepreneurship,

United States Senate

Dear Senator Bond:

Small businesses often experience serious problems finding skilled

employees to fill immediate vacancies in their workforce, upgrading the

skills of their existing employees, and identifying strategies to meet their

future workforce needs. Unlike their larger counterparts, small businesses

typically have limited financial and human resources and community

relations staff to assist them in managing these important tasks. When

small businesses seek connections to potential new entrants into the

workforce—including youth—they face a perplexing array of public and

private employment and training service providers. In addition, the

businesses are often unaware of what assistance is available or who to

turn to for help in meeting their workforce development requirements. In

past work, we have found, for example, that federal and state employment

and training programs are often confusing for employers and participants

alike and that small businesses may face economic and informational

barriers to participation in these programs.1

 The Workforce Investment

Act of 1998—currently being implemented—was passed, in part, to

address these workforce development issues and to provide a greater

employer focus to federal training programs.

While these problems are common across communities, small businesses

in some areas are located where business and trade organizations,

community colleges, and other public and private organizations have

partnered to create workforce development networks—often referred to

as workforce consortia. This emerging industry-based approach offers

small businesses access to a variety of workforce development activities in

which they might otherwise be unable to participate. Small businesses can

 1

Multiple Employment Training Programs: Overlapping Programs Indicate Need for

Closer Examination of Structure (GAO-01-71, Oct. 13, 2000). This study identified 40

federally funded employment and training programs, for which a key program goal is

providing assistance to persons trying to find employment or improve their job skills.

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548
Page 2 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

use these consortia to leverage larger and broader influence and expertise

to better address their individual employment and training needs as well

as create future career pathways for youth. It was within this context that

you asked us to provide information on how small businesses are working

with these consortia to address their needs for skilled workers.

Specifically, you asked the following questions:

• What factors prompted communities to establish workforce development

consortia and what organizations participate in them?

• What activities do the consortia offer to assist small business?

• What do consortia partners view as the key principles and most effective

practices for implementing and sustaining workforce consortia?

• What is known about the outcomes of workforce consortia?

To respond to these questions, we identified and consulted with nationally

recognized experts in workforce development and officials from

community workforce consortia organizations. We also reviewed

literature on community workforce development efforts. On the basis of

recommendations from these sources, we identified communities with

well-regarded community workforce development efforts and selected

four communities that had established consortia of local organizations to

address workforce needs. In making this selection, we also considered the

length of time the consortia had been operating as well as including a

variety of community sizes and economic bases. We conducted on-site

reviews of workforce consortia in Austin, Texas; Cedar Rapids, Iowa;

Charlotte, North Carolina; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.2

 At each location,

we discussed consortia development, operations, and activities with

officials from key consortia organizations and with local small business

officials.

In each of the four communities we visited, consortia were formed in

response to individual community economic and workforce development

needs. In some locations, these needs were identified and examined

through formal studies on the community’s workforce conditions and

future economic challenges. For example, in Charlotte, North Carolina,

business leaders working with other community organizations sought to

 2

We also gathered information on Jobs With a Future, an initiative in Madison, Wisconsin,

that is closely associated with the community workforce development consortium in

Milwaukee.

Results in Brief
Page 3 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

identify strategies to continue the business growth of the area while

exploring potential weaknesses in the local economy. In these

communities, local public and private organizations joined together to

address existing and emerging workforce development issues. Consortia

varied somewhat in membership and activities according to their area’s

needs and resources but were characterized by a strong business focus.

Consortia were typically lead by one or two key organizations, such as the

chamber of commerce and community college. Other consortia members

often included local school districts, workforce investment boards,

business and trade associations, and unions. In three of the four locations

we visited, officials from consortia organizations had established

intermediary entities to help link all consortium organizations and to act

as a broker or provider of services.

Workforce consortia we reviewed connected small businesses to a

coordinated system of organizations and activities that provided the

services and information they needed to address both current and future

workforce needs. Current needs included identifying and hiring new

employees as well as training existing employees. Consortia activities to

address businesses’ needs for new employees included activities like job

fairs that brought businesses together with job seekers and initiatives that

linked businesses with community-based organizations that had pools of

potential employees. Consortia activities to address training needs for

existing employees included, for example, industry-specific training in the

use of manufacturing technology and English as a second language classes

for improving worker/supervisor communication. Consortia activities that

focused on future workforce needs were designed to create pathways for

new workers—particularly youth—into the job market. These included

career awareness activities for youth, such as job shadowing, and

internships as well as longer-term training, such as apprenticeships, in the

skills needed for a specific trade or technical career.

We found consortia organizations identified four important principles and

a number of associated best practices that, in their view, were critical to

the operation of their local consortium. According to consortia officials,

the key principles were (1) consortia focused primarily on businesses’

workforce needs and were organized around key industry sectors in their

community; (2) consortia organizations provided leadership and

developed ways to sustain on-going, positive working relationships among

all consortium partners; (3) consortia organizations made workforce

development activities accessible to both businesses and prospective

workers; and (4) consortia organizations used incentives to make

participation in activities attractive to small businesses. Consortia officials
Page 4 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

identified a variety of best practices related to the four principles. For

example, to focus on businesses’ needs, some consortia had established

industry sector workforce advisory groups, such as the Building Industry

Careers Alliance in Austin, Texas, and implemented industry-specific

employment and training initiatives. To provide leadership and sustain

positive working relationships, consortia organizations held regular

meetings and discussions to update each other on activities, and in some

communities, organizations shared working space. To provide access,

several consortia organizations had outreach staff to facilitate

participation in consortium activities. Finally, to provide incentives to

attract business participation, a state program in Iowa—administered by

community colleges—defrayed hiring and training costs for businesses

creating new positions and supported the development of custom training

packages for existing employees.

Limited information exists on the outcomes of workforce consortia at the

sites we visited. We found no systematic efforts to evaluate overall

consortium effectiveness, but there were isolated attempts to monitor

participation rates and assess the impact of specific activities on job

retention and future earnings. For example, the Wisconsin Regional

Training Partnership (WRTP) in Milwaukee, linked central city residents—

many of whom had less than a high school education—with employers

who need workers. The organization reported placing over 600 employees

in manufacturing sector jobs—most paying over $10.00 per hour, plus

health care, pension, tuition reimbursement and other benefits.

Additionally, the initiative reported that after 1 year, 48 percent of these

new employees remained in their jobs.

