U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

57–242 PDF WASHINGTON : 2025

S. HRG. 118–466 

THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND 

OPPORTUNITY ACT: SUPPORTING 

EFFORTS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF 

YOUTH, WORKERS, AND EMPLOYERS 

HEARING 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, 

LABOR, AND PENSIONS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

ON

EXAMINING THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY ACT, 

FOCUSING ON SUPPORTING EFFORTS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF 

YOUTH, WORKERS, AND EMPLOYERS 

JUNE 12, 2024 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov 
(II) 

BERNIE SANDERS (I), Vermont, Chairman 

PATTY MURRAY, Washington 

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut 

TIM KAINE, Virginia 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

TINA SMITH, Minnesota 

BEN RAY LUJA` N, New Mexico 

JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado 

ED MARKEY, Massachusetts 

BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana, Ranking 

Member 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

MIKE BRAUN, Indiana 

ROGER MARSHALL, M.D., Kansas 

MITT ROMNEY, Utah 

TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama 

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma 

TED BUDD, North Carolina 

WARREN GUNNELS, Majority Staff Director 

BILL DAUSTER, Majority Deputy Staff Director 

AMANDA LINCOLN, Minority Staff Director 

DANIELLE JANOWSKI, Minority Deputy Staff Director 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

STATEMENTS 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 2024 

Page 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Sanders, Hon. Bernie, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions, Opening statement ...................................................................... 1 

Cassidy, Hon. Bill, Ranking Member, U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana, Opening statement .................................................................................. 3 

WITNESSES

White, Taylor, M.Ed., Director, Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship, 

Washington, DC ................................................................................................... 4 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 7 

Summary statement ......................................................................................... 14 

Bradley, David, Ph.D, Senior Director, Jobs for the Future, Washington, 

DC .......................................................................................................................... 14

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 16 

Summary statement ......................................................................................... 21 

Sullivan, Monty, Ph.D, System President, Louisiana Community and Technical College System, Baton Rouge, LA ............................................................. 22 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 24 

Summary statement ......................................................................................... 27 

Bly-Jones, Lisa, Ph.D, Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Jobs Council (CJC), 

Chicago, IL ............................................................................................................ 28 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 30 

Summary statement ......................................................................................... 35 

Dickerson, Matthew, Business Development and Strategy Officer, Mid South 

Extrusion, Monroe, LA ........................................................................................ 37 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 38 

Summary statement ......................................................................................... 46 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 

Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc. 

Sanders, Hon. Bernie: 

United Steelworkers, Statement for the Record ............................................ 74 

American Library Association, Statement for the Record ............................. 81 

Coalition on Adult Basic Education, Statement for the Record ................... 83 

American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Statement for the Record ...................................................................................... 86 

Cassidy, Hon. Bill: 

Governor Jeff Landry a Letter in Support of the One-Door option .............. 89 

Marshall, Hon. Roger: 

Support for Senate Bill S. 3825 ....................................................................... 90 

Letter from the North Carolina Chamber regarding Pell Grant eligibility . 96 

QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD 

Response by David Bradley to questions of: 

Sen. Ray Luja ́n ................................................................................................. 97 
Page

IV 

Response by David Bradley to questions of—Continued 

Sen. Maggie Hassan ......................................................................................... 97 

Response by Lisa Bly-Jones to questions of: 

Sen. Ray Luja ́n ................................................................................................. 98 

Sen. Maggie Hassan ......................................................................................... 99 

Sen. Tina Smith ................................................................................................ 99 

Response by Matthew Dickerson to questions of: 

Sen. Maggie Hassan ......................................................................................... 101 

Response by Monty Sullivan to questions of: 

Sen. Maggie Hassan ......................................................................................... 105 

Sen. Tina Smith ................................................................................................ 105 

Sen. Ted Budd .................................................................................................. 105 

Response by Taylor White to questions of: 

Sen. Maggie Hassan ......................................................................................... 107 

Sen. Tina Smith ................................................................................................ 110 
(1) 

THE WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND 

OPPORTUNITY ACT: SUPPORTING 

EFFORTS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF 

YOUTH, WORKERS, AND EMPLOYERS 

Wednesday, June 12, 2024 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m., in room 

562, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Bernie Sanders, Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Sanders [presiding], Murray, Casey, Murphy, 

Kaine, Hassan, Smith, Luja`n, Hickenlooper, Markey, Cassidy, Murkowski, Braun, Marshall, Romney, and Tuberville. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SANDERS 

The CHAIR. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions will come to order. And let me begin by thanking our 

witnesses who are experts on workforce development, and practitioners who are working hard to put American workers and communities across this country on a path to higher wages and more 

fruitful careers. And we thank you very much for what you’re 

doing. 

We are here today to talk about a very serious issue, and that 

is the need to reauthorize and expand the Workforce Innovation 

and Opportunity Act, also known here in DC as WIOA. In 2022, 

WIOA provided career and training services to nearly 300,000 

adults, 212,000 dislocated workers, 37,000 youth, and 2.3 million 

individuals through employment services and employment service 

programs to connect people with good jobs. 

It also supported literacy training and basic education for 1.1 

million adults. It supports a network of 2,400 American Job Centers so that Americans in any community across this country can 

walk into a center to get help looking for a job, enroll in a training 

program at a local community college, or get referrals to food assistance or other supportive services. 

WIOA also funds national programs that serve incarcerated individuals—not something I want to be talking about today because 

our rate of recidivism is off the charts—workers in tribal and migrant communities and youth such as through YouthBuild, which 

provides valuable training to 5,000 opportunity youth through 

building affordable housing. 
2 

It has been 10 years since Congress passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. In those 10 years, this country has experienced, as we all know, some monumental changes. COVID–19 

pandemic altered the landscape of what jobs are available and 

forced many workers to rapidly shift careers, sometimes for lower 

wages. 

Advancements in technology have displaced workers with one estimate showing the current shifts toward automation could put up 

to 39 million Americans out of work by 2030. Employers continue 

to ask more from workers, and in many cases, contribute less to 

their well-being. Of the 30 fastest growing occupations in this country, 24 require more than a high school diploma. 

Let me just say this as some down to earth realities that I’ve experienced. I went to a high school in South Central Vermont a few 

months ago, and I walked into the school and there was a level of 

excitement that I had not anticipated. Unlike many other schools, 

kids were really happy to be in school. 

Why was that? Well, there was a program in the school that allowed seniors to go out and get jobs in the community half-day 

while they were in school. The other half-day they were making 20 

bucks an hour doing important work. Employers wanted their labor 

and they came back to school. They were motivated, much more 

motivated than they had previously been. They felt better about 

their academics, and did better academically, earning a living for 

their working-class families. 

Second thing that I would like to bring up and hope to discuss 

later is, through an earmark, I got some money for Vermont Prisons. It shocked me to know—I don’t know Senator Cassidy, if others know this. I kind of had assumed this was a no brainer, but 

it wasn’t—there are prisons all over America, including in Vermont 

where you’re in jail, you don’t even have any educational opportunity. You’re sitting there watching TV, doing whatever you’re 

doing, getting angrier, more frustrated. 

The rate of recidivism that we have in this country is extraordinarily high. So, we’re spending, I don’t know what it is in 

Vermont, $60,000, $70,000 a year to lock people up. And then a 

good portion of them come back because we haven’t given them the 

job training, we haven’t given them the education. 

We brought some money into the state. We are working with the 

community colleges who are now doing educational programs 

where the prisoners are very motivated, is my understanding. It’s 

working quite well. And by the way, we also got the same program 

for the prison guards and their families to get credits for community colleges as well. 

The bottom line is, you have millions of kids in school today, 

they’re good with their hands. They want to go out, they want to 

make a living and they don’t have the training to do that. And I 

think we’ve got to figure out how to do that. We are spending huge 

amounts of money locking people up in this country, and they leave 

prison without the skills they need to succeed in the civilian world. 

Those are some of the issues that concern me. Look forward to 

discussing them with you, and thanks for being here. 
3 

Senator CASSIDY. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CASSIDY 

Senator CASSIDY. Thank you, Chairman Sanders. There’s about 

8 million job openings in the United States and the unemployment 

rate is low, but so is the workforce participation. That’s a bad sign. 

To put it in context, about 37 percent of working-age adults nationwide are unemployed and not looking for work. Again, that’s not 

good. Idle hands are a devil’s workshop is the old proverb, but people do better if they’re gainfully employed. 

Many Americans are not receiving job training because of a 

workforce development program which is just not working well. 

Current Federal workforce funding prioritizes bloating government 

bureaucracy less than in investing in worker skill. That is why reauthorizing and improving the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Grant, WIOA—always reminds me of one of those songs 

from Lion King. 

Anyway, WIOA is so important. WIOA funds programs assisting 

Americans in obtaining crucial job skills as well as to connect job 

seekers with employment activities. But Congress has failed to reauthorize WIOA since it expired in 2020. I thank the Chair for collaborating in this. This is an important step, this hearing, in improving WIOA and reauthorizing. It is long overdue. I hope that 

what we learn today will culminate in a bipartisan Committee 

markup before the August recess. 

I also want to highlight Republican colleagues for their work to 

improve WIOA, including Senators Tuberville, Mullin, Marshall, 

and Braun, all on this Committee; Budd, Romney, Collins, all on 

this Committee, who have developed legislation worthy of this 

Committee’s consideration. I appreciate their work and look forward to hearing more about their bills today. 

When Congress fails to reauthorize programs, we miss out on the 

ability to improve them to help meet the needs of a modern workforce and of employers. We have the opportunity now to increase 

options for training and skills development so workers can properly 

enter, reenter, and remain in an ever-changing workforce. 

To achieve this goal, we must, one, direct more funding to training and allow states to innovate to best serve workers and employers. Two, improve the eligible training provider list, making it easier for workers to connect to a more quality workforce and training 

providers. 

Three, allow states the flexibility to implement innovative workforce development models that meet workers where they are and 

get them better connected with employers. This flexible model, by 

the way, has been very successful in Senator Romney’s home State 

of Utah, and it’s something that my State of Louisiana is seeking 

to implement. 

Lastly, we need to increase transparency and accountability of 

WIOA programs for improving employment outcomes, including 

earnings, to ensure that they’re best serving workers. These are 

just a few of the policies the Committee should consider. 
4 

Again, I appreciate the Chair for calling this hearing. I look forward to this discussion on how to improve WIOA to benefit working Americans, to benefit us all. With that, I yield. 

The CHAIR. Thank you, Senator Cassidy. I would mention to 

Members that in this new room, apparently the timer is broken 

and they’re trying to fix it right now. So, I will gently bang at 5 

after your 5 minutes. It’s a Senator’s dream, the timer’s broken, 

then go on for hours. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator CASSIDY. I suggest we put on our iPhone and start 

counting down. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIR. We thank our witnesses for being here to discuss this 

very important issue. Our first witness is Ms. Taylor White, the director of the Program to Advance Youth Apprenticeship and Postsecondary Pathways for Youth in New America. 

In this role, she directs a network that supports over 70 apprenticeship programs across the country through grants and technical 

assistance to expand access to apprenticeships as a high quality 

post-secondary option for youth. 

Ms. White, thanks a lot for being here. 

STATEMENT OF TAYLOR WHITE, M.ED., DIRECTOR, PARTNERSHIP TO ADVANCE YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP, WASHINGTON, 

DC 

Ms. WHITE. Good morning, Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member 

Cassidy, and Members of the Committee. Thank you for inviting 

me to testify today. I am, as you shared, Taylor White, the director 

of Post-Secondary Pathways for Youth at New America and the 

Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship, or PAYA. 

Since 2018, PAYA has led a national network of dynamic publicprivate partnerships working to build, earn, and learn pathways 

that connect young people with training and work experiences they 

need to land jobs and work toward careers. Now 70 members 

strong, the network has provided powerful examples of how WIOA 

makes a difference in the lives of young people. It’s an honor to be 

here today to share recommendations and how we can enhance and 

expand these efforts. 

It’s a difficult time to be a young American. Persistent inequities 

in our systems of education and work limit access and opportunity 

based on gender, income, disability, citizenship status, and most 

darkly, race. Economic mobility long considered a hallmark of 

American society has been declining for decades. 

With or without a college degree, a young adult today is less likely to earn as much as their parents. Basic necessities like 

healthcare, housing, and education that were affordable to previous 

generations are far more expensive today, making the transition to 

adulthood much harder for young people to navigate. 

Currently, over 12 percent of Americans between the ages of 16 

and 24 are disconnected from both education and the labor market. 

That’s roughly 4.5 million young people. Rates of disconnection are 

highest among Native American, Black, and Latino youth. Young 
5 

men are more likely to be disconnected than young women. And 

these, so-called Opportunity Youth are twice as likely as their connected peers to have grown up in poverty, and three times as likely 

to have a disability. 

A robust body of research demonstrates that youth disconnection 

is associated with lower levels of educational attainment and increased rates of substance abuse, physical and mental illness, and 

criminal activity. 

The individual and social costs of youth disconnection are enormous. Our public workforce system plays a critical role in identifying these young people and helping them access education, training, work experiences, and the supports they need to stay connected or reengage. 

Each year, WIOA-funded programs such as Job Corps, 

YouthBuild, and the myriad local programs supported by Title I 

Youth dollars provide training and services to roughly 200,000 

youth a majority of whom are neither working nor in school. But 

the number of youth served through WIOA is a shockingly small 

fraction of those who need support to access jobs, and the education, and training they need to succeed in them. 

By failing to serve this population of youth in much greater numbers, we squander an opportunity to harness the potential of more 

than 4 million Americans who are at the very beginning of their 

working lives. This is unacceptable. 

The most important recommendation I can offer today to this 

Committee is a simple one. We must substantially increase the 

Federal investment in youth programming through WIOA to a level 

that is commensurate with the scale of the barriers young people 

are facing. 

Beyond that, however, there are other changes that I believe 

would improve the workforce system’s ability to deliver positive 

outcomes for young people. For example, I believe Congress should 

take steps to reduce barriers to cooperation between the public 

workforce system and other youth-serving systems to reduce disconnection from school and ensure that when students do drop out, 

information can be shared to identify and reengage them quickly 

in the workforce system. 

Anything we can do to reduce the time that young people remain 

disconnected will help. Simplifying co-enrollment and continuing 

self-attestation are two other ways we can do this through WIOA. 

Cross system cooperation would also be greatly aided by improved 

data system and enhanced data sharing flexibilities. More granular 

data on program dimensions, training provider performance, and 

longer-term program outcomes would also help state and local leaders make informed decisions about how to use their resources for 

the best possible results. 

To make this possible, Congress should invest in state and local 

data infrastructure and promote cross-system data alignment. Research has shown that early career experiences such as internships, apprenticeships, and jobs that pay good wages can have positive effects on future earnings outcomes. 
6 

Under WIOA, the workforce system has placed more young people in these experiences with positive results. To expand these opportunities, Congress should establish a dedicated work experience 

fund that provides additional resources to programs that meet a set 

of quality criteria. 

For example, eligible programs should include a training component, lead to credentials, and provide a clear next step, either to 

further training or directly to a job, and whether or not they qualify for the fund. Congress should require youth work experience 

provided through WIOA to be paid if it lasts longer than 2 weeks. 

Finally, Congress should preserve and expand the supportive 

services available through WIOA. To address the needs of today’s 

youth, including mental health issues, WIOA supportive services 

can provide a measure of stability and dignity to young people so 

they can focus on improving their futures rather than worrying 

about how to buy a uniform for work, if they can afford treatment 

for a painful tooth, or paying the rent. 

For too many young adults in America today, the future is 

bright, but the path to get there is long, expensive, and hard to 

navigate. The public workforce system helps some of America’s 

most vulnerable young workers get on their feet and onto a path 

toward economic security, but we can do better for them and for 

all young people. And we need to, not just for their sake, but for 

the sake of our communities and our future economy as well. An 

ambitious approach to WIOA reauthorization is a good start. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. White follows.] 
7 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF TAYLOR WHITE
8 
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[SUMMARY STATEMENT OF TAYLOR WHITE]

Ms. White’s testimony makes the case for a bold approach to reauthorizing the 

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to better serve youth. Ms. 

White’s testimony will provide insight into how youth are served through the public 

workforce system, why WIOA needs to be modified to better serve them, and how 

Congress can change the law to make this happen. 

Key points will include: 

• In today’s economy, young adults need access to high quality career education, training, work experiences, mentoring and support that help them 

gain a foothold in the labor market and put them on a pathway to good 

jobs and careers. 

• Of the 39 million Americans between the ages of 16 and 24 years of age, 

12.1 percent are neither employed, nor enrolled in education or training 

programs. Called ‘‘Opportunity Youth’’ these youth face significant barriers to employment. The cost of their disconnection is estimated to be 

more than $3 billion annually. 

• The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act supports programs and 

resources that provide opportunities for our Nation’s most vulnerable 

youth to develop skills, earn credentials, and obtain employment. Each 

year, WIOA-funded youth programs support roughly 225,000 young people, the majority of whom are disconnected from education and work. But 

that’s just 5 percent of the youth who would likely be eligible to participate. 

• To dramatically increase the number of youth served through the public 

workforce system and increase the quality of support they receive, Congress should substantially increase funding for youth through 

WIOA. 

• Congress should reduce barriers to cooperation with other youthserving systems and improve the coordination of service delivery 

to reduce the risk of youth disconnection in the first place. 

• To understand employment outcomes beyond 1 year (and thus the longerterm benefits of work experiences and training), Congress should invest 

in state and local data infrastructure and promote cross-system 

data alignment. 

• To ensure young people are prepared for entry-level jobs, over a third of 

which require some prior experience, Congress should establish a fund 

to expand youth work experiences, including pre-and registered 

apprenticeships, while adopting quality criteria to increase the 

value of these work experiences for youth and employers. 

• Finally, Congress should expand supportive services to address the 

needs of today’s youth, including mental health issues, to ensure 

they have the resources they need to complete training and work experiences and to transition successfully into the labor market. 

The CHAIR. Ms. White, thank you very much. 

Our next witness is Dr. David Bradley, senior director of policy 

and advocacy at Jobs for the Future. Prior to this role, David 

worked at the Congressional Research Service as a specialist in 

labor economics, focusing on labor issues and Federal workforce development policies. 

Dr. Bradley. 

STATEMENT OF DAVID BRADLEY, PH.D., SENIOR DIRECTOR, 

JOBS FOR THE FUTURE, WASHINGTON, DC 

Dr. BRADLEY. Good morning, Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy, and Members of the Senate HELP Committee. My 

name is David Bradley, I’m a senior director for workforce policy 

at Jobs for the Future, which is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit 

organization that has worked for more than 40 years to drive 
15 

change in America’s workforce and education systems. Thank you 

for the opportunity to testify, and thank you for your leadership on 

this important issue. 

My remarks today are going to focus on three areas. One, why 

reauthorization now and what are the major characteristics of 

WIOA, the current system, and finally, a few recommendations for 

improving the system. 

Why does WIOA need to be reauthorized? Now, I’m sure my fellow panelists are going to give some additional reasons, but I would 

highlight, as the Ranking Member pointed out, there are more than 

8 million job openings, and the number of unemployed is lower 

than that. Employers do face difficulty finding skilled workers. 

In addition, there’s persistent difficulty for individuals with barriers to employment in attaining quality jobs. There’s going to be 

an expected increased demand for skilled workers, in part, through 

the investments from the Infrastructure, CHIPS and Science, and 

Inflation Reduction Acts. Since WIOA was enacted in 2014, there’s 

been a movement toward a skills-based employment ecosystem, 

which has not been fully incorporated into WIOA. 

Finally, there’s new and constantly involving technologies that 

allow for new methods of training, delivery, and the use of technology such as AI and job matching. Without focused investments, 

we could miss an opportunity to increase competitiveness and economic advancement for all. 

Let me talk a little bit about history and characteristics of 

WIOA. WIOA was enacted in 2014, and I want to go through some 

of the defining elements of the system that we have now. WIOA is 

designed to be demand-driven. That is, it’s supposed to be responsive to local conditions and employers’ demands through more than 

500 local workforce areas. 

WIOA emphasizes coordination and alignment through such 

mechanisms as required unified state planning so that programs 

are supposed to demonstrate that they’re working together. WIOA 

provides local control. Local workforce boards, for the most part, 

are authorized to determine the specific mix of services and types 

of training. 

WIOA provides central points of service through the one-stop delivery system, with more than 2,000 American Job Centers 

throughout the country. WIOA also provides universal access to career services, and has a priority of service for training services to 

individuals with low incomes and others in need of significant 

skills training. 

WIOA emphasizes certain workforce development strategies such 

as sector partnerships and career pathways that have evidencebased outcomes behind them. WIOA also emphasizes consumer 

choice, primarily through its system of individual training accounts. WIOA has a performance accountability system with six 

main indicators of outcomes, and these are common across all titles 

of WIOA. 

Finally, WIOA provides business services, including places where 

employers can go to match with skilled workers, and where the 
16 

workforce system can provide needed services to business, such as 

on-the-job and customized training plans. 

Even with these elements, WIOA has not fully realized its goals. 

One problem is funding. In Fiscal Year 2023, programs and activities in the three major formula programs were funded at just over 

$3 billion. This is about the same amount that it’s been funded 

since 2000, which is an inflation-adjusted drop of about 50 percent. 

What can be done to improve the system? One area would be to 

modernize the way people navigate the labor market and skills 

training; more robust career navigation, more strategies like competency-based education, and prior learning assessments to help 

people bring their experiences and translate that into better labor 

market outcomes. 

Another suggestion is to invest in evidence-based programs that 

focus on the skill needs of employers. And there are several evidence-based programs. We have sector strategies, career pathways, 

apprenticeship, reentry programs. 

Improving WIOA participant outcomes could also be a result of 

reforming the performance system to encourage longer-term engagement rather than shorter in and out and onto a job. There’s 

also room for improvement in the quality control mechanisms for 

training providers. This is the eligible training provider list. And 

finally, encouraging a focus on job quality so that people that go 

through the system end up in a good job. 

JFF urges leaders in Congress to act and create a workforce system that works for all where there are no dead ends to economic 

opportunity. Thank you. I look forward to your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Bradley follows.] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DAVID BRADLEY

Good morning Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy, and Members of the 

Senate HELP Committee. My name is David Bradley. I am a Senior Director for 

Workforce Policy at Jobs for the Future (JFF), a national, nonpartisan nonprofit organization that has worked for over 40 years to drive change in U.S. workforce and 

education systems to ensure that every person can advance economically. At JFF, 

we’ve embraced an ambitious goal as our North Star: In 10 years, 75 million people 

facing systemic barriers to advancement will work in quality jobs. I want to thank 

you for the opportunity to address the Committee on the reauthorization of the 

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). 

Why Does WIOA Need to Be Reauthorized Now? 

The backbone of America’s economy is its workforce. Workforce development has 

become a lifelong mandate for every worker. Upskilling, reskilling, transition assistance, and career navigation services are essential to help every individual create 

and sustain a career that will enable them to support themselves and their loved 

ones. 

Employers must also be able to readily access the talent they need to compete. 

The nation’s workforce development ecosystem—programs authorized under WIOA 

and its related partner programs—must work collaboratively to meet these needs. 

The United States needs a workforce ecosystem that is adequately funded, modern, agile, equitable, resilient, and innovative enough to keep up with the skill 

needs of individuals and employers. 

We know that calls for reform are not new. Before joining JFF, I worked as a specialist in labor economics at the Congressional Research Service, where I worked 

closely with the Senate HELP and House Education and Workforce Committees on 

the design of WIOA during reauthorization in 2014. Today, economic changes result-
17 

1 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Job Openings and Labor Turnover—April 2024 and The 

Employment Situation—May 2024. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 

ing from the pandemic and continuing technological advances require new action to 

update WIOA to meet the needs of the current and future workforce. 

It is now time for Congress to update and improve its primary workforce development programs. 

The labor market is constantly changing. The primary Federal workforce development system should be updated more frequently to address that reality. 

There are currently 8.1 million job openings but only about 6.6 unemployed workers. 1 While this gap has narrowed in the past couple of years, there are still not 

enough skilled workers to meet employer demand. In addition, worker shortage 

rates vary widely by state, which means it is important to have state and local responses to different labor market realities across the country. Many U.S. employers 

continue to experience difficulty hiring workers with the skills they need to fill open 

jobs. 

In May 2024, employment increased by 272,000 jobs. Yet 6.6 million people in the 

United States remain unemployed. Of those, 1.4 million unemployed individuals are 

experiencing long-term unemployment, meaning they have been out of work for 27 

weeks or more. 2 Beyond the official unemployment count, an estimated 5.7 million 

people are not included in official unemployment totals because they have stopped 

looking for work, even though they want a job; another 4.4 million people are not 

counted because they’re working part-time but would prefer a full-time job; 3 and 

millions of workers are stalled in low-paying jobs with limited opportunities for advancement. Many of these workers are Black, Latino, or members of other populations facing systemic barriers to economic advancement. 

Labor shortages are likely to persist because the skills required for quality jobs 

will also continue to change as a result of ongoing technological advances and because recent policies—including those in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 

Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act—are creating millions of new jobs that need to be filled. The creation of new jobs combined with a 

tight labor market should expand the number of career opportunities available to 

members of populations that have long been excluded from such opportunities. 

The movement toward ‘‘skills-based’’ employment practices means that WIOA 

must be updated to assist this important trend in the employment ecosystem. Rather than using only degrees and credentials as signals of qualification in the labor 

market, skills-based approaches capture learning and mastery regardless of where 

the knowledge was attained. The WIOA system can and should play a vital role in 

capturing skill attainment, regardless of the format, to help individuals attain quality jobs. 

The pandemic necessitated a range of efforts to deliver employment and training 

services in new and untested ways. While the labor market has largely recovered 

from the devastating effects of the pandemic, it is time for Congress to consider 

which of the developments in system coordination and delivery should be codified 

in WIOA. For example, changes in WIOA’s requirement to have a physical One-Stop 

center in every local workforce area might lead to better service delivery through 

some mix of virtual and satellite services. Congress must also consider the impact 

of technological advancements that will impact the workforce. As artificial intelligence adoption becomes more widespread, the task makeup of jobs will shift, often 

requiring workers to possess new or different skills. The use of artificial intelligence 

also has the potential to improve the efficiency of job matching and employment 

practices generally. 

Without focused investments and updates in workforce development, the 

country could miss another opportunity to promote economic advancement 

for all. In today’s economy, most quality jobs require at least some education and training beyond high school. However, opportunities to acquire 

the skills and credentials that lead to quality jobs and economic advancement haven’t been equally accessible to all workers. It’s time to close the 

longstanding gaps that have limited opportunities for people based on 

race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. 
18 

History and Characteristics of WIOA Title I Programs—What Are the Goals 

of WIOA? 

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA; P.L. 113–28), which succeeded the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105–220), is the primary Federal 

legislation that supports workforce development. WIOA was enacted in 2014 to increase coordination and alignment among Federal workforce development and related programs and to build on system innovations already underway. 

Title I of WIOA authorizes several state and national programs to provide employment and training services and continues the One-Stop system as a means of delivering and coordinating workforce development activities. 

At the outset, it is worth highlighting elements of WIOA that, collectively, are intended to comprise a ‘‘workforce development system.’’ WIOA’s goal was to update 

the workforce development system and refine some of the innovations of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998. Characteristics of the workforce system under 

WIOA include: 

• WIOA is designed to be a demand-driven workforce development system. 

This system is supposed to provide employment and training services responsive to local area employers’ demands. The demand-driven nature of 

WIOA is manifested in elements such as Workforce Development Boards 

(WDBs), a majority of whose members must be representatives of business, and in the requirement for local plans to identify existing and 

emerging in-demand industry sectors and occupations. There are approximately 550 local WDBs. 

• WIOA emphasizes coordination and alignment of workforce development 

services through provisions such as a required Unified State Plan for core 

programs and a common set of performance indicators across most programs authorized by WIOA. In addition, WIOA requires regional planning across local areas. 

• WIOA provides local control to officials administering programs under it. 

Under the state formula grant portion of WIOA, which accounts for nearly 60 percent of total WIOA Title I funding, most funds are allocated to 

local WDBs (after initial allotment from the Employment and Training 

Administration to the States) that are authorized to determine the mix 

of service provision, eligible providers, and types of training programs, 

among other decisions. 

• The WIOA system provides central points of service through its One-Stop 

centers (identified as American Job Centers). The concept of a One-Stop 

center is to provide a single location for individuals seeking employment 

and training services, thus making the process of locating and accessing 

employment services more efficient and seamless. WIOA requires certain 

programs to be ‘‘partners’’ in the One-Stop center, either by physical colocation or other accessible arrangements. Notably, WIOA requires the 

colocation of Employment Service offices with One-Stop centers. There 

are approximately 2,300 American Job Centers. 

• WIOA provides universal access to its career services to any individual 

regardless of age or employment status, but it also provides priority of 

service for career and training services to individuals with low incomes 

and people in need of significant skills training. 

• WIOA emphasizes sector partnerships and career pathways workforce development strategies by requiring local WDBs to lead efforts to develop 

career pathways strategies and to implement industry/sector partnerships 

with employers. 

• WIOA provides consumer choice to participants. Participants determined 

to be eligible for training services are provided with Individual Training 

Accounts (ITAs), with which they may choose a type of training and the 

provider from which to receive training. 

• WIOA implements a performance accountability system based on primary 

indicators with state-adjusted levels of performance resulting from negotiations between each state and the Secretary of Labor and revised based 

on a statistical adjustment model. The performance accountability system 

applies across all titles of WIOA. 

• WIOA programs provide business services, including places where employers can go to match with skilled workers and to receive services in support of their human capital needs. Whether through services provided by 
19 

business representatives or directly provided through American Job Centers, workforce systems arrange for on-the-job and customized training, 

work with employers to identify skill and employment needs, provide layoff aversion services, and work to identify quality jobs. 

Even with these elements, the WIOA system has not fully realized all its goals. 

There are still far too many individuals who are not benefiting from WIOA’s promise. In fiscal year 2023, programs and activities for adults, dislocated workers, and 

youth under WIOA’s formula grants to states and local workforce areas were funded 

at just $3.2 billion—a funding level that has been stagnant in nominal terms since 

fiscal year 2000, and a decline of nearly 50 percent in inflation-adjusted terms. 

This level of funding is not adequate to meet all the promises in the WIOA system, nor is the system currently designed to meet today’s extensive career navigation, skills development, and worker transition needs as a stand-alone program. 

In addition to the statutory requirements of WIOA, the WIOA system performs 

many functions in our broader workforce ecosystem. It serves as a connector of programs, a convener of partners and stakeholders, and a translator of labor market 

information. 

Workforce development boards are intended to play pivotal strategic roles in the 

design of comprehensive workforce development systems; engage with regional employers; lead innovative initiatives, including career pathways and sector strategies; 

and leverage additional resources to support workforce programming. 

Successful WIOA programs are carrying out these and other high-quality, evidence-based strategies to address the employment needs of their regional economies. 

However, the system’s limited resources are spread too thin, performance across the 

more than 500 local workforce areas varies, and the entire workforce ecosystem 

needs significant modernization. 

Workforce Recommendations—What Needs to Change in WIOA? 

The United States needs a workforce system that is adequately funded, agile, and 

innovative enough to keep up with the skill needs of America’s workers and in-demand employers. To make that a reality, Congress should take a holistic look at 

how workforce programs can be modernized, aligned and funded to meet the needs 

of the U.S. economy today and in the future. To accomplish this, we recommend the 

following essential changes to the system’s funding and design. 

A Flexible, High-Quality Lifelong Learning System. Congress should invest 

in training options that allow learners to progress at an accelerated pace, award 

credit for prior learning, offer stackable credentials that learners can accumulate as 

they move along career pathways, and capture skills and credentials in skills ‘‘passports’’ or ‘‘learning and employment records (LERs)’’ that are recognized by employers and across education and workforce systems. In addition to changes in the delivery of services, JFF recommends that funding for skills-based training in WIOA 

through ITAs (skill grants), high-quality work-based learning (including apprenticeships), digital literacy, sector-based training, and career pathways training strategies be increased; and that Pell Grants be expanded to include high-quality shortterm credentialing programs. 

Robust Career Navigation and Support Services. In addition to skills development, career navigation and support services provided under WIOA are critical 

for enabling participants to successfully transition to new careers and advance on 

career pathways. Congress should seek to maintain these critical services while encouraging system modernization through the effective use of technology and other 

strategies that result in a career navigation system that helps students, parents, 

jobseekers, and workers make well-informed decisions about the education, career, 

and employment pathways they choose. JFF recommends that Congress encourage 

the provision of real-time labor market information, skills assessments, skill matching, and access to skills training, supports, and reemployment services through a 

blend of virtual and in-person access points via American Job Centers and affiliated 

sites such as community-based organizations, libraries, community colleges, and K– 

12 guidance departments. This includes working with employers committed to using 

skills-based hiring for quality jobs. 

Quality Education and Training. As demand for short-term learning options 

increases among workers who need to continually build new skills to keep pace with 

the demands of the labor market, Congress should encourage the development of improved ways to measure the quality of education and training programs. This includes making improvements in WIOA’s Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) and 

improvements in WIOA’s performance measurement system to encourage career 
20 

pathways approaches to training. Regarding the ETPL, a reauthorized WIOA should 

clarify that States are responsible for back-end matching of system participants 

with wage records, should require states to update the ETPL at least twice a year, 

and should specify that local workforce boards have authority to deny funding to 

training providers that do not provide quality services to participants. 

Technology and Data. We need a workforce system that makes full use of the 

latest technologies to expand and improve service delivery for participants. We 

learned through the pandemic that technology-enabled career navigation and training services can meet the needs of jobseekers and in-demand employers. We recommend dedicated investments for states and local workforce systems for the development and use of these new technologies, including investments in professional development for staff on their use. Congress should establish a Data and Technology 

Transformation Fund to: fund direct work with employers and national employer associations on multi-state training and credentialing efforts; provide incentives to engage in cross-state and multi-state initiatives such as the Workforce Data Quality 

Initiative and the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program; and provide funding to states and regional workforce systems to modernize state and regional workforce data and technology efforts. This includes the integration of technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning into job matching, career 

navigation, and training services at American Job Centers and related providers. 

Dedicate Funding for the Scaling of Evidence-Based Models and Strategies. JFF recommends that dedicated funding be provided for sector-focused career 

pathways and apprenticeship programs (including pre-apprenticeships and youth 

apprenticeships). JFF also supports codification of the Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO), the Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI), and the Strengthening Community Colleges Grant (SCCG) programs. 

Increase the Engagement of Employers. Congress can encourage the involvement of employers in workforce development efforts through support for strategies 

like sector partnerships and through business services provided by local workforce 

boards to help employers identify ways to improve job quality for their workers and 

to adopt skills-based hiring practices for making employment decisions. 

Meet the Needs of Individuals Experiencing Barriers. While WIOA includes 

a priority for serving individuals facing barriers to employment, more can be done 

to improve the outcomes of individuals who experience the greatest barriers to employment. As noted above, JFF recommends that Congress encourage the development and implementation of career pathways, sector strategies, reentry initiatives 

serving people who have been incarcerated, and other evidence-based strategies that 

provide individuals experiencing barriers to employment with on-ramps to skills 

training and credentials that lead to family supporting careers. We also recommend 

that WIOA’s performance measures be changed to encourage career pathways approaches to training and that robust career navigation and support services, including needs-based payments, be available for individuals participating in pathways. 

We recommend targeted investments in professional development for staff and 

members of state and local boards on strategies that improve access and outcomes 

for individuals who face barriers to employment. We also recommend that states be 

required to identify a standardized self-sufficiency calculation to be used for determining self-sufficiency standards and wages for their state and their workforce regions so local boards can strive to place jobseekers and workers in jobs that either 

meet or have the potential to build toward self-sufficiency wages. 

Job Quality. Policymakers can encourage a focus on quality jobs under WIOA 

by requiring that state and local boards consider job quality in planning, employer 

services, and data reporting activities. We recommend that Congress create a pilot 

program to test the feasibility of capturing additional data about characteristics of 

jobs in which people who exit WIOA are employed. We also recommend that states 

and local boards be required to identify regional self-sufficiency standards, as noted 

above, so local and regional boards can better assess their progress toward meeting 

the goal of self-sufficiency for participants. And we recommend that customized 

training, incumbent worker training, and business services activities, prioritize efforts that move workers into jobs that provide self-sufficiency wages and other characteristics of quality jobs. 

Value and Invest in Opportunity Youth. In April of this year, the U.S. youth 

unemployment rate was 9.2 percent, with nearly 4.7 million young people ages 16 

to 24 who are both out of school and unemployed—the population that many organi-
21 

4 ‘‘Youth Disconnection in America,’’ Measure of America, https:// 

www.measureofamerica.org/DYinteractive/ and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), The Employment Situation—May 2024. 

zations and policymakers refer to as ‘‘opportunity youth.’’ 4 More than one-third of 

these young people are living in poverty. 

Congress can help to address this need by significantly increasing funding for 

youth programs under WIOA, and enhancing efforts to build bridges that link disconnected youth and young adults to postsecondary education, training, and employment. The workforce system should embrace evidence-based strategies that work for 

this population and expand opportunities for work-based learning, youth and preapprenticeship, and employment opportunities that lead to in-demand careers. JFF 

urges Congress to continue to prioritize out-of-school youth in WIOA youth programs. However, we recognize the need to serve young people who are still technically enrolled in school, but who are at extreme risk of disconnection, so we support changes in the definition of ‘‘out-of-school’’ to allow for the provision of reengagement strategies for these young people. 

Adequate Funding. While the above recommendations would result in improvements to the U.S. workforce development system—to ensure a future where all people can build the skills they need to find quality jobs and advance economically and 

where all employers can hire the talent they need to help their businesses thrive, 

Congress must invest in skills development for workers and in needed transformations in the Nation’s workforce development system. The U.S. spends far less 

on workforce development than other OECD countries. If funding for adult, dislocated worker, and youth programs kept up with inflation over the years, these programs would be funded at a minimum of $35 billion today—more in line with funding for degree-bound students under Pell. 

Siloed policy development for U.S. workforce, higher education, career and technical education, poverty alleviation, and economic development systems can no 

longer be accepted. These systems must all be considered—and transformed—so 

they can work together to form the critical workforce preparation ecosystem needed 

today and in the future. JFF’s complete analysis, Recommendations for a Fully 

Funded and Transformed Workforce Development System, can be found at https:// 

www.jff.org/idea/recommendations-for-a-fully-funded-and-transformed-workforce-development-system/. 

Conclusion 

Now is the time to transform this country’s workforce development system. To do 

this, Congress must invest and make bold changes in the country’s education, workforce development, and economic development systems that are necessary to ensure 

that the U.S. economy remains strong and that workers of all backgrounds have the 

skills they need to succeed. 

By increasing resources for skills development, modernizing career navigation and 

training services, providing necessary transition assistance for learners and workers, involving employers in the design and implementation of workforce development programs, and ensuring that individuals facing barriers to employment have 

access to high-quality services, we will make sure that all individuals, including 

members of populations that have long been underserved by existing systems, can 

achieve their full potential and drive our economy forward. 

JFF urges leaders in Congress to act and create a workforce system that works 

for all, where there are no dead ends to economic opportunity. 

[SUMMARY STATEMENT OF DAVID BRADLEY]

Good morning Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy, and Members of the 

Senate HELP Committee. My name is David Bradley. I am a Senior Director for 

Workforce Policy at Jobs for the Future (JFF), a national, nonprofit organization 

that has worked for over 40 years to drive change in America’s workforce and education systems. 

The backbone of America’s economy is its workforce. Workforce development has 

become a lifelong mandate for every worker. Upskilling, reskilling, transition assistance, and career navigation services, are essential to help every individual create 

and sustain a career that will enable them to support themselves and their loved 

ones. Employers must also be able to readily access the talent they need to compete. 
22 

The nation’s workforce development ecosystem—programs authorized under WIOA 

and its related partner programs—must work collaboratively to meet these needs. 

However, without focused investments and updates in workforce development, the country will miss the opportunity to promote U.S. competitiveness and economic advancement for all. In today’s economy, most quality 

jobs require at least some postsecondary education and training. However, 

opportunities to acquire the skills and credentials that lead to quality jobs 

and economic advancement haven’t been equally accessible to all workers. 

It’s time to close the longstanding gaps that have limited opportunities for 

people based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status—and to address 

a long-standing problem challenging U.S. employers—America’s skills gap. 