During the 1990s, employers—including small businesses—reported

increasing difficulty finding, hiring, training, and retaining employees with

the appropriate sets of skills.3

 This problem is due in part to that decade’s

unprecedented economic growth and the resulting record low

unemployment levels and has been compounded by the widespread and

increasing use of advanced technologies in nearly all sectors of the U.S.

economy. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that employment

 3

Workforce Issues: A Top Priority for Chamber Members, Center for Workforce

Preparation, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington, D.C. (1999).

The Impact of Training and Development on Recruitment and Retention, Council for

Adult and Experiential Learning, Chicago, Illinois (1999).

Background
Page 5 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

increased by nearly 21 million in the 1990s,4 with the service sector—

which includes skilled jobs in health and legal services—showing the

greatest growth. Significant growth also occurred in high-skill

occupations, such as some types of manufacturing and automobile repair,

that now use computer technology in their work processes. Additionally,

employers report that many new job market entrants, especially youth, are

not equipped with the basic skills and job experience they need to succeed

in the present environment. Many have deficits in important employment

readiness knowledge and skills such as self-reliance, work ethics,

teamwork, and communications. Labor projects that the number of young

adults, ages 16 to 24, will increase to 25.2 million, or 16.3 percent, of the

civilian labor force by 2008.

While all businesses face current and future workforce development

challenges, small businesses confront additional barriers—both economic

and informational—to meeting their workforce needs. Small business

employers typically have fewer economic resources and staff to devote to

identifying, hiring, training, and retaining employees. The employers may

be discouraged from participation in some federal or state workforce

development programs because they do not have the staff capacity to

manage administrative procedures. Additionally, because they may not be

able to dedicate staff to training and personnel matters, small businesses

often have more difficulty than larger employers obtaining information to

help them identify and address their workforce development needs.

Finally, both large and small businesses may hesitate to invest resources in

training an employee who could use the newly acquired skills to secure a

better paying job elsewhere. However, the impact of this “free riding”

might be greater on a small business.

According to the Small Business Administration, the approximately 25

million small businesses in the United States provide 67 percent of

workers with their first job or initial on-the-job training in basic skills and

hire a larger proportion of younger workers. Meeting the nation’s

workforce needs—including those of small business and youth—has been

the focus of study and activity by a variety of organizations at both the

national and local levels. In many communities, programs and services

linking businesses to potential employees or offering training to

 4

“Job Growth in the 1990s: a Retrospect”, Monthly Labor Review, December 2000 reports

that nonfarm payroll employment increased from 107.9 million in 1989 to 128.8 million in

1999.
Page 6 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

incumbent workers are available through entities such as job centers and

community colleges. However, these services may be fragmented among

several organizations, making it difficult for small businesses to identify

and obtain the range of services they need to solve their workforce

problems. Federal legislation, such as the School-to-Work Opportunities

Act of 1994 (STWOA)5

 and the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), 6

has encouraged communities to create systems that address the education

and training of young adults and the workforce needs of business in a

modern, competitive work economy. WIA calls for a strong role for the

private sector, with local business-lead boards focusing on planning,

policy development, and oversight of the local workforce investment

system. Recent studies and reports have also pointed to cooperation and

coordination among public and private organizations as a promising way

to address community workforce needs. A report by the National Center

on Education and the Economy notes that recent global and national

economic trends point to the need for local workforce systems that will

provide employers and workers with the support they need for economic

success.7

 Additionally, a report by the Center on Wisconsin Strategy

(COWS) at the University of Wisconsin states that workforce development

strategies increasingly depend on partnerships between businesses and

workers, among firms in specific industries, and between the public and

 5

STWOA authorized federal “seed money” over a limited period of time to states and local

partnerships of business, labor, government, education, and community organizations to

develop school-to-work programs. The act supported the creation of programs with three

main elements: work-based learning (providing participating students with work

experience and on-the-job training); school-based learning (upgrading and integrating the

academic and occupational skills participating students learn in school); and program

coordination to aid the planning, implementation, and operation of the program. All 50

states received grants before the program was terminated on October 1, 2001. The U.S.

Departments of Education and Labor jointly administered STWOA.

6

WIA was passed by the 105th Congress to foster a coherent employment and training

system. WIA provides the framework for a national workforce preparation and

employment system and funds a number of employment and training programs across the

nation. Effective July 1, 2000, WIA replaced the Job Training Partnership Act. One of WIA’s

major purposes is to increase the occupational skills, employment, and earnings of

program participants. Services are provided to employers and job seekers—including

adults, dislocated workers, and youth—using a one-stop service delivery system that

coordinates training programs with employer needs.

7

Building a Highly Skilled Workforce: A Labor Market System for the 21st Century, The

Workforce Development Program of the National Center on Education and the Economy,

Washington, D.C., (1997).
Page 7 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

private sector.8 Finally, a policy statement by the Committee for Economic

Development suggests that an intermediary organization can play an

important role in helping establish and maintain community partnerships.9

An intermediary is an entity established by community organizations to act

as a focal point, linking businesses with educational institutions,

community-based organizations, and other local associations in a

network—or consortium—to address mutual goals. Intermediaries broker

or provide workforce development services and manage ongoing relations

among consortium members. Businesses may access consortium services

and activities directly through the intermediary or through their

association with another consortium organization. A community

workforce consortium with an intermediary organization could include

many of the organizations shown in figure 1, such as chambers of

commerce, community colleges, school districts, community-based

organizations, business and trade associations, and unions.

 8

High Performance Partnerships: Winning Solutions for Employers and Workers, Center

on Wisconsin Strategy for the State of Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development,

Madison, WI, April (1999).

9

The Employer’s Role in Linking School and Work, A Policy Statement by the Research

and Policy Committee of the Committee for Economic Development, New York (1998).
Page 8 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

Figure 1: An Example of a Community Workforce Consortium Consisting of Individual Member Organizations and an

Intermediary Organization

Source: Prepared by GAO based on interpretation of the information received from the consortia

reviewed for this study.

In the four communities we reviewed—Austin, Texas; Cedar Rapids, Iowa;

Charlotte, North Carolina; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin—workforce

development consortia had been established in response to local

businesses’ needs and spearheaded by key community organizations, such

as the chamber of commerce or local community college. In some cases,

these needs had been identified and examined as part of a formal study of

local workforce conditions and possible economic challenges. In others,

consensus on community workforce needs was reached by consortia

organization officials. The consortia were based primarily on cooperative

relationships among community organizations rather than on formal

agreements. Consortium membership varied by individual community but

often included school districts, business and trade organizations, labor

unions, and community-based service organizations, such as the YWCA

and family services agencies. Consortia organization officials also served

as members of the local workforce investment boards required under the

Community

Organizations Form

Consortia in

Response to Local

Workforce Needs.
Page 9 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

Workforce Investment Act.10 Additionally, consortia in Austin, Cedar

Rapids, and Milwaukee had created an intermediary organization to

facilitate the coordination and cooperation of workforce development

activities among consortium members and to act as a broker of

information and services.