WIOA was designed to be demand-driven. It emphasizes the alignment of workforce and partner programs. It is centered on the principles of local control and in 

meeting the needs of dual customers—workers and employers. It provides services 

through a One-stop delivery system; provides training through individual training 

grants; emphasizes customer choice in the selection of training services; and provides career navigation and support services for individuals in need. WIOA programs are held accountable through a performance measurement system that looks 

at job placement, wages attained, job retention, credential attainment, and educational progress as appropriate. The WIOA system also provides services to local 

employers including skill matching, employee recruitment, assistance with layoff 

aversion, and other business services. Local workforce development boards play pivotal strategic roles in the design of comprehensive workforce development systems; 

engage with regional employers; lead initiatives including career pathways and sector strategies; and leverage additional resources. 

Even with these elements, the WIOA system has not fully realized all its goals. 

A major problem is that the system is underfunded. In fiscal year 2023, programs 

and activities for adults, dislocated workers, and youth under WIOA’s formula 

grants to states and local workforce areas were funded at just $3.2 billion—a level 

that has been stagnant since fiscal year 2000, and a decline of nearly 50 percent 

in inflation-adjusted terms. 

JFF recommends the following changes to make the workforce system more agile 

and responsive to the needs of America’s workers and employers: increase investments in the workforce; modernize the delivery of skills training; develop a robust 

career navigation system; create a lifelong learning system; protect workers during 

times of transition; strengthen verification measures for program quality; improve 

employer engagement; focus investments on placement in quality jobs; improve outcomes for people with barriers; and increase investments in and programming for 

‘‘opportunity youth.’’ 

The CHAIR. Thank you. Senator Cassidy, do you want to introduce your witness? 

Senator CASSIDY. Yes. I will introduce a good friend and someone 

I’ve learned a lot with, Dr. Monty Sullivan, who has served as the 

president of Louisiana Community and Technical College Systems 

since 2014. Before then, Chancellor of Delgado Community College 

in New Orleans, and a fierce leader for Louisiana’s 12 community 

colleges and the 150,000 students who flow through their doors. 

Their mantra is, ‘‘Start here, go anywhere.’’ A fitting theme for today’s hearing. 

Dr. Sullivan. 

STATEMENT OF MONTY SULLIVAN, PH.D., SYSTEM PRESIDENT, 

LOUISIANA COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM 

BATON ROUGE, LA 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Thank you, Senator. Good morning, Chairman 

Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy, Members of the HELP Committee. I’m Monty Sullivan, president of the Louisiana Community 

and Technical College System. I also serve as president of the Rebuilding America’s Middle Class, which is a coalition of community 
23 

colleges from across the Nation. I appreciate the opportunity to address the Committee this morning. 

Our Country’s facing significant challenge in educating and 

training our workforce. Our talent development system, largely 

funded by WIOA and Pell Programs, is simply not keeping pace 

with the modern economy and the needs of our employers. 

Today, we have over 80 million, 1 in 3 working-age Americans 

with a high school diploma or less. Imagine, a high school diploma 

or less. Today’s jobs and the jobs of the future require more than 

a high school diploma. Very simply, without a significant overhaul 

of the Nation’s workforce system, these 80 million working-age 

adults are doomed to be frozen out of the American middle class. 

Two data points. 1 in 3 working age Americans are not participating in the labor force. As you heard previously, in Louisiana, 40 

percent of our working-age adults are not engaged in the workforce. Point two, a decreasing share of the American population is 

part of the middle class. That’s part of what we believe is the 

American dream. 

61 percent of Americans were considered part of the middle class 

in 1971. In 2023, that number dropped to 51 percent. This sobering 

data demonstrates that millions of Americans lack the education, 

training they need to punch their ticket to the middle class. Now’s 

the time for the Committee to lead the way in strengthening and 

reforming WIOA, and other Federal education and training programs. 

The current WIOA system is simply not meeting the needs of employers seeking to find workers with industry-based specific skills. 

This is evidenced by the fact that there are 8.1 million jobs that 

are vacant today. 

Building an effective workforce system requires our business 

partners to be at the table. I’m especially proud to be with you 

today alongside Mr. Matthew Dickerson, an incredible industry 

partner, committed to the long-term success of our people. WIOA 

is largely failing to meet the needs of many of our workers who 

have families, or single parents’, or others’ responsibilities, including going to school. 

Even with wraparound support services, however, these students 

need flexible classes and programs that allow them to complete. 

Very few have the time to complete an associate degree. Most instead, need to get into the college, complete a short-term certification and industry-based certification, get out and go to work. 

That’s when the role of the employer becomes really important to 

help bring them into the future of the economy. 

While the data is stark, we’re ready for change in Louisiana. 

Governor Jeff Landry recently established the Workforce and Social 

Services Reform Task Force. We’re already seeing momentum build 

behind the notion of eliminating silos and fostering collaboration. 

But for these efforts to really work, we’re going to need your 

help. The integration of our colleges into the wheel structure has 

already taken place with institutions like South Louisiana Community College that house the one-stops on their campuses across 

eight parishes in South Central Louisiana. 
24 

In addition to that, you also have relationships with our Louisiana Workforce Commission and institutions that extend workforce services into communities that would not have those services 

under different circumstances. The Committee has an awesome opportunity before you to reauthorize and change the path of America. 

First recommendation, WIOA must fund more training. You’ve 

heard that before. In 2022, less than 200,000 individuals received 

direct training as a result of WIOA. Imagine the numbers. 8 million vacancies, 200,000 people trained. The appropriations for 

WIOA programs must be increased, no doubt, but a much greater 

portion of those funds must be used for training services. Herein 

is an opportunity to leverage the Nation’s more than 1,000 community colleges and the local workforce boards to create more accessible and effective workforce training systems. 

Second, adult education serves more people than all of the other 

titles of WIOA combined. Adult Education; we must fund Adult 

Education. This is a forgotten population for many of us. But the 

solution is not simply more money. Adult education should be integrated with training and allows individuals to gain a sustained career. Yes, young people are important, but if we don’t train their 

parents, what happens to the young person when they go home? 

Third, we need to empower workers with information about 

which post-secondary education training options that are best for 

them. In Louisiana, we developed a star rating system that looks 

at demand for the occupation as well as income that helps individuals to make decisions about their future and their career. I also 

urge the Committee to require the use of earnings and employment 

data in determining providers programs that are available to the 

people of our area. 

Last, thanks to the Committee for your keen focus on both of the 

Nation’s talent development funds, WIOA, and the Federal Pell 

Program. I would be remiss if I did not urge the Committee to give 

consideration to the passage of workforce Pell, expand Pell to allow 

America the opportunity to be trained and educated to go to work 

and be productive as a part of this economy. Even with all of the 

WIOA improvements that we’ve discussed that I’ve outlined here 

today, WIOA alone simply will not get it done. 

In closing, I’d like to ask that to imagine the countless Americans trapped on the outside of this economy seeing the successes 

of others. The erosion of the middle class has far-reaching implications for the people, our communities, and our democracy. The 

Committee has a chance to change lives this Congress by re-imagining market-responsive, customer-focused workforce training system. I cannot wait to see what we will build together. 

Thank you for the opportunity to be with you today. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Sullivan follows.] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MONTY SULLIVAN

Good morning. I am Monty Sullivan, President of the Louisiana Community and 

Technical College System, a market-aligned system of 12 public 2-year colleges 

graduating over 30,000 students annually. I also serve as President of Rebuilding 

America’s Middle Class, a Coalition of Community Colleges that aims to rebuild 

America’s middle class by enhancing student success and by promoting the vital role 
25 

of community colleges. I appreciate the opportunity to address the Committee today 

on ways to strengthen the broader workforce system by improving the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 

Our Country is facing a significant challenge in educating and training our Nation’s workforce, both to meet the demands of employers, but also to meet the dual 

challenges facing today’s workers of time and economics. Today, we have over 80 

million working age adults in our Nation that have only a high school diploma, or 

less. This means that 80 million or one in three of our working age adults do not 

have the postsecondary education and training they need to acquire career sustaining employment. Today’s jobs and the jobs of the near and distant future all require more than a high school diploma. Without postsecondary education and training, these 80 million working age adults are doomed to career tracks that lead to 

low-paying jobs that often lead to a lifetime of struggle to provide for themselves 

and their families. 

We also just learned from a recent National Student Clearinghouse report that 

32 million Americans have attended some college and have not earned a degree. 

Millions of Americans have sought a postsecondary education but failed to complete 

the certificate or degree that provides them a path to a better paying job and fulfilling career. 

Moving to the employment data picture, our Nation has experienced some of its 

lowest unemployment rates in history. However, that metric fails to capture the real 

story behind the data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the Labor Force 

Participation Rate, or the number of people in the labor force as a percentage of 

the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years old and over. In other words, it is 

the percentage of the population that is either working or actively seeking work. In 

May 2024, the Labor Force Participation Rate was cited at 62.5 percent—meaning 

more than one in three American working age adults are not participating in the 

labor force. In Louisiana, the Labor Force Participation Rate lags the Nation at 58.6 

percent. Meanwhile, there are thousands of available jobs that require skills and 

education beyond a high school diploma. 

This is sobering data that demonstrates that millions of Americans are being left 

behind economically by lacking the post high school education and training they 

need to punch their ticket to the middle class. For these millions of Americans and 

our Nation’s economic vitality, now is the time to improve how the Federal Government supports education and training. This Committee can lead the way in that effort by passing legislation that strengthens and reforms WIOA and other Federal 

education and training programs. 

At the outset of my remarks, I mentioned challenges facing employers and workers. Employers consistently are challenged to find employees with the education and 

training they need for specific occupations. Even with what is historically low unemployment nationally and some progress on reducing unfilled job openings in the past 

year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that there are 8.1 million unfilled jobs 

in this country right now. Employers have openings for high-paying jobs that they 

cannot fill. 

When I mention the challenges facing workers, I cited both economic and time 

challenges. The economic challenge I am referring to is the need for a worker to secure employment that provides them with the earnings needed to support themselves and their family. Unfortunately, we have had a drop in the percentage of 

Americans that are considered ‘‘middle-class’’ since 1971. According to an analysis 

by the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of Americans were considered part of the 

middle class in 1971. In 2023, just 51 percent of Americans are considered middle 

class. We need to rebuild our middle class in this country, and the single best way 

to do that is to ensure our Nation’s workers have the education and training they 

need to obtain and maintain career sustaining employment. 

The time challenge facing American workers is directly related to the fact that 

80 million working age Americans have a high school diploma or less. Many of these 

individuals have families, are single parents, and/or must work while trying to acquire a postsecondary credential or degree. These complexities in their lives mean 

these individuals need wraparound services that allow them to have any chance of 

completing education and training programs. These essential services include child 

care, nutrition assistance, reliable and affordable transportation and even housing 

aid. 

Even with these wraparound supports, however, education and training providers 

need to meet these students where they are in their lives. They need classes that 

take place online or around their work schedules. They need certificate or degree 

programs options that can be completed over months and not years, especially as 
26 

many working age adults need to attend a postsecondary institution part time due 

to work and family obligations. An education and training program structure that 

meets these needs can help bring the 80 million working age adults with a high 

school degree back into the system and back on the path to the middle class. The 

same applies to the 32 million adults without a postsecondary credential or degree— 

these supports can help them succeed at what they started. This is simply an imperative—for the economic betterment of our Nation, and most importantly, to reestablish a dominant middle class in America. 

In Louisiana, we are ready for change. Right now, we are embarking on an ambitious program to improve the functioning of our workforce and social services systems, aimed directly at lessening the generational poverty that so profoundly 

hinders our people from achieving the American Dream. Governor Jeff Landry established the Workforce and Social Services Reform Task Force a few weeks ago 

through executive order. We are already seeing momentum build behind its mission 

of eliminating siloes and fostering collaboration, with the consolidation of WIOA and 

Wagner-Peyser services into two rural campuses of our community colleges. We 

have a long history of delivering SNAP Employment and Training programs through 

our community colleges, and we are expanding those collaborations to the programs 

administered by the Louisiana Workforce Commission. We are embarking on new 

partnerships between industry associations and state entities to address critical 

needs in healthcare and industrial construction. We are working across all levels of 

the education system, and with the administrators of all social safety net programs, 

to get our people what they need to truly prosper. And with the signing of the Louisiana Legislature’s Act 330 just last week, we ensured that the Secretary of the 

Louisiana Workforce Commission not only has the accountability, but the clear authority, to direct the state’s collective workforce strategy to drive economic growth 

and move our people from dependence to independence. We are ready to go, but for 

these efforts to really work, we are going to need your help. 

The Committee has an awesome opportunity before the end of this Congress to 

begin to address these challenges by reauthorizing and improving the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. WIOA was last reauthorized in 2014, a decade ago. 

Our economy and the needs of workers and employers have not stood still over that 

time. From our perspective in Louisiana, several critical improvements to WIOA are 

needed to meet the needs of a 2024 employer and worker. 

First, WIOA must fund more training services than it presently does. Only 

175,831 individuals received training services under WIOA in program year 2022. 

This is a drop in the bucket for what is supposed to be the Federal Government’s 

premier training program. As a point of contrast, six million Pell grants were provided to students under the Higher Education Act for the 2022–2023 academic year; 

these grants have led to far more training opportunities for qualified individuals, 

are far easier to access and provide much more significant support. The appropriations for WIOA formula programs should be increased, but a much greater share 

of those funds should be used for training services in conjunction with the critical 

wraparound services that make it possible to utilize such training services. One specific example of provisions that should be reconsidered to allow for greater flexibility 

for training more Americans is to use a broadened definition and approach to the 

dislocated worker programs. The economic and social implications of the COVID– 

19 pandemic should serve as a reminder that the current guidelines fall short of 

serving the needs of our communities, our people and our employers. 

Second, WIOA requires Governors to identify eligible training providers to provide 

training services under WIOA. For too long, becoming an eligible training provider 

has not focused enough on what we know is critical—that education and training 

programs provide pathways to high wage jobs that economically sustain individuals 

and families and that meet the needs of employers and local economies. The Committee has an opportunity to require the use of earnings and other outcomes data 

to be more selective about which providers and programs are eligible to provide 

WIOA training services. The American community college is the entity best suited 

to solve the workforce challenges of our Nation. Yet, historically public community 

colleges are an under-utilized resource by the WIOA training enterprise. Fundamentally, we should encourage strong integrated partnerships between workforce boards 

and their local community colleges. At the same time, as we are increasing our reliance on data, the selection of eligible training providers should not be an exercise 

in red tape and bureaucracy. 

Third, we must put Adult Education programs front and center in how we support 

and fund WIOA programs. The 80 million working age adults that I mentioned earlier often need adult education services to put themselves into a position to benefit 

from career and training services under WIOA. Adult education programs in our 
27 

Nation service more people than all other WIOA titles combined. Very simply, funding for Adult Education programs under WIOA should reflect this fact. 

Fourth, we need to empower workers with information about which postsecondary 

education and training options work best for them. In Louisiana, we use a star system that lets individuals know whether a training program leads to an in-demand 

and high-paying job. Five stars means that the program is both high demand and 

high wage as compared to other jobs in the economy. Louisiana is home to a vast 

number of manufacturing facilities along the Mississippi River. A key job in nearly 

all of these facilities is the Process Operator—an individual responsible for keeping 

production going. That occupation is highest demand and highest wage. Two stars 

might mean that it is in-demand but does not provide high wages. An example of 

a high demand occupation with marginal earnings is Early Childhood Education 

Teacher and both positions are jobs that an individual can be prepared for at a public community college. Establishing a simple way for individuals to gain actionable 

information and understand whether a program leads to multiple high-paying job 

opportunities empowers them to meet their economic and employment needs. This 

concept of the star rating system would be useful for the Committee to incorporate 

into changes in determining eligible training providers. It is important, however, 

that tools like this and their assessment of what is in demand and high paying be 

locally controlled and designed to reflect local and regional economies in states and 

communities. 

Fifth, individuals seeking services through the WIOA system should expect that 

this system will provide options that work for them. There should not be a ‘‘wrong 

door to enter’’ within the WIOA system; rather, the options provided should lead individuals to the careers, training and/or wraparound services needed for success. I 

would urge the Committee to ensure that the eligibility for career, training and/or 

wraparound services under WIOA are harmonized across one-stop partner programs 

with an eye toward bringing in other Federal means tested programs in the future. 

The Committee truly has a chance to change lives this Congress by improving 

WIOA. In closing, I ask each of you to pause for a moment and imagine the young 

child born this year in some of the poorest parts of America-in the Mississippi River 

Delta or in Appalachia or those on tribal lands. How will we, as a Nation, ensure 

those children can grow up with the opportunity to live the American Dream each 

of us has been part of throughout our lives. Without an effective education and 

training enterprise, the future for those children is even more bleak as adults than 

the struggles they will feel as children. The erosion of the American Middle Class 

has far-reaching implications for our people, our communities and our Nation. Time 

is of the essence. Thank you for the opportunity to testify and I am happy to respond to any questions that you might have. 

[SUMMARY STATEMENT OF MONTY SULLIVAN]

Our Country is facing a significant challenge in educating and training our Nation’s workforce to meet the demands of employers, but also to meet the dual challenges facing today’s workers of time and economics. Over 80 million working age 

adults in our Nation have only a high school diploma, or less. Today’s jobs and the 

jobs of the near and distant future all require more than a high school diploma. 

This lack of postsecondary education is coupled with low labor participation rates. 

The current Labor Force Participation Rate tells us that more than one in three 

American working age adults are not participating in the labor force. In Louisiana, 

this is 58.6 percent. There are currently 8.1 million unfilled jobs in this country, but 

many require more than a high school diploma. 

The percentage of Americans that are considered ‘‘middle-class’’ has dropped since 

1971. 61 percent of Americans were considered part of the middle class in 1971 and 

in 2023 it was just 51 percent. Millions of Americans lack the post high school education and training they need to punch their ticket to the middle class. Education 

and training leading to career sustaining employment is the solution to rebuild our 

middle class. 

American workers are facing a time challenge in that they have families, are single parents, and/or must work while trying to acquire a postsecondary credential or 

degree. These complexities require wraparound services and education, and training 

providers need to meet these students where they are with certificate and degree 

programs options that can be completed over months rather than years. 

In Louisiana, we are embarking on an ambitious program to improve the functioning of our workforce and social services systems, aimed directly at lessening 
28 

generational poverty. Governor Jeff Landry established the Workforce and Social 

Services Reform Task Force, and we are embarking on new health care and industrial construction partnerships between industry associations and state entities. We 

are working across all levels of the education system, and all social safety net programs, to get people what they need to truly prosper. We are ready to go, but for 

these efforts to really work, we are going to need your help. 

The Committee can begin to address these challenges by reauthorizing and improving WIOA. 

First, WIOA must fund more training services. Only 175,831 individuals received 

training services under WIOA in 2022 compared to 6 million Pell grants provided 

to students under the Higher Education Act for the 2022–2023 year. The appropriations for WIOA formula programs should be increased, with a greater share used 

for training services in conjunction with wraparound services. 

Second, the Committee has an opportunity to require the use of earnings and 

other outcomes data in order to be more selective about which providers and programs are eligible to provide WIOA training services. This should be done while 

minimizing red tape, an all-too-common problem with the current system. 

Third, adult education programs in our Nation service more people than all other 

WIOA titles combined. Funding for Adult Education programs under WIOA should 

reflect this fact. 

Fourth, we need to empower workers with information about which postsecondary 

education and training options work best for them. In Louisiana, we use a star system that lets individuals know whether a program leads to an in-demand and highpaying job. Individuals need a simple way to gain actionable information about 

whether a program leads to multiple high-paying job opportunities and any such 

system should be locally controlled and designed to reflect local and regional economies. 

Fifth, individuals seeking services through the WIOA system should expect that 

this system will provide options that work for them. There should not be a ‘‘wrong 

door to enter’’ within the WIOA system; rather, the options provided should lead individuals to the careers, training and/or wraparound services needed for success. 

The CHAIR. Thank you, Dr. Sullivan. 

Our next witness is Dr. Lisa Bly-Jones, the CEO of the Chicago 

Jobs Council, where she leads the organization’s capacity building, 

member engagement and policy advocacy work. She has previously 

led workforce development projects for public and private entities 

by developing occupational and sectoral training programs that 

convene partners from across the workforce system. 

Dr. Jones, thanks for being with us. 

STATEMENT OF LISA BLY-JONES, PH.D., CHIEF EXECUTIVE 

OFFICER, CHICAGO JOBS COUNCIL (CJC), CHICAGO, IL 

Dr. BLY-JONES. Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy, 

and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to 

testify today on the importance of upgrading our public workforce 

system. 

My name is Dr. Lisa Bly-Jones, and I am CEO of the Chicago 

Jobs Council, a workforce development intermediary in Chicago, Illinois, that develops tools, resources, and offers training to build capacity for workforce organizations, and set priorities for policy advocacy and member engagement. 

I am honored to be here today to contribute to the conversation. 

Our work at CJC prioritizes policies that build transformative relationships between people and systems, focusing on equitable access, 

providing quality jobs, and removing funding obstacles that inhibit 

progress. WIOA reauthorization offers a critical opportunity to 
29 

scale what is working in Illinois and supplement the work we are 

doing to ensure that workers can access the skills they need for the 

jobs which businesses are hiring for. 

First, Congress should fund WIOA commiserate with need when 

factoring inflation. Congress has steadily cut investments in workforce programs over the past 20 years. While I recognize this Committee does not appropriate funding, it plays a key role in advocating for the funding levels that should be set. In recent polling 

commissioned by National Skills Coalition, 82 percent of voters indicated support for increasing government funding for skills training. 

Given the public support for increasing funding and growing demand, WIOA should include authorized funding levels that match 

current and future needs. This Committee can also support expanding Pell Grant eligibility to students enrolled in short-term, highquality training programs. Many students enrolled in these programs would qualify for Federal higher education grant aid based 

on income, if not for program eligibility limitations. 

Second, Congress should support industry or sector partnerships 

that help businesses engage in the public workforce system and career pathways that ensure worker and student success. WIOA requires a stronger connection to employers. Each local community 

has a local economy, and employers in those communities are best 

able to identify industry trends, and skills, and training needs. 

It’s critical to involve employers on the front end and establish 

industry or sector partnerships that bring together local businesses 

and other stakeholders to develop workforce strategies and provide 

training and services that supports area demand. This is especially 

valuable for small and medium-sized businesses. 

Industry partnerships can also support access to career pathways 

that connect progressive levels of education, training, supportive 

services, and credentials throughout an individual’s career. 

Although WIOA require states and local workforce boards to support partnerships, it does not contain targeted funding. WIOA reauthorization should establish grants to develop and maintain industry and sector partnerships and separately support career pathways development. 

Additionally, Congress should support participant needs to ensure they can enter, succeed in, and become employed after quality 

training programs. The House-passed ASWA requires that 50 percent of funding be allocated to training, presenting two challenges 

for Illinois. First, it prioritizes cost over participants. If there is a 

minimum measure to ensure more workers are getting training, 

then the proposal should include the flexibility. States need to define what that measurement is. 

Second, it neglects support services and career navigation for 

workers with the greatest economic need. The distinction between 

entering training and completing is usually unexpected costs associated with childcare, transportation, or challenge with career navigation. 

Career coaching and navigation services are increasingly important for advancing equity and addressing barriers. 2021 CJC report 
30 

identified that 6 months or a year is not enough time for people 

who have experienced trauma such as mental illness, homelessness, or incarceration to seamlessly transition back into the workforce. 

Congress should focus on ensuring that there are sufficient resources to support training expenditures, including all related cost, 

support services, and staff assistance. CJC also partners with reentry organizations working on behalf of justice-involved individuals to ensure that they do not face permanent punishments because of criminal records. WIOA must similarly connect justice-impacted individuals to work because we know there’s dignity in 

work. 

Finally, Congress should capture data on participant outcomes 

and success in the future. WIOA should disaggregate training performance outcomes by race, ethnicity, gender, and other demographic or socioeconomic factors, and expand performance indicators to include quality credential attainment, longer employment 

and wage outcomes, occupation-specific job placement, and measures on job quality. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to provide testimony today, and 

I look forward to answering any questions you may have. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Jones follows.] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF LISA BLY-JONES

Introduction 

Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy and Members of the Committee, 

thank you for the opportunity to testify today on the importance of upgrading our 

public workforce system. My name is Dr. Lisa Bly-Jones, and I am CEO of the Chicago Jobs Council (CJC), a workforce development intermediary in Chicago, Illinois. 

I lead an organization that develops tools, resources and offers training to build capacity for workforce organizations and set priorities for an annual policy advocacy 

and member engagement. Prior to this role, I was the executive director of The 

Workforce Connection, a local workforce board in Rockford, Illinois, where I was responsible for leadership and implementation of strategic workforce development initiatives in partnership with the mayor and other elected officials. Over the more 

than 20 years I have worked in workforce development and held a variety of roles 

across the spectrum of organizations and community colleges that help workers access skills necessary to enter good jobs. 

I am also a beneficiary of our workforce development system myself. When I graduated high school, my family wasn’t able to afford college. I got my first job through 

the Mayor’s office of workforce development. I interviewed and landed a quality job 

that offered tuition reimbursement as a benefit. I took general educational courses 

at Loop College and completed my course work and graduated from Moraine Valley 

Community College. I will always remember the care and concern from faculty who 

understood the complexities of students who work full-time while pursuing their 

education. Their commitment to student success set me on a career path that fit 

my strengths and established a good foundation for me to pursue all of my educational and professional goals. These include a terminal degree and being the CEO 

of an organization that allows me to advocate for others who I understand, because 

I’ve had some similar experiences along the way to arriving here. I’m humbled and 

honored to be here and contribute to today’s conversation to help this Committee 

better understand what workers, businesses, communities and our Country’s needs. 

My organization, Chicago Jobs Council keeps jobseekers at the center of all we 

do. CJC is keenly focused on honoring the full humanity of workers who are seeking 

economic security and we facilitate transformative relationships to address the larger economic system. To do this, we bring together workforce leaders from public 

agencies, businesses, community and technical colleges, workforce boards and community based organizations. 
31 

1 https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm; https://www.bls.gov/lau/ptable14full23.pdf. 2 https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jltst.t01.htm; https://www.bls.gov/charts/state-job-openingsand-labor-turnover/state-job-openings-rates.htm#. 

3 National Skills Coalition, Unprecedented Opportunity: Meeting the Workforce Demands of 

New Clean Energy, Manufacturing, and Infrastructure Investments-National Skills Coalition. 

We convene a state-wide coalition every year, the Illinois Skills for Good Jobs Coalition that advocates for legislation that embodies 4 Workforce Policy Pillars: 

(1) Dedicate state funding for workforce training using a racial and gender 

equity lens, 

(2) Promote policies that eliminate structural employment barriers disproportionately faced by people of color, foreign-born workers, and women 

in Illinois, 

(3) Ensure that no Illinoisan—regardless of race, gender, age, or nationality—lives in poverty by promoting good jobs and a strong safety net and 

(4) Increase research, data sharing, and transparency across state agencies 

that touch education and workforce training to identify and address equity 

gaps in our public investments. 

Illinois Workforce Overview 

Illinois has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country overall and the 

unemployment rate for Black men and women is nearly double that of the state’s 

overall unemployment rate standing at around 9.5 percent. 1 And yet, Illinois has 

385,000 job openings in March and one of the highest job openings rates in the 

country. 2 These measures usually run in opposing directions. The fact that both the 

unemployment rate and the job openings rate run high relative to the rest of the 

Nation suggests a sizable skills mismatch between the skills that workers currently 

have and those that employers require for the jobs that they are working to fill. 

On top of that, generation defining investments in clean energy, semiconductors 

and building and infrastructure has put an even more intense demand on workers 

and businesses. These investments are expected to create 3 million jobs each year 

and nearly 70 percent of these jobs will be available to workers without a bachelor’s 

degree. However, additional training beyond a high school diploma will be essential 

for workers to access these opportunities. 3

In the State of Illinois, as a member of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, CJC was 

a key partner in helping to pass the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) which 

aims to invest in Illinois to mitigate the impacts of climate change, move to clean 

power sources, reduce energy costs, and support communities and workers. The law 

importantly provides over $80 million annually for workforce development and contractor programs in disadvantaged communities. 

Investments in infrastructure and energy present an immense opportunity for 

workers in Illinois and nationwide. Paired with the employment picture there is a 

growing need to support workforce training and supportive services through our 

workforce system in order to effectively seize these opportunities. States and localities are working to address growing training demands but a much larger Federal 

commitment is required. 

What CJC/IL Have Done to Address These Challenges 

Chicago Jobs Council collaborates with partners across the state to ensure that, 

as our economy adapts to a changing climate and both state and Federal investments are implemented, groups who have traditionally been economically disadvantaged are now able to benefit from these efforts and gain access to the newly created 

jobs. 

In 2020, we released a report entitled Building Pathways to Clean Energy Jobs 

in Illinois, which highlights the importance of investing in the future clean energy 

workforce as part of public investments in clean energy infrastructure. The report 

is informed by interviews with clean energy employers, workforce development practitioners, policy experts, and uses publicly available labor market and job posting 

information to illustrate how the state can effectively invest in workforce development so that people marginalized by racism, sexism, and environmental injustice 
32 

4 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63a0838721aff66b22dd2598/t/ 

63a0986c2f41ed099d83a59c/1671469164785/Building-Pathways-to-Clean-Energy-Jobs-in-Illinois-March-2021.pdf. 5 https://nationalskillscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NSC-LegislativeAgenda118Congress.pdf. 6 https://nationalskillscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NSC-PublicPerspectivesTopFindings-Brief.pdf. 

can directly access [clean energy] jobs, advance within green industries, and benefit 

from public investments in clean energy. 4

Clean energy continues to be an area of focus for CJC due to the immense opportunity it poses, At the same time, we are working closely with partners to improve 

the workforce system, increase funding into the system, expand pathways for job 

seekers and eliminate barriers to accessing good jobs. 

What Still Needs to be Done on WIOA 

While Illinois has worked to address the needs of our workers and businesses as 

best we can, we rely on Federal policy and investments. WIOA reauthorization offers a critical opportunity to scale what is working in Illinois to other states and 

to supplement the work we are doing to ensure that Illinois workers—and workers 

across the country—can access the skills they need and for which businesses need 

to hire. 

The workforce system should prioritize every worker’s future financial stability, 

career pathway, and economic security. It must honor the humanity of all people, 

be inclusive and address the larger economic system. Our work prioritizes policies 

that build transformative relationships between people and systems, focusing on equitable access, providing quality jobs, and removing funding obstacles that inhibit 

progress. 

Congress should fund WIOA commensurate with need. 

Structuring funding at the Federal and state level that is consistent, adaptable 

and relevant to the changing needs of the economy safeguards everyone’s professional progress, no matter what situational changes they encounter during their careers. Yet, one of the most consistent calls we hear from partners is the need for 

more funding for the programs under WIOA to better meet demand. 

Indeed, underlying many of the opportunities to improve WIOA so that it better 

serves all stakeholders is the need for Congress to consistently invest more in programs that support skills and supportive services so that more people can access 

training programs that lead to family sustaining wages, and more businesses can 

hire skilled workers for in-demand jobs. When factoring inflation, Congress has 

steadily cut investments in workforce programs, Career and Technical Education, 

and adult education programs over the past 20 years. 5

While I recognize this Committee does not appropriate funding, as the authorizing 

committee, the Health Education Labor, and Pensions Committee plays a key role 

in advocating for the funding levels that should be set each year. Levels proposed 

in the House passed A Stronger Workforce for America Act continue this troubling 

trend of under-investment. 

This Committee can also support investments in training by expanding Pell Grant 

eligibility to students enrolled in short-term high-quality training programs that 

help businesses fill open jobs and help workers access career pathways. Many students enrolled in these programs would qualify for Federal higher education grant 

aid based on income if not for program eligibility limitations. The Jobs Act has the 

capacity to allow for rapid upskilling of workers by lowering the time threshold for 

Pell Grant eligibility to programs that are at least 150 clock hours and 8 weeks in 

length. The JOBS Act would also institute a number of accountability standards 

that tie programmatic eligibility for these shorter-term programs to quality metrics. 

Investing in skills training is popular with the public. In recent polling, 82 percent of voters indicated support increasing government funding for skills training 

in America. 6 Given the public’s strong support for increasing government funding 

and the growing need lifted up by our partners, this Committee should demonstrate 

a stronger commitment to WIOA programs as you work to craft legislation to ensure 

that authorized funding levels match current and future demand. 

Congress should support industry or sector partnerships that help businesses engage in the public workforce system. 

With WIOA there is a lot of emphasis on individuals, but we are responsible to 

local employers and there needs to be an increase in funding to better support busi-
33 

ness-related activities, like sector strategies and sector partnerships. Each local 

community has a local economy and employers in those communities are best able 

to identify what skills and training are needed and what trends are emerging in 

a given industry. We never want to train people for jobs that no longer exist or have 

declined while we’re working on developing training programs. It’s critical to involve 

employers on the front end to ensure that does not happen. Industry or sector partnerships bring together local businesses, unions and worker organizations, community colleges, training providers, and community organizations to develop industryspecific workforce strategies and provide training that supports local and regional 

demand. 

These sector partnerships also allow us to become educated about the industry, 

the numerous occupations that may exist within a sector and better positions the 

community to create progressive pathways that lead to sustainable careers. Established sector partnerships provide real-time conversations and innovation to pivot 

where needed based on emerging needs and keeping pace with technological advances. Localized collaboration supports employers in their recruitment and retention efforts to build a diverse workforce within their industry. Such partnerships are 

especially valuable for small and medium-sized businesses, which often lack the resources to develop independent programs. Instead, they can collaborate with other 

local employers to leverage collective strengths. These partnerships also provide an 

entry point for employers to engage with the workforce system in a role that goes 

beyond placing workers into jobs. 

Although the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act requires states and local 

workforce boards to support sector partnerships as a method of workforce improvement at both the state and local levels, this policy does not contain targeted funding 

critical to realizing the impact these partnerships can have on businesses, workers 

and communities. Legislative provisions that provide dedicated grant funding to establish industry and sector partnerships and support ongoing convening as well as 

activities including training and supportive services for works should be included in 

a WIOA reauthorization. Legislative texts such as the Promoting Apprenticeships 

through Regional Training Networks for Employers Required Skills (PARTNERS) 

Act and Building U.S. Infrastructure by Leveraging Support for Skills (BUILDS) Act 

could serve as models for a reauthorization package. Both bills establish grant programs that support partnership convening and maintenance activities and support 

training and workers access to training, education, and supportive services. 

Congress should support robust career pathways that ensure student and worker 

success. 

One of the key benefits of industry partnerships discussed above is providing 

workers with access to career pathways. Thoughtful design around career pathways 

can help ensure that all workers, no matter where they start, have the opportunity 

to advance to good jobs. Career pathways connect progressive levels of education, 

training, supportive services and credentials throughout an individual’s career. Career pathways should include high quality industry recognized credentials that are 

stackable—they articulate toward a higher level of certificate or degree-and portable 

so that they are recognized beyond a single employer if individuals change jobs. 

Career pathways strategies developed in tandem with industry and sector partnerships can provide a systemic approach to expanding training opportunities that 

can increase economic mobility for large numbers of workers in a sector. 

The Gateways to Careers Act includes language that helps develop the systemic 

connection between education providers and industry sector partnerships through 

grant funding that can be used to develop or expand programs that support career 

pathways, support services, and the acquisition of equipment. Similar language 

could be included in a WIOA reauthorization to provide dedicated support to career 

pathways. 

Congress should support needs of participants to ensure they can enter, succeed in 

and become employed after quality training programs. 

CJC works to improve the policies in workforce development that increase job access, provide wraparound workforce and employment benefit services, improve skillbuilding programs, and foster quality job creation that benefits those who need it 

the most. 

Demand for training continues to increase and will be impacted further by increasing the need for workers in the clean energy and infrastructure sectors. Despite growing demand, funding for training programs is not increasing. Private and 
34 

7 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63a0838721aff66b22dd2598/t/ 

63a0987639ba57582d347355/1671469174913/Supportive-Services-Summary-Report-Sept-2021- 

FINAL.pdf. 8 https://nationalskillscoalition.org/news/press-releases/new-report-92-of-jobs-require-digitalskills-one-third-of-workers-have-low-or-no-digital-skills-due-to-historic-underinvestment-structural-inequities/. 9 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63a0838721aff66b22dd2598/t/ 

63a0987639ba57582d347355/1671469174913/Supportive-Services-Summary-Report-Sept-2021- 

FINAL.pdf. 

philanthropic which is often the most flexible funding for workforce programs is inconsistent which makes reliable, robust funding for WIOA critical. 7

One way the House passed ASWA addressed this challenge is to require 50 percent of funding to be spent on training. This proposal creates two challenges in a 

state like Illinois. 

First, it prioritizes costs over participants. If there is a minimum measure to ensure more workers are getting quality training that leads to good jobs, then the proposal should include the flexibility states need to define what that measurement is. 

Second, the proposal excludes things like support services or career navigation from 

the calculation. For workers with the greatest economic need, the difference between 

entering training and actually being able to complete it is usually unexpected costs 

associated with childcare, transportation or challenge with career navigation. Restricting funds used on those strategies will not lead to more people getting to training, it will lead to more people being unable to complete training. 

Instead, the Congress should focus on ensuring that training expenditures include 

all training related costs in the calculation, including wrap-around supportive services and staff assistance costs to meet the needs of jobseekers and businesses. 

Technology is increasingly prevalent at all career levels and across industries. Indeed, recent research shows that 92 percent of jobs require digital skills and that 

number is expected to increase. At the same time, only two-thirds of workers have 

the foundational digital skills necessary to enter and thrive in today’s jobs. 8 Workers and businesses require digital skills support especially related to upskilling opportunities for workers who are on the job and reskilling opportunities for those who 

have lost jobs. A reauthorization of WIOA should include language similar to the 

Digital Skills for Today’s Workforce Act which would establish a formula grant program for states to develop digital skills training programs as well as provide funding to support digital equity among individuals who face barriers to employment 

and who have been historically underrepresented. 

While training is crucial for workers to secure good jobs, it’s often equally or more 

important to address and remove the barriers that hinder individuals from completing their training or retaining employment. 

In 2021, the Chicago Jobs Council released Supportive Services: Lessons Learned 

from the Field which outlines the importance of expanding and enhancing supportive services within workforce development programs to address systemic barriers to employment, particularly for groups that have been marginalized. This includes childcare, housing, and transportation, which are essential for securing and 

maintaining employment as well as mental health services which have become increasingly important following the pandemic. 

In that report, contributors identified that ‘‘six months or a year is not enough 

time for people who have experienced trauma, such as mental illness, homelessness, 

or incarceration, to seamlessly transition back into the workforce’’ and that ‘‘losing 

supportive services during the gap of time between when a client becomes employed 

and gets their first paycheck can make it hard for participants to meet their own 

needs.’’ 9 Congress can ensure that there are sufficient resources to allow supportive 

services to extend past probationary employment periods in order to help give participants more time to adjust and settle into jobs. Language in the BUILDS Act 

could serve as a model for these efforts as the legislative text includes provisions 

to provide support to workers in the pre-employment stage and for as much as a 

year into a job. 

Reliable transportation is a frequent barrier for individuals that is important to 

highlight. While this includes financial support for bus passes, it can also include 

support for those who have had their licenses suspended due to parking ticket debt, 

based on excessive fines and fees. Chicago Jobs Council was a critical voice in a 

campaign in Illinois ensure that individuals are able to drive to work regardless of 

their ability to pay tickets and traffic fines. 
35 

10 https://nationalskillscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FinalWIOARecs.pdf. 

America needs a dynamic and inclusive workforce system equipped to address 

long-standing structural inequities in our labor market. Chicago Jobs Council works 

with partners to appeal to the workforce communities mostly accessing services, 

which are largely Black and Brown workers. We want to ensure that service providers are aware of the barriers these communities face and are creating a path forward for individuals with these barriers in mind. 