Funding for the consortia organizations was typically a “patchwork” of

public and private sources. However, all the consortia we visited received

substantial financial support from private businesses and corporations or

from private not-for-profit organizations. For example, the Capital Area

Training Foundation (CATF) in Austin reported receiving fees from

businesses participating on advisory councils, the City of Austin, and

Travis County. The Workplace Learning Connection in Cedar Rapids

reported receiving funding from area corporations, Kirkwood Community

College, and service fees paid by participating school districts. Federal

financial support also played an important role in the consortia we

reviewed. Both CATF and The Workplace Learning Connection reported

receiving federal School-to-Work funding and WRTP in Milwaukee

received a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to train low-income

workers for jobs in higher paying fields such as construction, data

networking, and manufacturing. See table 1.

 10Under the act, a majority of board members must be representatives of local area

business.
Page 10 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

Table 1: Community Workforce Development Consortia Overview

Community Austin, Texas Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Charlotte, North

Carolina Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Intermediary

organization

Capital Area Training

Foundation

The Workplace Learning

Connection

None Wisconsin Regional

Training Partnership

Participating

organizations

• Greater Austin

Chamber of

Commerce

• Austin Community

College

• City of Austin

• Travis County

• Capital Area

Workforce

Development Board

• Travis County school

districts

• Business and trade

associations, such as

Austin Hotel/Motel

Association, Austin

Automotive Dealers

Association, and the

Association of

Builders and

Contractors

• Kirkwood Community

College

• Cedar Rapids Area

Chamber of Commerce

• Grant Wood Area

Education Agency—an

organization of area

public school districts

• Business and trade

associations, such as

the Plumbing, Heating

and Cooling

Contractors Association

• Unions, such as the

International

Brotherhood of

Electrical Workers

• Charlotte Chamber of

Commerce

• Central Piedmont

Community College

• University of North

Carolina at Charlotte

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg

School District

• Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Workforce

Development Board

• Business and trade

associations, such as

the Association of

General Contractors

and the Flexographic

Technical Association

• Wisconsin AFL-CIO,

• Greater Milwaukee

Committee

• Milwaukee Area

Technical College,

• Center on Wisconsin

Strategy

• Milwaukee Jobs

Initiative

• Community-based

organizations, such as

the YWCA, Goodwill

Industries, and

Milwaukee Housing

Authority

Business sector

focus

Automotive technology,

construction, financial,

health care, hospitality,

information technology,

and semiconductors

Agriculture, biotechnology,

health care, general

services, information

technology, and

manufacturing

Financial services,

transportation and

distribution services,

manufacturing, innovative

technology, professional

services, and travel and

entertainment

Manufacturing,

construction, health care,

hospitality, technology,

and transportation

Examples of

intermediary funding

sources

• Greater Austin

Chamber of

Commerce

• School-to-Work

Opportunity Act

grants

• City of Austin

• Travis County

• Capital Area

Workforce

Development Board

• Community Action

Network

• Private industry

contributions

• Steering Committee

membership fees

• Grant Wood Area

Education Agency

• Kirkwood Community

College

• Iowa School to Work

• McLeod USA

• Rockwell Collins

• Cedar Rapids Area

Chamber of Commerce

No intermediary: Member

organizations support their

own participation in

consortium activities

• Annie E. Casey

Foundation

• U.S. Department of

Labor

• Wisconsin

Manufacturing

Extension Partnership

• Wisconsin Department

of Workforce

Development

• Milwaukee Area and

Waukesha County

Technical Colleges

• Milwaukee Foundation

• Bader Foundation

Source: Prepared by GAO using information received from the consortia reviewed for this study.
Page 11 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

While consortia varied according to individual community needs and

resources, Charlotte and Milwaukee were examples of the evolution and

organization of community workforce efforts.

• Charlotte, North Carolina — In 1998, a group of Charlotte business

leaders, working with the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, initiated a

study—Advantage Carolina.11 The goal of the study was to determine how

Charlotte could capitalize on its economic advantages to ensure continued

prosperity for the region. Additionally, it explored the strengths and

weaknesses of the local economy and how to maximize what was viewed

as the tradition of public and private teamwork. Local business,

government, and nonprofit organization leaders helped guide the effort.

The study—updated in 2000 and 2001—identified the area’s primary

economic challenges and several initiatives to address them. One

initiative—the workforce development continuum—specifically addressed

the challenge of building a competitive, promotable, and sustainable

workforce. Specific objectives of this initiative included conducting

research on workforce needs and trends, building a Web site for job

seekers and employers, and building collaboration between higher

education institutions, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and industry.

To implement study initiatives, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and

Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) assumed important

workforce development leadership roles that helped foster a community

consortium. CPCC provided contract and custom training for local

businesses, a variety of technical and trade curricula, and several

initiatives aimed at training and employing the disadvantaged. As an

outgrowth of the Advantage Carolina study, the community college

conducted a survey of local employers to determine current and future

workforce needs. The Chamber of Commerce has also conducted

workshops to address the specific workforce hiring needs of small

businesses and, according to a school official, has worked closely with the

school district to identify businesses to participate in work-based learning

activities, such as job shadowing and internships. Other consortium

participants included the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the Workforce

Development Board, and business and trade organizations. According to

officials, the Chamber of Commerce and its activities were funded through

member dues and participation fees. Advantage Carolina initiatives were

funded with a combination of public and private funds.

 11Advantage Carolina, Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte, North Carolina, (1999).
Page 12 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

• Milwaukee, Wisconsin—In the early 1990s, business, government, and

labor leaders in Milwaukee reached consensus about the need to preserve

the area’s manufacturing industry and keep jobs in the area that pay

enough to support families. The leaders determined that by working

together they could help sustain industry and help ensure that existing

workers could advance in a career track and young people could move

into entry level jobs. The leaders convened a series of meetings with the

Center on Wisconsin Strategy at the University of Wisconsin to discuss the

idea and, in 1992, the center brokered an agreement between the parties to

form a steering committee to guide the creation of the Wisconsin Regional

Training Partnership (WRTP). The WRTP received funding in 1997 from a

local nonprofit organization—the Milwaukee Jobs Initiative—to improve

the economic prospects of central city families by linking them with

training and jobs. WRTP worked with local community-based

organizations that provided pools of potential employees for businesses

with jobs to fill.