Career coaching and navigation services are increasingly important services for 

equity-advancing career navigation. Congress should increase support for frontline 

workforce development professionals to provide career navigation and services including asset-based approaches, assessments to determine strengths and needs, 

awareness of the impact of trauma and structural barriers on behavior and performance, culturally sensitive programming and targeted services for workers of color to 

support better outcomes. 10

CJC also partners with re-entry organizations working on behalf of justice involved individuals to ensure that they do not face permanent punishments because 

of criminal records. An example of this is our role in influencing the policy in CEJA 

that addressed returning residents and our work to connect Equity Eligible Contractors who employ these returning residents. We brought together organizations to 

connect and understand how best utilize and leverage funding opportunities they 

were eligible to receive and we will continue to work with these organizations 

throughout implementation of CEJA. Congress should codify the Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO) program to ensure that justice involved workers have access to industry connected skills training programs. If we’re truly interested in reducing recidivism, we must connect justice impacted individuals to work, because 

we know there’s dignity in work. 

Congress should capture data on participants outcomes and success into the future. 

Access to workforce data enhances our ability to advocate for workforce equity. By 

receiving comprehensive data on the state’s workforce, we can better identify areas 

of improvement, advocate for policies that benefit all residents and measure our 

progress. 

Under WIOA, local areas are required, currently, to measure short-term employment and earnings outcomes for workers at six and 12 months after exit. These 

short-term outcomes do not sufficiently capture how people progress from entry-level 

jobs, experience wage and skill advancement with an employer, and continue their 

education to progress along a quality career pathway. 

To measure if workforce programs are leading to long-term economic gains for 

workers and businesses, WIOA performance indicators should be expanded to include measures on quality credential attainment, employment and wage outcomes 

for at least 2-years after program completion, occupation specific job placement and 

measures on job quality, such as hourly wages and hours worked. 

WIOA should also disaggregate all training performance outcomes by race, ethnicity, gender, and other important demographic or socioeconomic factors like 

English language proficiency, income, and geography, in order effectively evaluate 

progress toward equitable outcomes and the efficacy of the public workforce system 

for all workers, including workers of color who are the majority of those accessing 

these services. 

This Committee has a tremendous opportunity to innovate and enhance the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to meet the demands and specialized needs 

of all stakeholders. I am grateful for the opportunity to provide testimony today, and 

I look forward to answering any questions that you may have. 

[SUMMARY STATEMENT OF LISA BLY-JONES]

My name is Dr. Lisa Bly-Jones, and I am CEO of the Chicago Jobs Council (CJC), 

a workforce development intermediary in Chicago, Illinois. I lead an organization 

that develops tools, resources and offers training to build capacity for workforce organizations and set priorities for an annual policy advocacy and member engagement. Prior to this role, I was the executive director of The Workforce Connection, 

a local workforce board in Rockford, Illinois. 

Illinois has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country overall and the 

unemployment rate for Black men and women is nearly double that of the state’s 
36 

1 https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm; https://www.bls.gov/lau/ptable14full23.pdf. 2 https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jltst.t01.htm; https://www.bls.gov/charts/state-job-openings-and-labor-turnover/state-job-openings-rates.htm#. 3 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63a0838721aff66b22dd2598/t/ 

63a0987639ba57582d347355/1671469174913/Supportive-Services-Summary-Report-Sept-2021- 

FINAL.pdf. 

overall unemployment rate standing at around 9.5 percent. 1 And yet, Illinois has 

385,000 job openings in March and one of the highest job openings rates in the 

country. 2 These measures usually run in opposing directions. 

While Illinois has worked to address the needs of our workers and businesses as 

best we can, we rely on Federal policy and investments. WIOA reauthorization offers a critical opportunity to scale what is working in Illinois to other states and 

to supplement the work we are doing to ensure that Illinois workers—and workers 

across the country—can access the skills they need and for which businesses need 

to hire. 

1. Congress should fund WIOA commensurate with need. Indeed, underlying 

many of the opportunities to improve WIOA so that it better serves all 

stakeholders is the need for Congress to consistently invest more in programs that support skills and supportive services so that more people can 

access training programs that lead to family sustaining wages, and more 

businesses can hire skilled workers for in-demand jobs. When factoring inflation, Congress has steadily cut investments in workforce programs, Career and Technical Education, and adult education programs over the past 

20 years. 

2. Congress should support industry or sector partnerships that help businesses engage in the public workforce system. Established sector partnerships provide real-time conversations and innovation to pivot where needed 

based on emerging needs and keeping pace with technological advances. Localized collaboration supports employers in their recruitment and retention 

efforts to build a diverse workforce within their industry. Such partnerships 

are especially valuable for small and medium-sized businesses, which often 

lack the resources to develop independent programs. Instead, they can collaborate with other local employers to leverage collective strengths. These 

partnerships also provide an entry point for employers to engage with the 

workforce system in a role that goes beyond placing workers into jobs. 

3. Congress should support robust career pathways that ensure student and 

worker success. A 2023 CJC report finds, ‘‘six months or a year is not 

enough time for people who have experienced trauma, such as mental illness, homelessness, or incarceration, to seamlessly transition back into the 

workforce’’ and that ‘‘losing supportive services during the gap of time between when a client becomes employed and gets their first paycheck can 

make it hard for participants to meet their own needs.’’ 3 Congress can ensure that there are sufficient resources to allow supportive services to extend past probationary employment periods in order to help give participants more time to adjust and settle into jobs. 

4.Congress should capture data on participants outcomes and success into 

the future. Access to workforce data enhances our ability to advocate for 

workforce equity. By receiving comprehensive data on the state’s workforce, 

we can better identify areas of improvement, advocate for policies that benefit all residents and measure our progress. 

The CHAIR. Thank you very much. Senator Cassidy, do you want 

to introduce your next panelist? 

Senator CASSIDY. Yes. I’m really privileged to represent to introduce Mr. Matthew Dickerson, who represents all aspects of what 

we’re discussing. He’s the business development and strategy officer for Mid South Extrusion, a growing employer in northeast Louisiana, so the employee side. 

He’s with associations, for example, specifically the Monroe Louisiana Chamber of Commerce in the Northeast and the Northeast 

Louisiana Manufacturing Alliance and Consortium. And last, he’s 
37 

been a teacher bringing classroom experience from career teaching, 

and developing career, and technical education in the Monroe City 

schools. 

Mr. Dickerson, thanks for being here. 

STATEMENT OF MATTHEW DICKERSON, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY OFFICER, MID SOUTH EXTRUSION, 

MONROE, LA 

Mr. DICKERSON. Chair Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy, Members of the Committee, and my fellow panelists, I’m grateful for the 

opportunity to speak with you today about the pressing need to 

build a strong and adaptable workforce in our Nation. I’m Matthew 

Dickerson, business development and strategy officer for Mid South 

Extrusion in Monroe, Louisiana. 

I’ve been deeply involved in workforce development and have 

over a decade of experience in various roles such as educator, career and technical education supervisor, small business owner, and 

now executive of a rapidly expanding and innovative plastics manufacturing company in Monroe. 

I’m also honored to serve on the Louisiana Workforce and Social 

Services Reform Task Force appointed by the Governor. We aim to 

create a plan enabling individuals to transition from poverty to 

prosperity by coordinating our workforce and social service systems 

more effectively. 

Like many industries, one of our challenges is recruiting and employing individuals with the necessary and essential skills in reading, writing, math, and then the specialized skills to run our production facility. Our goal is to deliver high quality products to our 

customers, which requires a skilled workforce. 

Our projected growth and the expansion of our production capabilities hinge on our ability to not only develop our current workforce, but also recruit individuals who can produce that high quality product. I’m pleased to report significant progress in this effort 

in northeast Louisiana, despite being one of the most impoverished 

regions in our Country through two sector partnerships in 

healthcare and manufacturing. 

As chair of the Northeast Louisiana Manufacturers Alliance and 

Consortium, I’m proud to say that business and industry leaders 

are taking real action to break the cycle of generational poverty 

through the development of education and workforce programs that 

align with our region’s available careers. 

I believe it’s time for industry to take the lead in discussions on 

workforce development. We must stop being passive consumers of 

the workforce system and complaining about the quality of the 

product. This is our opportunity to lead the discussion and produce 

ideal candidates for our available positions. 

We have dedicated extensive time to collaborating with our K– 

12 partners, the community and technical college system, our local 

universities, our local workforce boards, and various community organizations to address the constantly evolving needs of industry. 

Collaboration with industry leaders is crucial to developing a 

partnership-driven process for enhancing workforce development 
38 

and addressing public and private sector needs. There’s been a 

shift where businesses increasingly shoulder the burden of training, a role traditionally filled by community partners who now 

struggle with adapting to industry changes due to policy and resource limitations. 

I believe the sector partnership model is a practical accountability framework with industry partners at its core expressing 

their challenges and the needs of the community partners collaborating on how to leverage dollars to address those needs successfully. However, significant challenge has been the disorganization 

of resources leading to inefficiencies in funding allocation and service provision, and failing to effectively meet employers’ needs. 

By increasing investment in training and optimizing the utilization of existing supportive services, we can enhance the ability of 

individuals to move from poverty to prosperity more efficiently. 

Local and state control over funding for workforce development 

programs is crucial to enhancing strategic effectiveness and ensuring successful outcomes. 

These agencies possess a deep understanding of their region’s 

distinct challenges and opportunities, granting them the ability to 

customize workforce development programs that precisely cater to 

the unique needs of both employers and employees. This level of 

control offers the adaptability and agility needed to keep up with 

new industry trends and changes in the job market where a universal Federal approach is just not practical. 

Through this targeted and localized investment approach, we can 

cultivate a more robust, resilient workforce that can uphold our 

Nation’s economic growth and competitiveness with confidence and 

optimism. 

In conclusion, as we stand at the crossroads of essential economic 

and social reform, our collective action or inaction will determine 

the future of workforce development in our Nation. Our advancements in the Northeast and Northeast Louisiana showcase the tangible benefits of industry led initiatives, and the power of collaboration with educational and community partners. 

We must recognize that the prosperity of our industries and the 

well-being of our communities are inseparably linked. I urge Congress to consider directing significant investments to industry-led 

partnership, driven workforce development strategies that realistically address the skills gap, and effectively utilize resources to empower individuals toward economic prosperity. 

Thank you for your attention, and for considering this important 

step toward building a strong and sustainable workforce. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Dickerson follows.] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MATTHEW DICKERSON

Chair Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy, Members of the Committee, and my fellow panelists, I’m grateful for the opportunity to speak with you today about the 

pressing need to build a strong and adaptable workforce in our Nation. I am Matthew Dickerson, Business Development and Strategy Officer at Mid South Extrusion. I have been deeply involved in workforce development and have over a decade 

of experience in various roles, such as educator, career and technical education supervisor, small business owner, and executive at a rapidly expanding and innovative 

plastics manufacturing company in Monroe, LA. I’m also honored to serve on the 
39 

Louisiana Workforce and Social Services Reform Task Force, appointed by the Governor. We aim to create a plan enabling individuals to transition from poverty to 

prosperity by coordinating our workforce and social services systems more effectively. 

Like many industries, one of our challenges is recruiting and employing individuals with essential reading, writing, and math skills and the specialized skills required to operate our production lines. Our goal is to deliver high-quality products 

to our customers, which requires a skilled workforce. Our projected growth and the 

expansion of our production capabilities hinge on our ability to not only develop our 

current workforce but also recruit individuals who can produce that high-quality 

product. 

I’m pleased to report significant progress in this effort in northeast Louisiana— 

despite being one of the most impoverished regions in the country—through two sector partnerships in healthcare and manufacturing. As Chair of the Northeast Louisiana Manufacturers Alliance and Consortium, I am proud to say that business and 

industry leaders are taking real action to break the cycle of generational poverty 

through the development of education and workforce programs that align with our 

region’s available careers. These leaders work with our local workforce boards, 

chambers of commerce, K–12 systems, and higher education institutions to create 

a pipeline that leads to real careers, not just a certificate. I believe it’s time for the 

industry to take the lead in discussions on workforce development. We must stop 

being passive consumers of the workforce system and complaining about the quality 

of the product. This is our opportunity to lead the discussion and produce the ideal 

candidates for our available positions. We have dedicated extensive time to collaborating with our K12 partners, the Community and Technical College System, local 

universities, and various community organizations to address the constantly evolving needs of our regional industry. 

Collaboration with industry leaders is crucial to developing a partnership-driven 

process for enhancing workforce development and addressing public and private sector needs. There’s been a shift where businesses increasingly shoulder the burden 

of training, a role traditionally filled by community partners, who now struggle with 

adapting to industry changes due to policy and resource limitations. I believe the 

sector partnership model is a practical accountability framework, with industry 

partners at its core expressing their challenges and needs while community partners 

collaborate on how to address those needs effectively. However, a significant obstacle has been the fragmentation of resources, which leads to inefficiencies in funding 

distribution and service support and fails to meet employers’ needs effectively. By 

increasing investment in training and optimizing the utilization of existing supportive services, we can enhance the ability of individuals to move from poverty to 

prosperity more effectively. 

Emphasizing the importance of local and state control over funding for workforce 

development programs is crucial to enhancing strategic effectiveness and ensuring 

successful outcomes. Local and state agencies possess a deep understanding of their 

regions’ distinct challenges and opportunities, granting them the ability to customize workforce development programs that precisely cater to the unique needs of 

both employers and employees. This level of control offers the adaptability and agility needed to keep up with new industry trends and changes in the job market, 

where a universal Federal approach is not practical. By increasing the flexibility of 

the distribution of funds while collaborating with industry partners and seeking 

their input on spending decisions, we can guarantee that investments are explicitly 

directed toward programs catering to the distinct needs of local industries and workers. Through this targeted and localized investment approach, we can cultivate a 

more robust, resilient workforce that can uphold our Nation’s economic growth and 

competitiveness with confidence and optimism. 

In conclusion, as we stand at the crossroads of essential economic and social reform, our collective action or inaction will determine the future of workforce development in our Nation. Our advancements in northeast Louisiana showcase the tangible benefits of industry-led initiatives and the power of collaboration with educational and community partners. We must recognize that the prosperity of our industries and the well-being of our communities are inseparably linked. I urge Congress to consider directing significant investments to industry-led, partnership-driven workforce development strategies that realistically address the skill gaps and efficiently utilize resources to empower individuals toward economic prosperity. Together, let us commit to fostering an environment where every citizen can contribute 

meaningfully to our economy, ensuring the United States remains a beacon of innovation and prosperity. Thank you for your attention and for considering this pivotal 

step toward securing our Nation’s future. 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 

[SUMMARY STATEMENT OF MATTHEW DICKERSON]

• I am grateful for the chance to discuss the need for a strong, adaptable 

workforce system in our Nation. 

• My experience spans both industry and the workforce development apparatus, and I currently serve on Governor Landry’s Louisiana Workforce 

and Social Services Reform Task Force. 

• We face challenges in recruiting skilled individuals necessary for producing high-quality products in our plastics manufacturing sector. 

• I am proud of the significant strides we’ve made in northeast Louisiana, 

especially through sector strategies in healthcare and manufacturing. 

• As industry leaders, we must lead workforce development discussions and 

be proactive in shaping our workforce pipeline. 

• I emphasize collaboration with local educational institutions and community organizations to meet the evolving needs of our industry. 

• I advocate for increased local and state control over workforce development funds to better address specific regional needs. 

• In conclusion, I urge Congress to support industry-led workforce development strategies to effectively and efficiently utilize resources and fill skill 

gaps, ensuring our economic prosperity. 

The CHAIR. Thank you, Mr. Dickerson. 

This is an area I am not all that knowledgeable about, so I’m 

going to ask you some dumb bunny questions. All right? What I do 

know is that the recidivism rate for people in prison is absurdly 

high. People go to jail without the skills. They need to earn a good 

living in the workforce, and too often, they come out without those 

skills, without the education. 

What are you doing with regard to that so that people come out 

ready to be integrated into the economy so they don’t go back to 

jail? What should we be doing? Who wants to take a shot at that 

one? 

Dr. SULLIVAN. I’ll certainly jump in. Thank you for the question. 

I think it’s an incredibly important one. One of the keys here is recidivism. In Louisiana, at least, we see about two-thirds of the people that have been incarcerated come back in some form or fashion. 

What we learned over the last six or 8 years in programs that 

specifically aimed at recidivism was we could reduce that recidivism rate to about one-third by ensuring that an individual that 

walks out of that facility has the skills when they leave to make 

a good living. It is a game changer for this population. 

The CHAIR. All right. Let me ask you this. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Yes, sir. 

The CHAIR. What you’re saying is obvious. It is common sense. 

Nobody in the world would disagree. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Sure. 

The CHAIR. I don’t think the rates are much different in Vermont 

than they are in Louisiana. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Sure. 

The CHAIR. What are we doing about it? I mean, do we have in 

this country—I mean, you help me, I don’t know the answer to this. 

Are prisons providing the education and the job training that inmates need in order to live productive lives after prison? I mean, 
47 

help me out on that one. Who wants to jump in? Dr. Dickinson, did 

you want to—— 

Dr. BLY-JONES. I’ll jump in. I’ll say a couple of things. One, I’ll 

say that I think across the country there are relationships with 

community colleges that actually deliver programming in prisons 

across the country. So, that’s one aspect of getting the training. 

The CHAIR. Are they working well, do you think? 

Dr. BLY-JONES. I think there’s always a need for more resources. 

Are they getting the skills that they deliver at that time? I would 

say yes. Are those the skills that employers actually need when the 

individual is released? Depending on where that individual is released to the community, that individual returns to the additional 

supportive services that are needed to keep the individual working, 

secure housing, the supportive services to get back and forth to 

their place of employment. It’s the entire wraparound service. 

We’re talking about systemic issues, so. 

The CHAIR. Right. I would trust that we are all in agreement 

that it is insane to spend whatever it is, $60,000, $80,000 a year 

locking somebody up when for less money, we can try to educate 

them, give them the training they need to become productive citizens. All right? Let’s work on that together. 

Our second issue, in a broad sense, young person graduates high 

school, gets training, becomes an electrician, becomes a plumber. 

Probably makes a higher income than somebody with a BA in today’s economy. All right? You’ve got millions of kids sitting in 

school right now who are not academic for whatever reason, not 

academically inclined, bored. 

What are we doing, and give me good examples of what we are 

doing, to say to those kids you can go out and earn a living, get 

the training you need to do enormously important work. We desperately need plumbers, electricians, carpenters, you name it. We 

need them. 

Give me some success stories about what we’re doing to address 

the workforce needs of America and provide decent income for our 

workers. Who wants to jump in on that one? Ms. White? 

Ms. WHITE. I’m happy to respond to that, Senator Sanders, 

thank you. So, your question started by asserting that the young 

person in the example has graduated from high school. And one of 

the things I’ll note really quickly about WIOA is that the requirement that 75 percent of youth funds go to out-of-school youth. So, 

there’s a smaller portion in WIOA funding that would go to your 

enrolled high school student for these programs. 

Nonetheless, some of the recommendations that have been given 

about aligning systems, I think, matters here. Many of the youth 

apprenticeship programs that we support around the country are 

combining paid work experience, CTE coursework at community 

colleges, and other training providers, as well with mentorship so 

that young people are getting a head start on their training while 

they’re in high school, much like the program that you mentioned 

at the beginning of your remarks. 

These are programs that currently can receive funding through 

the Department of Labor if they are registered and compete for 
48 

grants. There are also a number of states that have adopted definitions and funding streams that leverage WIOA and public education funding to support the growth and expansion of these programs. 

It’s early days for a lot of them. We don’t have a system around 

it. There are a few states that do have well-developed systems of 

exactly what you’re talking about. I would point to Wisconsin as 

one that has had a really robust youth apprenticeship system for 

about 30 years. There’s a lot of demand for these programs, I would 

say, from young people. 

One thing I would love to see is more folks like Mr. Dickerson 

who are willing and interested in collaborating with these systems 

and taking a chance on young people. 

The CHAIR. Good. Thank you. 

Senator Cassidy. 

Senator CASSIDY. I’ll start with Dr. Sullivan. Dr. Sullivan, keep 

your answers tight because I got a bunch of questions. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Sure. 

Senator CASSIDY. Okay. No wrong door. Can you elaborate—I 

know it started in Utah, but we can’t do it unless we get additional 

authorities. And by the way, for the record, I’d like to enter a letter 

from my Governor, Jeff Landry. I’m asking unanimous consent to 

enter this letter expressing support for the one-door option in the 

reauthorizations. 

[The following information can be found on page 89 in Additional 

Material:] 

The CHAIR. Without objection. 