WRTP recently expanded to provide workforce development services to

additional business sectors, including construction, health care,

hospitality, technology, and transportation. The Milwaukee Area Technical

College worked under contract with WRTP to provide pre-employment

and job training for program participants. Activities were funded by

numerous sources, including the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the U.S.

Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, the Milwaukee

Foundation, Milwaukee County, the City of Milwaukee, and other

Milwaukee-area philanthropic and corporate sponsors.

Small businesses can seek solutions to their workforce problems by

linking with a consortium of community organizations that help them

address both their current and future workforce development issues.

Small businesses in the communities we visited participated in these

consortia by joining member organizations or engaging in their activities.

Consortia activities to help businesses meet current workforce needs

centered on finding and hiring new employees as well as on training

existing employees. Activities to address future workforce needs focused

on creating career pathways for potential workers—particularly youth.

Small businesses that link with a community consortium—either directly

through an intermediary or through another consortium organization—can

benefit from consortium services that address their current workforce

development needs and problems. Current needs include both hiring new

employees and training existing employees. To meet these needs,

Consortia Activities

Address Current and

Future Workforce

Needs

Consortia Provide

Employment and Training

Services to Address

Current Workforce Needs
Page 13 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

businesses must identify, recruit, and hire workers to fill current job

vacancies. Additionally, businesses must maintain and upgrade the skills

of the existing workforce to stay current with changes in technology and

allow for future growth. Consortia can be instrumental in helping

businesses connect with prospective employees who are equipped with

the appropriate job skills and, in some cases, the pre-employment skills

and social supports they need to be successful jobholders. In the consortia

we reviewed, we found a variety of activities that were designed to meet

businesses’ immediate employment needs, including job fairs to provide a

venue for businesses and prospective employees to come together,

initiatives with community-based organizations that targeted the

disadvantaged, and WIA one-stop job centers. Specific examples of what

we found include the following:

• In Milwaukee, the WRTP—a consortium intermediary organization—

worked with community-based organizations such as the YWCA and the

Milwaukee Housing Authority to link businesses with pools of potential

employees. The prospective employees were offered employment based

on their current qualifications or their completion of the requisite training

classes in specific job skills and pre-employment skills such as

communication and goal setting. WRTP also worked with the community

organizations to help prospective employees secure job retention services

such as day care and transportation.

• Central Piedmont Community College, one of Charlotte’s consortium

leaders, sponsored Pathways to Employment—a 12 to14 week welfare to

work program that provided academic, social, and job-specific training to

prepare welfare recipients to enter the workforce as skilled employees.

Pathways to Employment linked CPCC with the local Department of

Social Services, community businesses, and other organizations to move

participants from welfare to work. Pathways prepared students for

employment in five curriculum areas: customer service representative,

medical office administration, medical reimbursement specialist, hospital

unit coordinator, and office information systems specialist. These

curriculum areas were developed based on community workforce needs.

Pathways developed partnerships with local employers to assist students

in attaining employment after graduation. Businesses participating in the

program agreed to consider program graduates for employment.

• The Capital of Texas Eastview Workforce Center—one of three WIA

workforce board job centers in Austin and a consortium member—was

located on a campus of Austin Community College and across the street

from a low-income housing facility. One of the goals of the center was to
Page 14 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

help both large and small businesses in the community find employees

who are ready to work and have the appropriate job skills. The Center

sponsored a job fair each Thursday where businesses could talk with

prospective employees. According to a center official, most of the

businesses that used the center have fewer than 100 employees. The

consortium linked with Huston-Tillotson College, a local historically black

4-year institution that provided computer training on site. Daily classes

were also offered in job search skills, including resume writing and

interviewing techniques.

Consortia we reviewed also offered a wide range of activities to meet the

training needs for the existing workers of small businesses. According to

consortia organization officials, training provided these incumbent

workers with the skills to keep current with evolving technology, revised

laws and regulations, safety standards, and job processes. Training can

help companies retain and sustain their current workforce and provide

opportunities for potential business expansion and growth, as well as

foster employee advancement. Businesses often looked to consortium

members such as technical and community colleges to provide training for

incumbent workers. However, other consortia organizations may also

provide training for the existing workforce. Incumbent worker training

opportunities in the consortia we reviewed included:

• In Cedar Rapids, the Chamber of Commerce, partnering with Kirkwood

Community College, worked with local businesses to address their

workforce training needs. This project received funding from Iowa’s

Accelerated Career Education initiative, which has allocated funds for

community colleges to develop accelerated training programs to meet the

needs of industry. Recent activities in Cedar Rapids focused on three

industry sectors—manufacturing, information technology, and press

operators. Small businesses’ incumbent workers could receive training in

a variety of areas including upgrading computer skills, workplace

communication and conflict resolution, and advanced training for new

generations of equipment. Specific job-skills courses included blueprint

reading, industrial math, and electrical/mechanical technician training.

• In Austin, the Community Technology and Training Centers—sponsored

by consortium intermediary Capital Area Training Foundation, and located

at two local high schools in low-income neighborhoods—were open to

participants at no cost during non-school hours. They offered a range of

computer classes from basic skills courses to advanced software training,

but with an emphasis on business skills. The centers also provided free

Internet access and career guidance services. According to an official,
Page 15 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

small businesses participated by sending employees for training and some

sponsored internships through the center.

• In Milwaukee, WRTP was originally established to help the manufacturing

industry upgrade worker skills in response to changing technology. This

consortium organization continued to address incumbent worker skills in

the manufacturing sector and expanded to include additional industry

sectors. WRTP assisted businesses in developing education and training

programs. For example, according to a union official, WRTP worked with

both the union and management of a local foundry to provide the mostly

Spanish speaking workers with English as a second language and math

training to help them communicate and work more effectively and qualify

for higher skill jobs. WRTP’s menu of employer services for incumbent

workers also included providing technical assistance with the

implementation of work-based learning and mentoring systems,

development of worker training programs such as on-site learning centers

and apprenticeship programs, and the development of innovative

strategies for reducing absenteeism and turnover.

Small businesses and consortium officials in the communities we visited

said that they believed participation in career pathway activities—

particularly for youth and young adults—was an important way for them

to ensure that businesses will have a skilled workforce available in the

future. Career pathway activities offered by consortia organizations were

intended to expand students’ employment horizons by exposing them to

the wide variety of future career opportunities available to them. Some

consortia career pathway activities prepared students for employment by

providing work-based learning opportunities, such as summer internships

at a job site. Others, like apprenticeships, provided longer-term training in

a specific trade or technical field.

In the communities we visited, business participation in consortium

activities to introduce middle and high school students to career

opportunities included short-term interactions between business officials

and students, such as a business representative speaking to an automotive

repair class or taking students on a tour of a manufacturing plant.

Additionally, consortia offered opportunities for businesses to participate

in more extensive work-based learning experiences like providing

internships and part-time jobs. Specific examples include the following:

• In Austin and Cedar Rapids, the consortia intermediary organizations—

CATF and The Workplace Learning Connection—sponsored internships,

job shadowing, and industry tours to increase middle and high school

Consortia Offer Activities

to Small Businesses That

Guide Young Adults to

Future Workforce

Opportunities
Page 16 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

students’ awareness of the connection between academic studies and their

future career opportunities. Speaker’s bureaus in several industry sectors

also connected professionals to students in the classroom. The

intermediaries also worked with employers to provide opportunities for

high school teachers to participate in job-site activities, such as summer

internships or the teacher at work program, that expanded their

understanding of the business world and provided practical experience

and relevant information they could incorporate into their curricula.

These intermediary activities were supported, in part, with school-to-work

funding.

• Consortium member Charlotte Mecklenburg School District offered a

range of work-based learning opportunities that included internships to

explore career areas, classroom-related job experience with businesses

and community agencies, and job shadowing for students to observe

business professionals and learn about work environments in their fields

of interest. The district also partnered with local businesses to sponsor

summer internships for students enrolled in its Finance and Travel and

Tourism career academies.12 In addition, a school district official reported

that the district would open a new technical high school in 2002. The

school will teach curricula based on the six key industry sectors identified

in the Advantage Carolina report from the Charlotte Chamber of

Commerce. The technical school will have business partners that will

provide technical expertise as well as some of the faculty.

Longer-term training programs offered by consortium organizations, such

as apprenticeships and cooperative (co-op) education programs also

created future career pathways. Apprenticeship and co-op programs

provided businesses with the opportunity to train future employees in the

skills needed for a specific technical or trade career. Apprenticeships are

usually several years in duration and apprentices work part- or full-time

and attend classes part time. In co-op programs, students may alternate

periods of time working full time with attending class full time. These

programs typically linked businesses with local technical and community

colleges and sometimes secondary schools. Businesses worked with the

community colleges in developing and updating the curricula, teaching

 12A career academy is a small high school learning community, organized as a “schoolwithin-a-school,” that aims to (1) create a more personalized and supportive environment

for students and teachers and (2) provide career-oriented course work and experience. See

At-Risk Youth: School-Community Collaborations Focus on Improving Student Outcomes

(GAO-01-66).
Page 17 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

classes, and providing training on the job-site. Businesses could also

participate in apprenticeship programs through their trade associations.

Programs in the locations we visited included:

• In Charlotte, six manufacturing companies have partnered with Central

Piedmont Community College to develop Apprenticeship 2000.

Apprentices typically began working part-time for the company in their

senior year of high school, and were employed full-time upon graduation

while taking coursework at CPCC. The apprentices were paid for all work

and daytime classroom hours as well as tuition and fees. After completion

of the 4-year program, students received an associate of applied science

degree from the community college and a journeyman’s certificate from

the North Carolina Department of Labor. The college also sponsored a coop program leading to a 2-year associate degree in automotive repair,

according to an official. Students spent the first 8 weeks in classroom

training and the remainder of the semester working at a car dealership.

• In Milwaukee, automobile dealerships have participated in consortium

activities with Milwaukee Public Schools through a youth apprenticeship

program for high school juniors and seniors. During the 2-year program,

students studied auto mechanics at school and worked part-time at a

dealership during the school year and full-time during the summer. Each

student was assigned to work with and be mentored by a master

mechanic. The curriculum was provided and the program certified by the

National Automotive Technician Foundation, which represents all major

automobile manufacturers.

• In Cedar Rapids, representatives from construction trade unions active in

the local consortium said they sponsored apprenticeship programs and

worked with Kirkwood Community College to provide the educational

component while the trade unions provided the on-the-job training. Union

officials reported that they targeted the apprenticeship programs to young

adults—over 21—because they generally are more mature and have some

work experience. In addition, according to officials, many of the job-sites

can be hazardous and challenging, and younger workers tend not to be as

careful or attentive to their work.
Page 18 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

We found that consortia organizations shared important principles and

related best practices that they believe are essential in implementing and

sustaining workforce development activities. Consortia officials we

interviewed identified four key principles common to all of the

communities we visited: (1) activities are focused primarily on businesses’

workforce needs and are structured around key industry sectors

represented in their community; (2) consortium organizations provide

leadership and maintain on-going, positive working relationships with

their partners; (3) workforce development activities are accessible by both

businesses and prospective employees; and (4) consortium organizations

create ways to make participation in activities more attractive to small

businesses.

All of the locations we visited had identified key industry sectors in their

communities and had organized their workforce development efforts to

target local businesses’ needs in those sectors. Several consortia officials

told us that organizing by industry sectors is an effective and efficient

approach because businesses in the same sectors often have similar

workforce issues and can work together to resolve them. Table 2 shows

the targeted business and industry sectors in each community consortium

we reviewed.

Table 2: Community Consortia Targeted Business and Industry Sectors

Community consortium Targeted business and industry sectors

Austin, Texas Automotive technology, construction, finance, health care,

hospitality, information technology, and semiconductors

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Agriculture and biotechnology, health care, general

services, information technology, and manufacturing

Charlotte, North Carolina Financial services, transportation and distribution services,

manufacturing, innovative technology, professional

services, and travel and entertainment

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Manufacturing, construction, health care, hospitality,

technology, and transportation

Source: Prepared by GAO using information from the consortia reviewed for this study.

• In Cedar Rapids and Charlotte, the sector focus grew out of studies done

on community economic issues. Both studies identified important local

industry sectors and the workforce needs of each sector. According to

officials, many small businesses were represented in each sector,

especially in the manufacturing, construction, and automotive sectors.

Community

Workforce

Development

Consortia Share Key

Principles and Best

Practices

Activities Organized

Around Industry Sectors to

Meet Businesses’ Needs
Page 19 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

• Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids initiated a study—Skills

2000 to determine local workforce needs13. The study surveyed 33 major

area businesses representing five key industry sectors: manufacturing,

information technology, health care, agriculture and biotechnology, and

general services. Each industry sector identified a mismatch between the

skills they wanted in employees and the skills in the available workforce.