Senator CASSIDY. Describe that for the audience and why it’s important? 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Sure. The one-door approach really brings together all of the resources to ensure that the employer, the individual that needs to be trained, whoever the participant might be 

enters one door has one opportunity, resources are pulled together. 

You heard Mr. Dickerson talk about the array of resources that are 

there, but they are not aligned in a way that really pinpoint and 

solve the problem. 

The one-door approach attempts to take all of those services. Yes, 

the part that’s from WIOA, but also portions from our Department 

of Family and Child Services or from our Department of Health to 

ensure an individual has a broad array of services for themselves 

while they’re being trained. That one door approach—— 

Senator CASSIDY. I understand that Utah did this. They’ve had 

the best program. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Yes. 

Senator CASSIDY. It was grandfathered in, but everybody else 

needs authorization specific to allow us to do what Utah does. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Absolutely. Utah’s is a classic example. I think 

every state in the Nation should be looking at Utah for this reason. 

Senator CASSIDY. Yes. Mitt Romney thinks so too, but, that’s 

Romney. Mr. Dickerson, we’re attempting to modernize this program. I understand that even in Northeast Louisiana, relatively 
49 

small in terms of population, there’s multiple boards you have to 

work with. 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes. 

Senator CASSIDY. Can you kind of speak—because this seems to 

be an area where some of the dollars go instead of the training. 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes. 

Senator CASSIDY. You as an employer, can you describe the difficulties in working with these multiple boards? 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes. Well, first of all, thank you for the question. 

Second, there is a real challenge when it comes to utilizing the 

funds that are available to employers. And it’s to the approach of 

there’s a lot of different agencies, there are a lot of different organizations, and they all have a little bit of money. But when it comes 

to employer needs, and specifically trying to train a large amount 

of employees at one time, there’s not enough funding with one individual organization to be able to support that. 

We have two local workforce boards in our region, one for our 

rural representation and one in Washington Parish, and they have 

to work together, which they do. But it does create challenges when 

you start trying to move money and work with within funding 

streams for those—— 

Senator CASSIDY. Are you proposing that if they were combined, 

there’d be more money to provide the training? 

Mr. DICKERSON. I think a coordination of funding is a strong recommendation from business and industry. 

Senator CASSIDY. Is it difficult for the small business to navigate 

interacting with more than one board, or is it no, once you’ve figured out one board, you’ve figured out all boards? 

Mr. DICKERSON. Not necessarily. They’re all unique in some of 

their ways. Obviously, the structure’s the same, but there’s a lot of 

business leaders that I’ve met with that had no idea the resources 

that were available to them through public funding until they 

started coming to our sector partnership meetings and other 

events. 

Senator CASSIDY. In a sense, just like there should be no wrong 

door for the prospective employee, there should be no wrong door 

for the employer—— 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes, sir. 

Senator CASSIDY [continuing]. But that’s not worked out as well. 

Mr. DICKERSON. That’s right. But that is the work of the task 

force at the state level that we’re looking at, is to coordinate those 

resources. 

Senator CASSIDY. Dr. Sullivan, currently the eligible training 

provider list, it’s difficult to navigate for workers and providers 

who want to provide training. And I get a sense that red tape is 

keeping good providers out and workers not getting the tools they 

need. 

In a sense, how much is this going to cost? What’s the financial 

aid, and most importantly, their expected earnings. Please discuss 

the current challenges of the eligible training provider list. 
50 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Yes. Thank you for the question. Eligible training 

provider list really should be developed based upon the question of 

what then can the provider bring to people and to business partners. If we start with that in mind, I think we can certainly make 

use of the data that we have from years looking back at that provider, the training programs, and make sure that we’re maximizing 

value for people. 

Senator CASSIDY. Got you. With that, I yield. 

The CHAIR. Senator Hassan. 

Senator HASSAN. Well, thank you, Mr. Chair, and Ranking Member Cassidy. And thank you to the witnesses for joining us today. 

Investing in workers’ skills and training is an investment in our 

Country’s economy and our global competitiveness. So, I’m pleased 

that this Committee is engaging in a bipartisan reauthorization of 

the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and I look forward 

to continuing to collaborate with my colleagues on this important 

effort. 

To Dr. Bradley, Senators Young, Collins, Kaine, and I co-lead the 

bipartisan Gateway to Careers Act, which would invest in career 

pathway partnerships. These partnerships bring together businesses, workforce development organizations, and higher education 

programs to ensure that training services are meeting the real-time 

needs of their employers. 

Dr. Bradley, can you speak to the strength of the career pathway 

partnership model and why it should be a focus of WIOA reauthorization? 

Dr. BRADLEY. Yes. Thank you very much, Senator. You’ve hit on 

an incredibly important component of workforce development that 

we feel is necessary to both maintain its role in WIOA and increase 

its role in WIOA. 

Career pathways, as you know, clearly articulate the education 

and training required for each occupation. Each occupational level 

in a given industry delivers training in combination with academic 

and non-academic supportive services, and career pathways intentionally allow earners to exit and reenter the program as needed. 

Now, to your point about why is it important. There’s strong evidence that shows that programs that employ these tenets of career 

pathways result in a strong, positive impacts on credential completion rates, employment, long-term earnings, when you’re talking 

about a system that is not exactly flush with resources. Any programs that deliver evidence-based results are a vital component in 

WIOA. 

Senator HASSAN. Thank you so much. Dr. Sullivan. Community 

colleges are also critical partners in the workforce development system. For example, the Community College System of New Hampshire does important work to help Granite Staters earn high quality credentials through its Early College at Your High School Program, which has dual enrollment programming at more than a 

hundred high schools across our state. 

We should support community colleges in WIOA reauthorization 

by one codifying the Strengthening Community Colleges grants 

program, and also by encouraging the co-location of American Job 
51 

centers on community college campuses. Dr. Sullivan, how else can 

we support community colleges through this reauthorization effort? 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Look, I think you’ve named two that are incredibly 

important. I want to build upon the career pathways notion because I think there’s an opportunity here to redefine what many 

of us think about community colleges. 

Much of what we have developed in Louisiana has been this 

model and notion that students need to complete the initial industry-based certification, the initial certificate, in order to be able to 

go to work. The rest of their education is largely driven by an employer who is willing to provide tuition reimbursement. 

Instead of an employer hiring someone at the completion of an 

associate degree, now they’re hiring someone with skills, and allowing that individual to be trained across time. That’s what creates 

the long-term pull of more Americans into the economy. I think 

that’s the role of the future of the American community college. 

Senator HASSAN. Well, and obviously, as technology moves at 

such a rapid pace, people are going to also need to know how, along 

with their employers, to keep learning new skills over the course 

of their career. Right? So, this is kind of foundational to that as 

well. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Without a doubt. I think some of you are aware 

of the workforce Pell proposal. I would encourage you to think 

about workforce Pell as not only being just for adults without an 

education, but imagine the person with a baccalaureate degree who 

was displaced as a result of AI. At some point, they will need to 

come back and be re-skilled and reeducated to be able to continue 

in the economy. 

Senator HASSAN. Well, thank you. And to both you, Dr. Bradley, 

and Dr. Sullivan, I’ve heard from some stakeholders who say WIOA 

reporting requirements are overly burdensome. State and local 

leaders devote significant resources to writing lengthy plans, which 

in some cases end up acting as more of a compliance exercise than 

a strategic project management tool. 

I’ve also heard that community partners are sometimes dissuaded from becoming eligible training providers because of 

WIOA’s performance reporting requirements. So, that can unintentionally, obviously, stifle innovation and the diversification of providers. 

How do we strike the right balance between performance accountability and non-burdensome reporting requirements? And are 

the current performance indicators the right ones? And if not, what 

should we do? And we have about 20 seconds left, so we’ll start 

with Dr. Bradley and Dr. Sullivan, and then we can follow-up in 

writing. 

Dr. BRADLEY. Yes. I’d be glad to work with your staff on this. I’ll 

just point out one thing on the performance accountability, for example, because of your question about career pathways. One, the 

performance accountability measures in WIOA are based on exiting 

the system. Changing one of those or more indicators to keep track 

of the person as they go to give credit to the providers that are fol-
52 

lowing people, not just a one and done. So, that would be one example, but glad to discuss further. 

Senator HASSAN. Okay, thank you. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. I think the only thing I would add is people attend 

our colleges, not for the credential, but for the paycheck. 

Senator HASSAN. Right. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. I think it’s really important that we use those 

metrics that look at earnings and employment. 

Senator HASSAN. Thank you very much. Thanks, Mr. Chair. 

The CHAIR. Senator Smith. 

Senator SMITH. Thank you, Chair Sanders. And thanks to all of 

you for being here. It’s a very interesting and important and timely 

conversation. 

Chair Sanders, I was thinking about your comments about going 

into this school in Vermont and having that palpable sense of energy, and kind of connectedness, and engagement. And it made me 

think about so many examples that I’ve seen in Minnesota of how 

those kinds of youth programs are really working. 

I’m thinking, for example, of the Career Academy in Moorhead, 

Minnesota. They literally, the school district, took an old big box 

store and they retrofitted it to be a career training facility, and focused on kids at the high school level and connected with community colleges, and also with employers in the region. And it had 

such a completely different feel, energy, excitement, lots of handson learning, lots of connections to local employers. 

I think this is so important for us to keep in mind. And as I said, 

I’ve seen some really strong programs. And one of the things that 

I’ve noted also is that there is just this hunger for young people 

to understand what their options are. They don’t even really 

know—like, you don’t know what you don’t know about what you 

might be able to do. 

That’s really the value behind a piece of legislation that I’ve been 

working on. It’s bipartisan. It’s called the Youth Workforce Readiness Act. And what it would do is actively support partnerships between community-based after-school programs, out-of-school programs. 

Think like what the boys’ and girls’ clubs do, for example, connecting those programs with schools and with employers to provide 

some opportunities for young people to get some real-world experience. This could be career exploration or it could be mentoring or 

even opportunities for young folks to earn some credentials for 

their first job. 

Ms. White, my question is for you, can you talk about these 

kinds of after-school or out-of-school programs, and what role they 

can play in connecting youth at the high school level, or even 

younger, potentially to what their opportunities are? 

Ms. WHITE. Absolutely. Thank you for the question. I think what 

you’ve pointed out here is the importance of early exposure into the 

career pathways that many of us have mentioned. I think that outof-school time providers, after-school time providers can play a crit-
53 

ical role in providing these exposure experiences. Not just to high 

school students, but to students as early as middle school. 

Part of the reason that’s important is because young people make 

a series of decisions very early on in high school that shape the trajectory that they take through high school whether or not they 

complete high school. And even if they do complete high school, 

what options are available to them within the secondary school curriculum. 

One thing I would say that I think is really important—and I’ve 

had a chance to look at the Act, and I think it’s a wonderful idea. 

But one of the things we’ve talked—I think many folks here have 

mentioned today, we often think about the public workforce system 

as distinct from our education system. 

Senator SMITH. Right. 

Ms. WHITE. We think about our high schools as distinct from our 

colleges. That does young people a disservice. They mature and 

they learn at very different rates. They have interests that develop 

at very different times. And so, the more we can create bridges 

across these systems, whether that’s out-of-school directly into K– 

12 education, K–12 education, the CTE system, into work experiences, the better we’ll be able to serve young people and allow 

them to earn credentials, gain exposure—— 

Senator SMITH. I think that’s correct. 

Ms. WHITE [continuing]. Over the course of their lives and postsecondary experiences. Dual enrollment has been mentioned. That’s 

critically important, right? 

Senator SMITH. This is what’s happening in this facility, this 

great program in Moorhead where you have dual enrollment. I 

know this is happening all over the place. 

I think, Chair Sanders, what we need to figure out is how to do— 

is to make sure that our WIOA programs are reinforcing this kind 

of innovation that’s happening at the local level, rather than creating sort of a bureaucratic maze for organizations, or students, or 

educators, or employers that want to participate to kind of their 

way through. 

Ms. WHITE. Right. Absolutely. The one thing I would add to it 

too, is that so much of this momentum that you’re referencing is 

happening in schools, led by schools, or out-of-school providers that 

work with public education. 

The WIOA system primarily serves students who are disconnected from that system. And one challenge that I think this population will have as programs—these in-school programs explode 

really, and I do think they will, is that those are not necessarily 

the young people that employers look to first. 

We need to ensure that WIOA remains strong, and continues to 

support programs for the students who face the greatest barriers 

to employment and may not have access to or maybe overlooked as 

some of these really excellent school-based programs evolve, keeping them connected to those programs, using them as strategies for 

re-engagement, and ensuring that there are incentives in place for 

employers to work with these hard-to-serve kids, is going to be a 
54 

really important step to ensure that we can create these opportunities and really expand their benefit for all. 

Senator SMITH. Thank you so much, Chair Sanders. And I’ll just 

say this to Ranking Member Cassidy as well. This is a bill I have 

with Senator Collins, and Senator Graham, and Senator Wyden, 

and I’m going to be hoping that we can get this included in our bill. 

I have another question, which I will provide in writing, focused 

on supportive services. And just what a big deal it is if you don’t 

have access to transportation, or childcare, or a little bit of extra 

training. What a big barrier that is to being able to keep or get a 

job. So, I’ll follow-up with that in writing. Thank you. 

The CHAIR. Thank you. 

Senator Marshall. 

Senator MARSHALL. Well, thank you, Chairman Sanders. I want 

to start by offering a letter on behalf of Senator Budd. It’s from the 

North Carolina Chamber regarding Pell Grant eligibility. So, on behalf of Senator Budd, I’d like to ask unanimous consent to enter 

to the record a letter of support for his bill, the Promoting Employment and Lifelong Learning Act from the North Carolina Chamber 

of Commerce. 

[The following information can be found on page 96 in Additional 

Material:] 

The CHAIR. Without objection. 

Senator MARSHALL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And again, welcome to all of our panel and making the efforts to give us some advice here. 

I’m going to start with Ms. White. When it comes to youth apprenticeships we grew up in an era where we all had summer jobs 

and part-time jobs. And when I go back home, employers tell me 

they have a hard time getting through the barriers of apprenticeships coming on board. 

Instead of adding more regulations, are there some regulations 

we could tweak to maybe give those youth and other people more 

of an opportunity for apprenticeships? 

Ms. WHITE. Sure. I’m happy to take that. Thank you for the 

question, Senator. So, I think to some extent, the complaints from 

employers around registration for apprenticeships they’re legitimate. I’m actually trying to register my very own apprenticeship 

right now. We are hiring one at my place of employment, and it 

can be challenging. 

I think many states have invested in state-level intermediaries 

that have provided really significant guidance to employers to expedite that process. They take on a lot of the administrative burden 

to sort of expedite kind of the creation of the program and the registration from start to finish. 

I think there are a number of ways that registration could be 

simplified and expedited. One thing, I think, could go a long way 

toward the expansion of these programs at the local and state level 

are program standards that develop through things like sector 

partnerships. 
55 

Often, the hardest part of building these programs is employers 

saying; I don’t know how to put the pieces together. I don’t know 

what a work process schedule is. I don’t know how to specify the 

skills and competencies that these folks need. I can tell you what 

they should do, but I don’t know how to write it. 

To the extent that we can create shared resources to help expedite that process for youth and for adults, I think we’ll see greater 

uptake. 

Senator MARSHALL. Okay. I’ll go to Dr. Bradley next. One of my 

sayings, ‘‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.’’ And if you 

don’t have the data timely, it doesn’t do me any good. 

As we work through this WIOA authorization, we have a bill 

that would require the Department of Labor to implement performance indicators within 6 months of enactment and provide monthly 

technical assistance to local workforce boards. Can you just give me 

your perspective on the importance of those timely reports and implementations? 

Dr. BRADLEY. Thank you, Senator. That’s an excellent question. 

And that’s been one of the issues in the system; it’s data lag. The 

reason that up-to-date, more real-time data is so important is because things change quickly. And you want training providers and 

workforce boards to be able to respond to what’s happening now, 

not describing a situation 6 months ago. 

Also, in terms of understanding training providers that have 

positive outcomes. If there’s a year or 2 years lag of that, and 

they’re not a good training provider, they’re not getting good results. You want to know that sooner rather than later because of 

the good stewardship of public dollars in the WIOA system. So, it’s 

really important both from an agility standpoint, but also to know 

what’s working. 

Senator MARSHALL. Thank you. Mr. Dickerson, my wife and I are 

community college graduates. So, proud of my community colleges 

and technical colleges and their ability to flex from moment to moment. In a rural community where there’s agriculture, one community college as the Diesel Mechanic School. Maybe where the wind 

energy is popping up, a community college quickly offers a 2-year 

degree in wind energy, and where there’s manufacturing, maybe 

it’s a focus on welding and other skills like that. 

How do you see the opportunity for short-term Pell Grants in 

those types of programs? Is that something that would be a good 

idea, short-term Pell Grants? 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes, sir. I absolutely believe that’d be a great opportunity for our adult population to get into the workforce faster 

through certified programs. Now, the other part of that is, yes, the 

funding’s available, but do you have industry leading those discussions and developing those programs on the other side of it? And 

I think that’s a critical aspect that can’t be overlooked. 

I’m proud to say Louisiana Delta Community College, which is 

our community college in Monroe and the northeast side of the 

state, work with industry often and become flexible in the shortterm programs that we need. So, I know that’d be a positive step 

for this relationship. 
56 

Senator MARSHALL. Thank you. Appreciate that. 

The CHAIR. Thank you. 

Senator Kaine. 

Senator KAINE. Thank you, Chair Sanders, and thanks to all the 

witnesses. 

I’ll just begin with you, Dr. Bradley. I’m only now starting to find 

a spirit of forgiveness in my heart for you, for hiring Karishma 

Merchant away from my Senate staff. She’s sitting there in the 

front row, but I am finding a sense of forgiveness after—— 

Dr. BRADLEY. Please forgive me. 

Senator KAINE.—8 months. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator KAINE. I want to talk to Dr. Sullivan and really builds 

on Senator Marshall’s questions about the importance of training 

services. Not everybody can access a 4-year degree or even a 2-year 

degree. But we also know that by 2031, more than 70 percent of 

jobs will require some form of post-secondary education or training 

beyond high school. And that’s why I have long been a champion 

of expanding Pell Grant to include high quality short-term education and training programs. 

One of the real virtues of the Pell program is how we’ve made 

it flexible over the years, full-time students, part-time students. I’m 

really happy that we recently, within the last 2 years, went back 

to an original part of Pell, which was folks who were incarcerated, 

who are trying to gain college and skills so that they can be successful. Once they’re released, they can now qualify for Pell, and 

that’s leading to some significant pickup and offering courses to 

those individuals. 

But I do believe the next expansion and flexibility of Pell should 

be for high quality, short-term education, and training programs. 

Senator Braun on the Committee, he and I have introduced the 

JOBS Act. We have over 45 bipartisan co-sponsors, including 10 on 

this Committee. I want to thank Chair Sanders for agreeing that 

this will be marked up later this summer. 

Different community colleges have kind of embraced this notion 

in tandem with their own state legislatures and Governors. Virginia Community College has a FastForward program to focus on 

state funding for these short-term, high-quality programs, and the 

results have been pretty strong given your experience both in Virginia and Louisiana. 

Can you speak to the value of these programs, sort of picking up 

on what Mr. Dickerson just said? 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Certainly. Thank you for the question, and thank 

you for your leadership around this issue. I know, personally, you 

have understood career and technical education for many years. 

Personally, you invested your own time in that space. 

Workforce Pell, I think, is a huge part of the solution of educating and skilling American people. The American worker today, 

the biggest issue they face is time. And so, when we say to them, 

go get an associate degree, and they say, I don’t have the time. 
57 

What we should be offering them is an opportunity that gets 

them the skills to get to work, but that’s not the end. That’s the 

beginning, and ensuring that workforce Pell allows those programs 

high quality, high value for that individual that gets them into the 

work. 

But then we have our employer partners who we need help to 

pull people through that economy to make sure that as the jobs 

change, they’re able to be educated and skilled and stay on top of 

that economy. 

Senator KAINE. I do acknowledge what Senator Marshall said. 

Our community colleges are often really flexible. So, Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg, they offer different programs than J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, 

because they’re pretty attuned to the dynamics of the local economy 

and local workforce needs. 