Kirkwood, working with other consortium members, used this study to

develop specific training programs based upon the needs of local

businesses in those sectors. One example is the Press Consortium Training

Program where 13 small printing companies joined together with

Kirkwood to address their training needs in an effort to remain

competitive and current with new technologies. They developed and

implemented six 10-week training modules for incumbent press assistants

and press operators to receive training in press operations, essential skills,

sales, and customer service. Project members reported that they have

shifted the focus from competing with each other for qualified employees

to working together to promote the printing industry.

• In Charlotte, the Advantage Carolina study, done in 1998, identified six key

industry sectors that consortium organizations used to identify local

workforce development issues. Three sectors represented already existing

industry clusters: financial services, transportation and distribution

services, and manufacturing. Three represented emerging industries:

innovative technology, professional services, and travel and

entertainment. Together they accounted for 60 percent of Charlotte’s

employment growth between 1980 and 1999. Representatives from each of

the sectors reported the critical issues associated with each sector and

identified strategies to address them. Workforce development and training

was a theme common to all six sectors, and several consortium efforts

address the workforce needs identified by business. For example, the

chamber of commerce’s Information Technology Collaborative initiative—

implemented in response to their Advantage Carolina study—addressed

the need for skilled workers by developing information technology

certification programs and by linking students with businesses.

• The Capital Area Training Foundation—Austin’s intermediary—convened

seven industry-lead steering committees that collaborate with educators

and employers to develop workforce solutions for the key industry sectors

 13Skills 2000 Commission Report, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa,

(1999).
Page 20 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

in the community. Targeted industries included semiconductor

manufacturing, construction, finance, hospitality, information technology,

automotive technology, and health care. The steering committees were

responsible for engaging employers in designing career pathways;

sponsoring work-based learning experiences for students and teachers;

and linking employers directly with schools and post-secondary

institutions. One example of the steering committees was the Building

Industry Construction Alliance, which according to an official, included

about 75 businesses and several other consortium organizations. The

Alliance also worked with local high schools and educational institutions

to develop career pathways for the construction trades.

• In Milwaukee, the industry sector approach to workforce development

began when WRTP established a manufacturing steering committee to

assist employers and unions in the manufacturing sector in improving

employment security for current employees and career opportunities for

community residents. This committee played the important role of

monitoring the health of local manufacturing businesses to help guide

workforce development activities in their communities. WRTP has since

expanded to include other industry sectors such as construction,

hospitality, technology, transportation, and health care, and currently

works with over 100 member businesses and unions.

Consortia we reviewed were loose alliances of organizations, but had

established firm consensus on both community problems and goals among

consortia members. Key consortia organizations provided leadership and

developed close working relationships with other member organizations in

an effort to implement and sustain workforce development activities in

their communities. Officials at some locations cited leadership as a vital

component of the operations of workforce consortia. Additionally, some

consortia officials we spoke with said that close coordination and

communication among organizations was critical in meeting local

workforce needs. Consortia efforts to encourage strong leadership and

promote positive working relationships included:

• In Austin, several consortium organizations including Austin Community

College, the Capital Area Training Foundation, the Workforce

Development Board, the Tech-Prep Consortium, and the Capital Area

Education and Careers Partnership co-located their offices in Austin

Community College’s Highland Business Center. College officials told us

that the centralization of these organizations took place under the

leadership of the president of the community college, who believed that

having consortium members in the same location would promote

Consortia Provide

Leadership and Sustain

Positive Working

Relationships
Page 21 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

coordination and better serve the organizations and the community.

Consortium officials reported that co-location also facilitates regular

communication, scheduling of meetings, and fosters the feeling of

collegiality in working across organizations that often have different, but

complementary, missions.

• Consortium organization officials in Charlotte reported that the Charlotte

Chamber of Commerce had taken the lead in workforce development by

convening all of the key consortium organizations and facilitating regular

communication among these members. According to one official, the

chamber also recognized the need to form a business and education

collaborative infrastructure to direct the management of pertinent

education issues. The chamber worked closely with local business

representatives and public officials to establish 17 key initiatives—

including the Information Technology Collaborative and the Workforce

Development Continuum—that grew out of the Advantage Carolina study.

The chamber also encouraged consortium organizations to participate on

multiple boards and committees and partner with other consortium

members on specific activities. For example, chamber officials told us that

the Director of Workforce and Professional Development at the chamber

had a seat on the local WIA workforce development board. In addition, the

chamber sponsored a Small Business Round Table every other month

where organizations serving small businesses meet to discuss what they

are doing and to coordinate dates of activities and events. Organizations

included are the Small Business Technical Development Center at Central

Piedmont Community College, the Small Business Administration, City of

Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and the Metrolina Entrepreneur Council,

an organization of small companies—many of them technology based. In

addition, according to an official, the chamber has recognized the need to

form a business/educational collaborative infrastructure to direct the

management of pertinent educational issues.

• In Milwaukee, officials from area unions told us that the leadership of the

Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership has helped build close working

relations between union and management that are critical to maintaining

and sustaining workforce development activities. The officials said the

WRTP had credibility with the unions from the beginning because nearly

all of the WRTP staff had union experience and that WRTP provided the

link between the unions, educational institutions, and other consortium

organizations for workforce development activities. At each business

working with WRTP on workforce development, there was a union cochair of the activities. At the regional and local level there were union

representatives on all of the committees that implement WRTP goals and
Page 22 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

initiatives. Consortium officials said that the relationship—built by the

union, employers, and WRTP—was now established and would continue

even if the economy changes and the labor market weakens.

Workforce development activities that are convenient and easily

accessible help engage small businesses and increase awareness of

employment opportunities for prospective workers. Small businesses and

consortia officials alike emphasized the importance of easy access for

small business owners and potential employees. Consortia organizations

offered multiple doorways into workforce development activities for small

businesses through member organizations or intermediary outreach.

Consortia used strategies such as providing outreach services to local

small businesses to inform them of opportunities in workforce

development activities and assisting prospective employees overcome

potential barriers to employment such as finding childcare services.

Additionally, since businesses differ in the amount of time and resources

they have available to devote to workforce development, consortia offered

a range of participation options to make workforce development activities

accessible to all businesses. Examples of how consortia we visited

provided easy access to activities included:

• Kirkwood Training Services, a division of continuing education at

Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, had program directors that

Kirkwood officials told us were considered the “sales and marketing team”

and facilitated business participation. Officials explained that the program

directors met with both small and large businesses and developed

customized training as well as industry sector training programs. The

program directors called on local businesses to discuss training needs and

training opportunities. Kirkwood Training Services contracted with over

150 businesses a year to provide customized training services. Small

businesses could choose from several different options to access

workforce development activities that met their workforce training needs.

For example, Kirkwood Community College developed industry sector

training programs where like-businesses pool resources for training. In

one of them, eight call center businesses combined efforts with Kirkwood

to create an 11-week customer call center program. Training included

work skills, telephone skills, and etiquette and customer service skills. The

customer call center program enabled all eight industry partners to have

access to a pool of qualified potential employees and share the training

costs. Additionally, Kirkwood Training Services offered computer-based

training at its training center, including computer training modules and

instructional software to provide online skill-specific training in selected

fields such as information technology, safety, and workplace basics.

Activities Easily

Accessible to Businesses

and Prospective Workers
Page 23 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

Officials reported that small businesses could use the center for employee

training, and the center was open in the early mornings and in the

evenings as well as during the workday to provide easy access.

• WRTP officials in Milwaukee recognized that difficult family and financial

circumstances could present serious access problems to employment for

many prospective employees. To address these issues, WRTP officials told

us that they worked with community-based organizations to help lowincome clients identify and overcome barriers to employment such as

difficulty in finding childcare programs or the necessary transportation

that could otherwise prevent them from succeeding in the workplace.

WRTP also helped prospective employees develop back-up plans so that if,

for example, a daycare provider gets sick, employees have other

organizations or people that will help.

• Industry liaison staff at the intermediaries in Austin and Cedar Rapids

facilitated businesses’ access to workforce development activities by

offering a variety of ways to participate. Additionally, liaison staff helped

businesses decide which activities best suit their workforce needs. These

ranged from a single speaking engagement at a local school to providing

on-the-job training to a student intern. The intermediaries also offered high

school students an assortment of work-based learning opportunities

ranging from company tours to apprenticeships. In Cedar Rapids, liaison

staff at the intermediary, The Workplace Learning Connection, stressed

the importance of workforce development activities being easy for

everyone to use—businesses, schools, and students—because if they were

not, participation would suffer.

• The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District reported employing four

people that provide outreach to local businesses to engage them in schoolto-career programs in area high schools. These staff informed businesses

on how to become involved in community workforce development

activities and how this participation might be a financial benefit to them.

High school students were connected with the businesses in work-based

learning activities such as job shadowing, internships, and

apprenticeships. School district officials reported that small businesses

chose their level of involvement based on their resources and workforce

needs by working closely with the school district staff.

Consortia officials told us that incentives make participating in workforce

development activities more appealing to small businesses. Officials said

that they engage businesses in workforce development activities by

pointing out a number of specific benefits. Some noted that providing

Incentives Attract Small

Business Participation
Page 24 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

businesses with skilled workers to meet their workforce needs could be a

significant enough incentive to participate. Other incentives in the

locations we visited included the possibility of longer-term benefits such

as building the future workforce by connecting high school students with

local businesses. Additionally, in some consortia, financial incentives

attracted businesses to become involved in workforce development

activities.

• In Cedar Rapids, Kirkwood Community College provided financial

incentives for businesses to participate in workforce development

activities through two state jobs training programs that lower training

costs. Kirkwood officials said that businesses learn about these programs

through direct mail marketing, seminars, outreach from staff at Kirkwood

Training Services, and also by word-of-mouth.

The first jobs training program, the Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training

Program, was created in 1983 to provide an economic incentive to new or

expanding industries in Iowa. Eligible companies that were creating new

positions or new jobs could receive state funding for training administered

through their local community college. The community college district in

which a qualifying business is located initially pays the costs of the

training program—financing it through the sale of job training certificates

(bonds.) The community college is repaid over a 10-year period by the

business diverting 1.5 or 3 percent of the state payroll tax it withholds on

the employees’ wages for the newly created jobs. Property tax revenues,

resulting from capital improvements, might also be used for repayments.

Repayment of the certificates does not involve additional taxes to the

businesses. The training certificate amount a business receives depends on

the number of jobs it creates and the wages it pays those positions.

The second jobs program, the Iowa Jobs Training Program, was created to

help Iowa businesses fund customized training for current employees.

Community colleges assisted businesses with the development of training

programs that were funded by cash awards through the Iowa Department

of Economic Development. The maximum amount of funding was $25,000

for each project, and businesses could receive a maximum of $50,000 over

3 years. Eligible applicants included businesses engaged in manufacturing,

processing, assembling products, warehousing, wholesaling, or conducting

research and development. Reimbursable services included skill

assessment, adult basic education, and the cost of training services,

materials, and professional services.
Page 25 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

• In Milwaukee, officials at WRTP reported they were able to provide

services to individual businesses at no out of pocket cost using grant

money received from a variety of sources, including the Annie E. Casey

Foundation and the U.S. Department of Labor. WRTP services included

technical assistance with the transition to new technologies and work

processes, expansion of worker education and training programs,

improvement of work-based learning and mentoring systems, adoption of

innovative strategies for reducing absenteeism and turnover, and

development of cost-effective alternatives to temporary employment

agencies. Employers contributed in-kind support by providing equipment,

materials, and job shadowing and mentoring opportunities. One business

official we spoke with acknowledged that he saw a significant cost

incentive to using WRTP’s free employment services. He said that by

working with WRTP, he will save the approximately $3,000 per employee

he would have to spend if he worked with a temporary employment

agency to identify potential employees.

• Consortium organization officials in Charlotte told us that businesses

benefit from participation in activities such as speaking engagements and

teaching courses because they can have first opportunity to recruit

potential new employees. For example, the Information Technology

program at Central Piedmont Community College was a five- to six-level

certificate program that asks business members to speak or teach. The

officials report that the program had about 100 part-time instructors, half

of whom are from small businesses. Additionally, a CPCC official reported

that the college provided training assistance, at no cost, to North Carolina

businesses that create new full-time manufacturing and customer service

positions. Two programs, New and Expanding Business Industry and

Focused Industrial Training, provided customized training services that

included pre-employment training, on-site instruction, and materials. A

third state-funded program—In-plant Training—also assisted businesses,

at no cost, in providing employees with in-service training in basic job

skills.

Outcome studies of workforce development activities at the sites we

visited were limited in scope. We found that some consortia organizations

in some locations reported collecting data to monitor the number of

participants in activities such as job fairs and internships, employee

placements following completion of training programs, and employment

retention and advancement from local workforce development initiatives.