The last thing I’ll just say on this is I really celebrate work that 

we’ve done in the last couple years to do an Infrastructure bill. And 

I really celebrate work that we’ve done to do a Manufacturing bill, 

but who’s going to build it? Who’s going to make it? This is a challenge that I’m hearing from all my employers, so I look forward to 

working more on this. 

Ms. Taylor White, a question about youth unemployment. Just 

one more question. Young people who are disconnected from both 

school and work represent a critical pool of untapped talent and opportunity for economic mobility in this country. 

Some call this group of people disconnected youth, but I think 

the term that I’ve heard my colleague Bobby Scott use is Opportunity Youth, which I like, and I have what would be similar to legislation he’s promoted on the House, the Opening Doors for Youth 

Act to expand employment opportunities for these young people 

who do not have a current connection either to school or employment. 

According to a recent report from the Center for American 

Progress, while the post-pandemic labor market has seen increased 

participation from young people ages 16 to 19, there’s still millions 

that do face barriers to employment. How can WIOA better support 

young people to reconnect to both education and the economy? 

Ms. WHITE. Thank you for the question, Senator. I mean, I think 

the easiest answer through WIOA is the expansion of access to 

work experiences. They have been proven to yield results in the 

short-and long-term for young people’s outcome, labor market outcomes. 

I think to the extent that WIOA can be leveraged to create more 

of those paid work opportunities for young people and to create incentives for employers to hire these young people who pay face significant barriers to entry to the labor market, that’s one way to 

make sure that young people that are served by WIOA have access 

to these jobs. You’re right, youth unemployment is at 9, almost 9.5 

percent right now, which is pretty high. 

Senator KAINE. Great. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Well I’m going to 

keep going since they’re talking about—— 

[Laughter.] 
58 

Senator KAINE. Does anybody else just want to say something 

about this youth employment and kind of the opportunity to better 

connect young people either to school or work with WIOA. 

Mr. DICKERSON. From an employer standpoint, in our conversations, we acknowledge work experience is valuable, apprenticeships 

are valuable. One challenge and one question I would ask our panelists and this Committee to consider is there needs to be an education for business and industry leaders on how to effectively do 

that. Because we have some real challenges of bringing young people into our manufacturing facility. 

But we have opportunities. Like we have a business academy in 

Northeast Louisiana that allow students to go into the business office setting, which is a much safer environment than a manufacturing facility. And so, considering some of those resources and 

those conversations, I think, would be beneficial. 

Senator KAINE. Great. Please, Dr. Bly-Jones. 

Dr. BLY-JONES. I just want to build on that because I think we’ve 

talked a lot about adding additional funds for individuals. I want 

to accentuate the point that Mr. Dickerson just made in terms of 

resources to work with local employers. I think that’s an important 

component. 

Oftentimes, local workforce boards are tasked with working with 

employers and don’t necessarily have the additional resources to 

convene for those sector partnerships to educate employers on the 

best way to work with youth in those work-based learning experiences. And so, I would elevate the point that was mentioned before, 

that we need the resources to actually help with some of those sector partnerships as well. 

Senator KAINE. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Chair. 

The CHAIR. Senator Marshall. 

Senator MARSHALL. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. BlyJones. If we were to start a program like yours in Kansas City, 

Wichita, bigger city, what would be the most important advice 

you’d give us? What would be the things to not do, perhaps? 

Dr. BLY-JONES. Thank you for the question and considering creating a jobs council in Kansas City. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator MARSHALL. We probably have something like it, but I’m 

still just trying—I think that lessons learned are always good to go 

over. 

Dr. BLY-JONES. I love the sound of it because it really is about 

systemic change and it is about coalition building. And so, a lot of 

the work we do is in partnership. One of the things I want to echo, 

we’ve heard a lot of how separate our systems are. Really, WIOA 

is about integrating all of these systems. 

We’ve talked about K–12, we’ve talked about adult Ed, we’ve 

talked about individuals with disabilities. We talked about the stigmas that are attached to individuals that have criminal records. 

We’ve talked about the need for educators to be employed to be 

educated employers, to be educated about how the system works, 

and how they can best leverage this system for talent acquisition. 
59 

I would say to get the partners that are required in the workforce ecosystem, all of the partners that I’ve mentioned, and then 

think about your local economy and what skills are needed to actually fill those jobs. We heard that there are a lot of jobs and there 

are a lot of people who are unemployed. And so, making sure that 

we’re skilling them up for the jobs that actually exist. 

Senator MARSHALL. What would you say are the impediments to 

success? What is the most common reasons people drop out of this 

program you’re outlining? 

Dr. BLY-JONES. I think we talk about getting individuals jobs. I 

think we have to be mindful about quality jobs. I think we have 

to think about the benefits that come with employment, and what 

it costs to maintain employment. We talked about the supportive 

services that are needed, whether that is the transportation or 

whether that is affordable childcare. 

Another crisis we have in the country now is mental health. And 

so, even including that when we talk about our youth, and we talk 

about our adults, and the trauma that individuals have endured, 

I think mental health is another component that needs to be included when we think about supportive services as well. 

It’s those wraparound services from the point of the person actually getting the job, to actually keeping the job. The retention component. 

The CHAIR. Thank you. Let me ask kind of a simple question 

here. What has been brought up by a number of Senators is the 

fact that we put many, many, many billions of dollars into rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, and yet we don’t have the kind 

of skilled workforce that we need in order to move that as rapidly 

as we would like. 

What I’ve heard in Vermont, and I would like you to comment 

on this, is it’s one thing to talk about giving people the skills, but 

to give people the skills you need to have. Somebody knows the 

profession. I can’t teach them to be a plumber unless I’m a good 

plumber, or an electrician, or whatever. 

What I’ve heard in Vermont is, especially in the schools, to get 

somebody who has the skills out of the workforce to become a 

teacher becomes a whole project unto itself. Not to mention if he’s 

making $100,000 dollars as a plumber, and I’m going to pay him 

$50,000 as a teacher, he isn’t going to do it. Is that an issue that 

we’re running into around the country? Who wants to speak to 

that? 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes, sir. 

The CHAIR. Dr. Sullivan. 

Mr. DICKERSON. I’ll give an example. In Northeast Louisiana, we 

have manufacturing companies and other companies that are 

partnering with those school districts where they actually allow 

employees to take a couple of hours a day and go teach at a certain 

school district in that area. And that’s what’s happening at the—— 

The CHAIR. Paid by the employer—— 

Mr. DICKERSON. The employer—— 

The CHAIR.—As part of their job in a sense. 
60 

Mr. DICKERSON.—That’s right. 

The CHAIR. That’s interesting. 

Mr. DICKERSON. I think that’s the model of partnership at the 

local level that we’re seeing that I hope can be seen at the Federal 

level is the work and the success is going to happen at the local 

level. The more of these conversations from local—— 

The CHAIR. Let me get it straight. So, you’re working for me, 

you’re a skilled worker. I’m going to pay you to go to a local school. 

You’ll get your salary. 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes, sir. 

The CHAIR. What about the teaching skills? I mean, you could be 

a great worker and not necessarily a great teacher. How do you 

deal with that one? 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Transition largely for us is aimed at retiring individuals, maybe plumbers, maybe process operators as they retire 

out, we’re bringing them into the college and it takes time. We 

need to spend time with them to help them understand pedagogy, 

how to teach. 

The CHAIR. Exactly. All right. So, you could be a great plumber, 

but not a great teacher. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Yes. 

The CHAIR. All right. 

Dr. Jones. 

Dr. BLY-JONES. I was just going to point to the gap in pay in 

terms of bringing a professional in, and it is best to actually recruit 

from those who are actually looking to retire soon. 

The CHAIR. If you have sympathetic employers, does his idea 

makes sense to you, having an employer pay? 

Dr. BLY-JONES. I think at the local community, that level of engagement is what I think you saw when you walked into that high 

school. The excitement that a young person or any person has 

when they’re contributing to their local economy. So, being able to 

work as a local employer and be able to contribute in K–12 or even 

the community college, that’s what we’re looking for in community 

investment. 

The CHAIR. I have the sense that at least in some school districts 

what you are suggesting, which kind of makes common sense, 

somebody may say, well, you don’t have the teaching certificates 

that you need or qualifications. Are we running in—is that a bureaucratic problem, or who wants to speak to that one? 

Mr. DICKERSON. Go ahead. Well, I know while I was in the school 

district we had the certifications to train up those teachers that 

would transition. But what I’m specifically talking to is more of a 

collaboration approach of—it might not be a person moving out of 

their career and into a career in education. As much as it is, we’re 

going to teach this class because we have a shortage, and that’s 

really the relationship at the local level. 

The CHAIR. Senator Romney. 

Senator ROMNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. When I was serving 

as Governor of Massachusetts, I would hear occasionally some stories that gave me some concern. Let’s say that a lumper in Massa-
61 

chusetts—by the way, you probably don’t know what a lumper is, 

but this is a person who unloads a fishing boat and works in a canning factory, a fishing factory. 

This person lost their job because of overfishing, or regulation, or 

whatever—I’m not getting into that—but if they lost their job, they 

then were overwhelmed with the process of trying to get unemployment and maybe some housing vouchers and perhaps TANF. And 

then they needed job training because those lumping jobs are not 

going to come back. 

I looked at how many Federal job training programs there were. 

There were 49 at the time. And I would hear that a person that 

had lost their job was overwhelmed with the complexity of getting 

help. And I mean, is that a real problem? Do people who are in one 

profession that maybe is going away and need help, do they have 

a hard time figuring out how to access various government programs that might be available to them? Dr. Bly-Jones, do you have 

any thoughts on that? 

Dr. BLY-JONES. Usually what happens—thank you for the question—usually what happens is it’s a rapid response team that goes 

out and they are notified at the state level when an employer is 

actually facing a layoff of individuals. And so, a rapid response 

team is sent out to that employer to talk to individuals about the 

resources that exist. So, it’s at that time that they may learn about 

the different Federal services that you mentioned. 

In theory, it would be seamless and that is the intention. And 

then they go from there into what is referred to as American Jobs 

Centers that are located in most local communities, again, to be 

able to actually access resource—— 

Senator ROMNEY. But the job centers are not going to have 

TANF, or housing vouchers, or unemployment insurance. Right? 

Dr. BLY-JONES. No. They would have an individual you would 

talk to, and they would have all of those services there. It is considered a one-stop center. 

Senator ROMNEY. Not at the job center. The one-stop center, 

that’s what I’m getting to, which is, a Governor smarter than me, 

Mike Leavitt of Utah had an idea, which instead of having all 

these offices separate, the job training, and the TANF, and the 

Housing and so forth, let’s have one office and let that one office 

help an individual that became unemployed. And that worked extremely well for the State of Utah. 

That, unfortunately, is prohibited under law at the Federal level. 

We can’t put those offices together. And only one state was grandfathered to allow that to occur. And that was the State of Utah. 

I have introduced a piece of legislation which is known as the One 

Door to Work Act, which would allow as many as five other states 

to be able to also do what Utah does, which is have a one-stop 

place where individuals can go to get help with unemployment 

Housing, TANF, food stamps, as well as job training. 

Mr. Dickerson, you come from Louisiana. Louisiana is one of the 

states that said we would love to be able to do that. And I’m delighted that for instance, the Ranking Member and other Members 
62 

of this Committee support this idea. Is that something that you believe would be helpful in your state? 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes, sir. That’s the work of our Louisiana Workforce and Social Service Reform Task Force that was put together 

by the Governor and our Secretary of Workforce and Department 

of Child and Family Services as well. 

It’s both sides of it. It’s not only for the employee, but also for 

the employer. But to your point one challenge that we’ve heard in 

our conversations at the local level around the one-door policy is to 

make sure that those one-stop centers are appropriately staffed to 

accommodate all of those services, and that those staff members 

are educated so that when that individual does come in, they not 

only get access to the services, but the service delivery mechanism 

is there to meet them. And that’s something we would support. 

Senator ROMNEY. Yes. Excellent. I would just note one more 

thing, which is that Governor Leavitt, and the Utah program, assigns a caseworker. As soon as someone becomes unemployed, they 

get a caseworker who begins helping them with everything from 

the support they need for safety net services at the same time, to 

laying out a plan for getting them back into the workforce and 

training. 

It’s an extraordinary program working well in the State of Utah, 

and I’m delighted that the Ranking Member and others in this 

Committee support this idea of letting at least five other states get 

the chance to try this on a temporary basis and see if it’s working 

well for them. I know Louisiana, Texas, other states have said, 

please let us do this. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIR. Yes. 

Senator MARSHALL. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to 

enter into the record a letter from 46 business groups and think 

tanks expressing support for Senate Bill S. 3825, Senator Romney’s 

One Door to Work Act. 

[The following information can be found on page 90 in Additional 

Material:] 

The CHAIR. Without objection. 

Senator Murray. 

Senator MURRAY. Well, thank you very much, Chairman Sanders, for having this really critical hearing. When I was a young 

teenager, my dad got MS. We have seven kids in our family, and 

the only reason we were able to get back on our feet was a workforce training job that gave my mom some skills to get a job. It 

really saved our family. So, these are really important. 

Now today, because Democrats passed laws that made 

generational investments in American manufacturing and infrastructure and clean energy, we are seeing historic job growth. And 

in every corner of my State of Washington, I hear from businesses 

who need more skilled workers to grow and compete. Workers who 

want to learn new skills and start new careers so they can set 

themselves and their families up for a success. 

Investing in workforce training doesn’t just help build a strong 

economy from some statistical level. It really changes lives and it 

helps people working parents like my mom. That is exactly why I’m 
63 

so passionate about doing a strong bipartisan reauthorization of 

our Federal workforce programs. 

Mr. Chairman, 10 years ago, I worked alongside my Republican 

colleagues, the late Senator Isakson to pass the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act back then. Just like now, we had a divided Congress with a Democratic Senate and a Republican House. 

We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but we also knew it was going 

to be worth it, and that we could make a real progress if we listened to each other and listened to folks back home, and focused 

on where we could agree and what could actually make a difference 

for people. 

Now, no one got everything they wanted at that time, but in the 

end, we all got a bill that we were very proud of, and a bill that 

was really helpful for workers and businesses and the economy. So, 

there’s no question in my mind that we can do that again, and it 

is way past time to build on that progress so we can keep our economy strong and put the American worker first, which is why this 

conversation is so important today. So, I really appreciate us having this hearing. 

Ms. White, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics, just over one in 10 young people are neither enrolled in 

school or are working. Currently, WIOA requires 75 percent of 

funding for youth be set aside for out-of-school youth to get connected to the critical employment and training resources services 

they need. But we have a lot more work to do. Can you talk to us 

about the importance of reaching out-of-school youth in the WIOA 

funding? 

Ms. WHITE. Absolutely. Thank you for the question, Senator 

Murray. For the out-of-school youth who have disconnected, the 

public workforce system is often their place of last resort. It’s really 

their last lifeline to reconnect to training, to education into the 

labor market. 

Under the current version of the bill, 75 percent, as you said, is 

required to go toward that population of Opportunity Youth. That 

introduction in 2014 has allowed for WIOA to serve more vulnerable youth than was previously possible under the prior bill. 

I think the legislation must retain a requirement that a majority 

of funds be devoted to the most vulnerable young people. At the 

same time, I don’t know that there is a perfect flat number that 

works in every single community. There are communities that 

would like to and have found ways to dedicate resources to keep 

students connected to school rather than reaching them after they 

withdraw. 

There are lots of interesting ideas out there around assigning 

priority for service frameworks that could help local workforce 

boards make decisions about how and when to intervene, and how 

and when to serve young people that I think could be really effective and reflect the expertise of local workforce professionals. 

That said, I do think it’s critical that we retain a very clear requirement on the percentage of funds that must go to that population. 

Senator MURRAY. Very good. Thank you. I appreciate that. 
64 

Dr. Bradley, we work to strengthen the quality guardrails in the 

2024 reauthorization, and the last several years have really shown 

us that we’ve got more work to do. So, as we work on this lot 10 

years later, what more can we do to strengthen the quality of the 

training provided, including through stronger requirements for eligible training providers in their programs? 

Dr. BRADLEY. Thank you, Senator. You’re right. There’s always 

work to be done on this issue. And I think that one of the things 

at JFF that we’ve learned, we talked to a lot of state practitioners, 

and I think there’s some really good state examples. New Jersey 

is doing some great work in this area, Alabama, Minnesota, to kind 

of build in quality measures. They’re doing this at the state level, 

but lessons could be learned at the Federal level. 

I think that regular ETPL update more regular than exists now, 

which is part of the House bill, I think something akin to having 

states do like a college scorecard, but for the workforce system. And 

I also think that there are other steps you can take to allowing 

locals, for example, to have more say about providers in their area. 

Right now, the eligible training provider list is set at the state 

level. 

Another thing that the House bill does that may improve qualities, they have this contingent eligibility mechanism that would 

allow maybe training providers that have a promising practice. 

And it could be high quality, but may not have been around for a 

long time to sort of receive payment in a structured way, sort of 

as they meet performance outcomes. 

Senator MURRAY. Is there a way to track those outcomes so we 

know that somebody got a quality training at a program? 

Dr. BRADLEY. There are. And one of the things that I think can 

help on that is that a lot of times wage records are used to track 

outcomes. And one of the things specifying that there’s a specific 

state agency that’s sort of responsible for the backend work on 

tracking outcomes because they have access to the wage record 

data. That would be another improvement. Glad to discuss further. 

Senator MURRAY. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIR. Senator Tuberville. 

Senator TUBERVILLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Whenever I 

hear from my folks back in Alabama workforces, top of their 

mind—we’re struggling right now in our state. Struggling to fill 

jobs, struggling to match up the right people with the right job, 

struggling to keep businesses open, struggling to keep cost affordable. It’s a huge problem. Reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act will be a huge step in the right direction. I 

think we all agree with that. 

Now, I know my colleagues on both sides, they all have been 

hearing a lot about this issue. We’ve all discussed it, and people 

across the country have been speaking up offering solutions. A lot 

of my colleagues have spoken up and presented their ideas. And I 

have, one, myself, introduced a Workforce Data Act yesterday. This 

bill is simple. It was developed in coordination with stakeholders 
65 

across the WIOA system, and it would help ensure these Federal 

dollars are getting to the right folks. 

My bill would improve data sharing within the WIOA’s system, 

and allow local boards and providers access to wage data from the 

unemployment insurance system. This would allow them to measure performance with better and more accurate measures of success. We will be able to determine which training is working and 

which folks are being helped by these programs. Pretty straight 

forward and simple. Hopefully we can do something with this. 

Mr. Dickerson you started your career as a high school coach, I 

think we have a little bit in common. And thank you for your service, because teaching is a service, coaching is a service. Can you tell 

us about what employers are looking at from the WIOA system? 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes, sir. Thank you for the question. And some 

of my fondest memories were as a high school coach, and there’s 

a lot of lessons that can be applied in the business as well. 

But from an industry standpoint, I think a partnership in our 

workforce development is what we’re looking for. And I made a 

statement in my testimony that it’s our time to really step up and 

help bridge that gap. But for too long and for too many years, especially since Covid, I think business and industries are spending 

more internal dollars on developing their own workforce because of 

the lack of participation from the external. And that’s just sustainable for a business and our budget. 

Considering a strong partnership with our community partners, 

our local workforce boards, our community technical college system 

is what we’d really be looking forward to. 

Senator TUBERVILLE. Is the current system working? 

Mr. DICKERSON. I think there’s challenges with the current system that make it difficult to be successful. I think we have some 

spotlights in Northeast Louisiana that I’m proud of to say that we 

are working, but not to scale and not to meet the demand of employers in our areas. 

Senator TUBERVILLE. Yes. Education is the opportunity for our 

kids in the country. And I heard even earlier about people that 

have lost their jobs, which is rightly so. Education, all my life, our 

education system has abandoned us in some degree. We need to do 

a lot more work with that. 

I know I have two huge manufacturing plants in Mobile. We 

make commercial jets, we make ships and submarines, and they 

have gone out recruiting in McDonald’s and Walmart to train people how to weld and how to do plumbing and electricity. Some of 

the best workers. We can’t sustain our Country like that. We can’t 

do it. It’s got to be done through the educational system. 

Too many of our kids go to 4-year schools that they don’t need 

to go. I’ve watched that. I was part of that. And so, kids that come 

and get a degree in something that they could never get a job and 

had to go work at Walmart. So, Mr. Sullivan, why is WIOA funding 

having such a minimum impact on our broader workforce needs? 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Thank you for the question. I think it’s important 

to note the funding level of WIOA. I think it was referenced at 

about $3 billion. Just for a sake of reference, the Federal Pell Pro-
66 

gram is about $30 billion. So, just let that sink in for a second 

about the scope and scale. 