However, officials said that consortia organizations did not have systems

in place to evaluate the overall effectiveness of workforce development

activities in their community. Outcome information for specific activities

Limited Information

Available on Program

Outcomes
Page 26 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

on participation, employee placement, and employment and retention

rates included:

• In Milwaukee, WRTP’s Manufacturing Jobs Connection project targets

central city residents—many of whom have limited work experience and

less than a high school education, according to a program official. The

project reported that—since its inception in 1997, 202 participants have

completed the program’s customized training and nearly all were placed in

manufacturing jobs. Fifty-seven of the placements were with small

businesses of 100 or fewer employees—earning an average wage of $10.75

per hour. As of January 2000, the employees’ job retention rate was 68

percent for 3 months, 63 percent for 6 months, and 48 percent for 12

months. According to an official, WRTP has placed more than 1,000

employees in jobs—over 600 in manufacturing—since 1997 with most jobs

paying at least $10.00 per hour, plus health care, pension, tuition

reimbursement, and other benefits. The project also reported an increase

in program participants’ annual earnings from about $9,000 to $23,000 per

year in the first year on the job.

• In Austin, CATF—the consortium intermediary—reported placing over

2,000 high school students in summer internships in 2000 as well as 1,350

middle school students in job shadowing activities during the 2001 school

year. The annual Greater Austin @ Work High School Career Fair

sponsored by CATF attracted 2,600 students from 25 high schools and over

170 employers, colleges and universities, and community-based

organizations in 2000. Additionally, CATF’s Construction Gateway

Program, a five-week job-training program for the construction trades, has

graduated 504 trainees in the past 6 years—many of them incarcerated

youth. Of the participants who graduated between 1994 and 1999, 259 were

subsequently employed in the construction field. Program officials were

planning to use a workforce commission database to survey the program’s

graduates to determine their work progress since graduation.

• In Charlotte, Central Piedmont Community College had several programs

that tracked participation and retention rates. For example, the Pathways

to Employment program had 70 to 80 participants per semester, most of
Page 27 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

whom received Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF)14. Pathways

was a short-term training program designed to prepare participants to

enter the workforce as skilled employees in areas including customer

service, heating and air conditioning, medical office administration and

early childhood development. Program officials reported an 80 percent job

placement rate and a 75 to 80 percent retention rate after 3 months. In

Apprenticeship 2000—a 4-year program where participants work and

attend community college classes—officials reported there were 45

apprentices participating at the time of our review. Outcome information

is not formally collected; however, a representative from one company

told us that only 2 of the 28 apprentices it has sponsored have dropped out

since the program's inception.

• In Cedar Rapids, The Workplace Learning Connection tracked

participation rates for all work-based learning activities. Reported levels of

student participation in these activities increased from fiscal years 1999

through fiscal year 2000 as shown in table 3.

Table 3: The Workplace Learning Connection Student Participation - Fiscal Years

1999 and 2000

The Workplace Learning

Connection services

Student participation

fiscal year 1999

Student participation

fiscal year 2000

Job shadows 1,152 2,800

Internships 100 150

Student tours Minimal 2,250

Teacher tours Minimal 270

Teacher @ Work Program 24 50

Teacher inservices Minimal 250

Classroom speakers 0 4,125

Career fairs 0 175

Source: Prepared by GAO using The Workplace Learning Connection data.

Additionally, the intermediary reported that 37 students who had served as

unpaid interns with local businesses in fiscal year 2000 were later hired as

paid part-time employees. The Workplace Learning Connection officials

told us that they also measured the success of activities by the continuing

 14TANF was created as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 to replace cash assistance under the Aid to Families with

Dependent Children. It specifies several broad goals including ending the dependence of

needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage.

TANF makes $16.8 billion in federal funds available to states each year through 2002.
Page 28 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

use of their services by the schools—since the schools pay a fee for

service. At the time of our review, the intermediary had memoranda of

understanding with 29 of the 33 school districts in its region. Kirkwood

Community College in Cedar Rapids reported that it, along with 268

participating businesses, has generated about 19,000 new jobs through the

Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Program since 1983.

Partnerships among private sector groups, local governments, and their

public agencies continue to emerge as an important force in addressing

local workforce development problems. These partnerships, often

prompted by adverse or changing local economic conditions, have strong

business leadership, focus, and financial support. They address the

disconnect between the community’s employers—especially small

businesses—and workforce development services designed to identify and

prepare entry level workers, upgrade the skills of existing workers, and

create career pathways for young adults. Within each community we

visited, the capacity to address these workforce development needs was

present. What had been missing was a consistent and stable mechanism to

link businesses to the employment and training resources they needed.

While the consortia followed similar paths in their approach, each location

addressed its problems by mobilizing the unique strengths of its locale,

adapting to the special circumstances of the community. Often found in

these communities, and partners with the consortia, were the efforts of

both current and past federal initiatives—local WIA boards and

partnerships established under the School-to-Work Program. The

infrastructure created by federal initiatives like these, that can support

new service entities operating in harmony with existing service systems,

appears to be a promising way of promoting broad national goals while

providing the local discretion necessary to create solutions to fit with local

problems.

We provided officials at the Department of Labor and consortia officials

from Austin, Cedar Rapids, Charlotte, and Milwaukee an opportunity to

comment on a draft of this report. All reviewing officials generally agreed

with the contents of the report and some provided clarifications and

technical comments that we incorporated where appropriate.

We performed our review from September 2000 to July 2001 in accordance

with generally accepted government auditing standards.

Conclusions

Agency Comments
Page 29 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

As agreed with your office, unless you publicly release its contents earlier,

we will make no further distribution of this report until 30 days after its

issue date. At that time, we will send copies of this report to the

Honorable Elaine L. Chao, Secretary of Labor, appropriate congressional

committees, and other interested parties. We will also make copies

available to others on request.

Please contact me on (202) 512-7215 if you or your staff have any

questions about this report. Key contributors to this report are listed in

appendix I.

Sincerely yours,

Marnie S. Shaul

Director, Education, Workforce,

 and Income Security Issues
Appendix I: GAO Contacts and Staff

Acknowledgments

Page 30 GAO-02-80 Consortia Provide Needed Services

David D. Bellis, (415) 904-2272

Susan J. Lawless, (206) 287-4792

In addition to those named above, the following individuals made

important contributions to this report: Lisa A. Lusk, Scott R. McNabb,

Dianne L. Whitman-Miner, Howard J. Wial, James P. Wright, Jonathan H.

Barker, and Richard P. Burkard.

Appendix I: GAO Contacts and Staff

Acknowledgments

GAO Contacts

Staff

Acknowledgments

(102012)
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