Think about the number of colleges that are available and the 

ability to be able to scale, as you heard Mr. Dickerson say a few 

minutes ago, to ensure that everyone has that opportunity. I think 

that’s where we’ve got to find a way. But the reality is, there are 

very few people out of the 150,000 that we have educated every 

year in Louisiana’s community and technical colleges that are funded via WIOA. That number is likely very similar to the number 

that you have in Alabama, somewhere around the 1,100 or 1,200 

range. 

Senator TUBERVILLE. Yes. We’re in a tough situation. I’m all for 

Pell Grants. I dealt with them for years with football players and 

all that. The problem is, I think they’re misused, but we could use 

Pell Grant more for workforce development, for kids that just want 

to specify on something. I think that junior colleges, obviously, 

there’s a lot of things that we can do to help, but we just don’t do 

it. We talk about it. We don’t do it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIR. Senator Markey. 

Senator MARKEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We cannot solve 

our current significant overdose crisis without programs that support workers. This is why the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act demonstration grants funding workforce development 

programs in states, counties, and towns with widespread opioid use 

are so important. 

In New Bedford, Massachusetts, for example, this funding enabled 140 formerly incarcerated individuals to get training for 

high-demand jobs with a living wage in the maritime trade industry. 

As the public health crisis evolves with rising polysubstance use 

disorder and substances like xylazine finding its way into fentanyl, 

we have to fund these programs permanently. 

Mr. Bradley, in your testimony, you state that workforce development is essential to help every individual create and sustain a career that will enable them to support themselves and their loved 

ones. Why is it important for WIOA to fund programs that allow 

people impacted by substance use disorder to find meaningful, dignified, and well-paid work? 

Dr. BRADLEY. Thank you, Senator. Yes, it’s important. I think 

you’ve hit on a key point here, which is that people who interact 

with the workforce development system are coming from all different circumstances, all different sets of needs, different sets of 

backgrounds, different sets of challenges and barriers. 

In one of the programs that you’re talking about, the DOL did 

a couple of pilot programs, demonstration programs, through the 

authority of WIOA in sort of 2018, 2019, related to the opioid crisis. 

And because of the flexibility that they had under the demonstration authority, they were able to move into this area. 

I don’t think opioids is like mentioned in the statute of WIOA, 

but when crises happen, DOL is able to direct some of its resources 

at the national level toward these. So, I guess, I would say that it’s 

important to remember that not everybody coming into the system 
67 

has similar challenges, similar needs. There needs to be some flexibility about the type of programming to meet them where they are. 

Senator MARKEY. Senator Romney was talking about the fishing 

industry in Massachusetts earlier, and New Bedford is the largest 

port in the United States’ fishing ports. And so, this is the kind of 

program that is working to help people to be able to make a new 

life for themselves. 

YouthBuild is a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act program that serves over 5,000 16-to 24-year-olds who are not working 

and are not in school. The young people enrolled in YouthBuild obtain a high school degree, learn trades by building affordable housing in their community, and gain fundamental jobs skills. These 

programs help kids get opportunities they were previously denied 

and give them the tools to build the pathway to their future. 

My YouthBuild for the Future Act would support this crucial 

work by providing more funding. That programs can use more flexibly. This program works, which is why we need to provide enough 

funding for it by allowing Department of Labor funds to match 

AmeriCorps funds. 

YouthBuild will also need flexibility in spending funds such as 

being able to provide meals to participants. We cannot expect 

young people to learn while they’re hungry. So, Ms. White, why is 

it important to fully and flexibly fund YouthBuild? 

Ms. WHITE. Thank you for the question, Senator, from my home 

state. So, as you mentioned, YouthBuild provides critical training 

opportunities for young people who face really significant barriers 

to employment. And they provide a really important service to the 

communities where they’re working in, in building homes. 

A big part of the flexibility that you mentioned, I think is important because as we’ve seen in YouthBuild, there are really positive 

short-term outcomes for young people. There’s less evidence that 

over time those positive benefits are retained. 

Many of the programs that are having really strong results today 

have been able to forge partnerships with community colleges, with 

AmeriCorps, with other organizations, so that young people who 

complete those programs have a warm handoff to a clear next step. 

Flexible resources for YouthBuild programs to continue developing strong partnerships with employers in their communities 

connecting to apprenticeship programs and forging partnerships 

with community colleges in other education programs so those 

young people have a very clear and supported transition. When the 

program ends, we’ll help ensure that YouthBuild continues to be 

successful and increases the long-term benefits for its participants 

as well. 

Senator MARKEY. Thank you. Thank you for your work. And Dr. 

Bly-Jones, could you talk about why it’s important to have workforce training in the clean energy sector, this growth sector for our 

economy? 

Dr. BLY-JONES. Thank you for the question. And so, it’s important, and I have to say under the leadership of my Governor, J.B. 

Pritzker, he signed into legislation. So, we are actually using state 
68 

funds for the Clean Energy Jobs Act. And it is really about making 

sure that we have renewable energy. 

It’s also comprehensive. It’s an example of the sector partnership 

that I talked about when I talked about working with contractors, 

talking about the communities that have been affected by pollution, 

and making sure those individuals are a part of the skills development for those clean energy jobs that we will have in Illinois. 

In addition to that, we’ve also included the population that we 

referenced earlier; those returning citizens. So, we are being intentional about the population. We are being intentional working on 

both sides of the equation with the job training program, but also 

with the contractors, and subcontractors, and the employment 

piece to make sure that we are not training individuals for jobs 

that don’t exist, but that we are doing the match on the front end 

and ensuring that the employers are engaged with us throughout 

the entire process, and that’s a true sector partnership. 

Senator MARKEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIR. Senator Braun. 

Senator BRAUN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I come from a place 

in Southern Indiana, where I live in a town in a county that’s got 

one of the lowest unemployment rates, both town and county. And 

our state, we’re the biggest manufacturing state per capita. We’ve 

got a place called Ivy Tech, that’s that bridge between what should 

be done in high school. Like, it used to be done to where you don’t 

need a bridge on basic skills. Sue Ellspermann, who runs Ivy Tech 

gave me some disturbing news that they’ve got a labor participation rate of 86 percent, want to take a crack at our 63. So, they 

do what I remember years ago to where every high school was emphasizing career and technical education, the pathway there I 

think has been oversold. It’s also too darn expensive to boot. 

I’m interested. Have we really changed the dynamic? So, you 

don’t need as much participation here. We definitely need that 

flexibility to where Pell money can be used for that. But let’s go 

back to the source of the issue. 

I was on our school board and found out the guidance counselors 

were stigmatizing against stuff we’re talking about. And that’s 

where it’s got to start with transparency. Maybe a portal here, at 

least in every state, what are the high-demand, high-wage jobs so 

parents and kids can clearly see it and then get establishment education behind it to where they’re telling kids and parents what 

makes more sense, especially when you look at what the cost of a 

college education was 40 years ago compared to what it is now. 

A lot of times the end result is you get exported out of state to 

find a job with a bad degree or back into the basement. So, I’d like 

each one of you to comment on, if we do all of this, we put more 

programs behind it. 

When I was in our state legislature seven, 8 years ago, we were 

spending $1 billion on 19 different programs, and none of them are 

really doing that much good. And the true solution is maybe not 

K through 6, but it’s middle school through high school when it’s 

a bargain for education and getting everything lined up with transparency and proper guidance. 
69 

We’ll start with Ms. White, and try to keep it to 30 seconds or 

so, so I can hear everybody’s opinion. 

Ms. WHITE. Thank you for the question, Senator. So, I mean, I 

think your point about alignment is spot on. I think that’s something that has to happen between our middle schools, or high 

schools, and post-secondary training and education options. 

One thing I would emphasize, I had a chance to travel last year 

with the delegation from Indiana to the institute in Switzerland, 

where there’s a team right now. One thing I want to underscore 

about what’s so different about that system is the employer leadership and the employer coordination. That’s a really big difference. 

The employers are not just playing a role in hiring students for 

work-based learning. They are working hand in hand with educators to define that curriculum. And we need mechanisms in place 

to make that happen stronger and more rapidly. 

Senator BRAUN. Good point, because they were detached in Indiana from that equation. They just thought the system was going 

to produce it automatically. 

Dr. Bradley. 

Dr. BRADLEY. Thank you, Senator. Yes, one, I agree with you 

that there needs to be some connectivity and continuity, and I 

think one of the ways of looking at successful dual enrollment programs. 

When you’re in high school being dually enrolled in an institute 

of higher education, and people can start—students can start to understand what they might want to go into and start building the 

skills and abilities to do that. But you’re introduced at a younger 

age, and there’s a clear path forward just out. The idea is it doesn’t 

just stop in 12th grade. You can see the future. 

Senator BRAUN. Dr. Sullivan. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. Senator, thank you for your leadership, certainly 

on the JOBS Act. but I’ll tell you, I think a lot of what we’ve heard 

today is about blending what we have traditionally thought of in 

different frames of education. Things are different today. Even dual 

enrollment is effectively a blending of K–12 in post-secondary. 

What I would urge is a much less of a siloed approach, and an 

approach that allows individuals to have dollars to be able to go 

out and find the training that has the greatest value for them, but 

not to limit that to a one-shot deal. 

A final point, do not drop benefits just because an individual gets 

a job. What we know is that there’s a benefits cliff that is happening in this country that needs to be smoothed out, that allows 

an individual to get a job and keep those benefits. 

Dr. BLY-JONES. Thank you, Senator. I have three words that I’m 

going to use. I’m going to use awareness, coordination, and alignment. 

Aware of the actual occupations that exist in that local community, local economy. Alignment with the actual systems that we’ve 

talked about. So, talking about the employer, talking about the 

schools, the jobs, and all of those supportive services. And coordination, everything has to be coordinated. We’ve talked about this. 

We’ve talked about needing more resources, but the way to best 
70 

utilize and leverage resources is to make sure they’re properly coordinated. Thank you, 

Senator BRAUN. Mr. Dickerson. 

Mr. DICKERSON. Yes, Senator. I want to talk about a couple of 

things that are, I would say, actionable that are happening in 

Northeast Louisiana. One, one conversation you talked about the 

stigma between college-bound and career-bound education. And our 

belief and our message is that every student is a career-bound student, whether that’s immediately after high school, 4 years, or 16 

years. When they complete high school, they’re going to end up in 

our workplaces. And so, we want to celebrate working in our area. 

The second thing is our sector partnership. The Northeast Louisiana Manufacturers Alliance and Consortium is developing a 

website. Because you talked about awareness about careers in our 

area, but the manufacturing, and really branding, and marketing 

manufacturing in Northeast Louisiana that’s going to go live here 

in the next couple of months. 

But in that, I want to share one way that we’re getting into the 

classrooms is through virtual 360 tours where a student will have 

a library, teachers have a library of videos, they can tour our manufacturing facility and a dozen others without ever leaving their 

classroom, just to bring that awareness piece in. 

Senator BRAUN. Thank you. Very good. 

The CHAIR. Senator Murkowski. 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just followingup on that, and I wish that I had been there for the full scope of 

that question. But to the comments that you had made, Mr. 

Dickerson, I was reading an article from The Wall Street Journal 

just yesterday, and it’s entitled, Gen Z Plumbers and Construction 

Workers are Making #Blue Collar Cool. So, I mean, doesn’t that get 

your attention? 

We spend a lot of money trying to figure out, all right, how are 

we going to attract young people into the trades? And the article 

goes on about a young woman who is an electrician in Cornwall, 

New York, and she’s on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Did you 

see her recently atop a bucket truck, adding utility outlets to power 

poles, or fixing an electric panel in a water damaged basement. 

And then, we’ve got a plumber, 23-year-old guy out of California 

who has a TikTok video of himself removing a water heater with 

a dolly. 

By the time he woke the next morning, it had 470,000 views. So, 

all right, people, let’s pay attention to our young people, how they 

are communicating this. And they’re looking at this and they’re 

seeing these are good jobs. These are not only jobs that can take 

care of a 23-year-old young person, but it’s really good wages. And 

they point that out in this article and how these young people are 

kind of blowing out the stereotypes. 

They talk about one young woman who wants to show that it’s 

Okay to be feminine in a male-dominated industry of welding. So, 

she’s in full makeup and mascara, whatever it is that takes. But 

I think these are good reminders to us that how we are able to 
71 

reach young people about these career opportunities and why they 

truly are careers. 

This is not just a detour on your way to a college degree. These 

are jobs that everybody needs. You’ve got great people that want 

to be doctors and lawyers, but every one of them needs to have 

their toilet worked on in their house. They need to have their lights 

go on, they need their electricians. So, how we make this real, I 

think, is so much of what we’re trying to do with workforce development. 

I just came from a meeting with the Alaska Home Builders Association and we’re talking about really the housing crisis within our 

state. And it comes down to one thing. You’ve got builders, but they 

can’t get the framers, they can’t get the electricians, they can’t get 

what they need. It’s all workforce, workforce, workforce. 

As we are looking to focus on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, I’m one who’s looking to make sure that we’re advancing our legislation for that next generation. Not thinking what 

it is that we think they should have, but what it is that is going 

to attract them that’s going to be able to provide for those jobs. 

I want to make sure that we’re incorporating flexibility into these 

programs because I come from a big state with big geography, low 

population, super high costs. Your transportation costs just are killers. But I’ll tell you one of the things that has been an impediment 

to our workforce training programs is they’re all located in your cities, in your larger population centers. 

But I’ve got 80 percent of the State of Alaska. Our communities 

are not connected by roads. So, people have got to fly in. So, it’s 

not like they can go take a training class and then be at home dealing with their kids, or spouse, or whatever it is. So, for us, what 

they’re looking for are childcare, transportation costs. 

How we can incorporate flexibility into these programs is something that I hope that you would all share, is going to be a positive. 

That also is an attraction when it comes to young people looking 

to these training opportunities. 

I’ve talked, haven’t allowed you more than 40 seconds now to say 

anything, but can any of you speak to how important it is to how 

flexibility—— 

The CHAIR. I’m going to give you an extra minute. How’s that? 

[Laughter.] 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Oh, thank you. Thank you, Chairman. 

Flexibility. 

Dr. BRADLEY. Thank you, Senator. That’s a great question. I did 

not know. Did you say 80 percent of Alaskan towns are not connected by roads? 

Senator MURKOWSKI. That is correct. It’s either by water or by 

air. 

Dr. BRADLEY. Oh, interesting. 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Interesting and very costly. 

Dr. BRADLEY. Yes, indeed. I would say, and just to go back to 

Senator Markey’s questions about the flexibility, that people come 
72 

to the workforce system with very different backgrounds, very different needs. 

We had a panel recently where workforce leaders from different 

cities came in and they were talking about the workforce system 

being a barrier reduction system. And so, meaning that people are 

going to come in with different barriers and have different needs 

and that there has to be some flexibility. Everyone doesn’t get the 

same treatment essentially. 

I would say that’s the importance. You’d see diverse populations 

coming in with very different needs and backgrounds. 

Dr. SULLIVAN. I would just add that it’s not only a diverse population, but it’s also Federal regulations that we’re all expected to 

follow with populations that are diverse, with goals that are diverse, and with timeframes that are diverse. And so, it is absolutely necessary that we have the flexibility. 

The final point is we all expect these programs and the training 

to be aligned with the regional economy. Federal guidelines to align 

with the regional economy. So, you can imagine that’s threading a 

needle. So, looking for that flexibility is going to be key. 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Do you think that the way things are structured currently that we do have that flexibility, government programs by their very nature are not inherently built to be flexible? 

Dr. BLY-JONES. I’ll jump in. Thanks for that question and expanding upon that. One of the areas of advocacy that the Chicago 

Jobs Council continues to advance is making sure there are barrier 

reduction funds, and that the definition of supportive services is 

more expansive. So, you talked about—— 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Would that include like childcare, transportation? 

Dr. BLY-JONES. Yes. I was just going to say you talked about 

childcare, you talked about transportation. We talk a lot about supplies for individuals, what they need to actually get to work. You 

talked a lot about construction. A lot of the equipment that individuals need can be very costly. 

Then, the other component I mentioned earlier is even adding in 

the mental health piece. So, expanding the definition of what supportive services actually are, and then making sure you have those 

funds allocated to actually reduce the barriers for individuals to be 

able to get to work. 

We talked a lot about fines and fees that keep people away from 

work too. A lot of work that we do at CJC is eliminating some of 

those barriers related to fines and fees that can inhibit someone 

from—they can have a suspended driver’s license and can’t get to 

work. So, being able to address all of those things with a much 

more expansive definition is what we look to advocate for in terms 

of reducing barriers. 

Senator MURKOWSKI. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIR. Thank you, Senator. I think you’ve had almost every 

Member of the Committee here which tells you how important this 

issue is to people from all over the country. And I thank all of you 

for being here today. 
73 

This is the end of our hearing. For any Senators who wish to ask 

additional questions, questions for the record will be due in 10 

business days, June 27th by 5 p.m. 

The CHAIR. I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record four 

statements in support of workforce development. Without objection. 

[The following information can be found on page 74 in Additional 

Material:] 

The CHAIR. The Committee stands adjourned. Thank you. 
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QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD 

RESPONSE BY DAVID BRADLEY TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR LUJA ́ N AND SENATOR

HASSAN

SENATOR LUJA ́ N

Question 1. Based on your extensive knowledge of WIOA, could efforts to increase 

flexibility for program administration allow WIOA programming to better serve Native communities? 

Answer 1. Yes. In recognition of the need to reduce costs and time for administering workforce development programs for federally recognized tribes and tribal 

organizations, Congress enacted P.L. 102–477 (often referred to as ‘‘477’’) in 1992. 

In brief, P.L. 102–477 allows federally recognized tribes to submit ‘‘477 Plans’’ to 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that allow for the consolidation of multiple Federal funding streams and reporting requirements, which allows for more funding to 

be spent on support for job placements and case management activities. The law, 

which has been amended twice since its enactment, has resulted in significant, but 

incomplete consolidation. As of 2024, there are 78 Plans approved across 38 individual Federal programs, which represent 298 federally recognized tribes. While this 

consolidation has resulted in cost savings through consolidated administration, the 

298 tribes with 477 plans currently represent just over half of the 574 federally recognized tribes. Additional efforts to incentivize more tribes to participate in 477 

plans would provide greater flexibility and reduced administrative costs, thus allowing more individuals to participate in employment and training programs. 

Question 2. In your understanding, does the funding allocated to WIOA Section 

166 adequately meet the need for employment and training services currently experienced by Native communities? 

Answer 2. Funding for programs authorized under Section 166 of WIOA and its 

corresponding predecessor programs under previous versions of WIOA—the Job 

Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and the Workforce Innovation Act (WIA)—has declined significantly in the past several decades. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, programs 

authorized under Section 166 of WIOA received $60 million. Compared to funding 

for similar programs under JTPA in its first year (1984), this is a small drop of $2.2 

million in nominal terms (–3.6 percent) but a steep decline of $127.6 million in inflation-adjusted terms (–68.0 percent). If WIOA programs for Native Americans were 

funded at the same level (inflation-adjusted) in 1984, Section 166 would now be 

funded at $188 million, rather than the current $60 million. Given the relatively 

higher rates of unemployment and poverty among Native Americans, this significant 

decline in funding makes it more difficult to provide adequate employment and 

training services to Native communities. 

SENATOR HASSAN

Question 1. I’ve heard from some stakeholders who say WIOA reporting requirements are overly burdensome. State and local leaders devote significant resources 

to writing lengthy plans which—in some cases—end up acting as more of a compliance exercise than a strategic, project management tool. I’ve also heard that community partners are sometimes dissuaded from becoming eligible training providers 

due to WIOA’s performance reporting requirements. This can unintentionally stifle 

innovation and the diversification of providers. 

How do we strike the right balance between performance accountability and nonburdensome reporting requirements? Are the current performance indicators the 

right ones? If not, what should be added or taken away? 

Answer 1. In enacting WIOA in 2014, Congress adopted a set of 6 common performance metrics that would apply across all titles of WIOA. This was an effort to 

streamline data collection and reporting and to allow for easier comparison of performance across all WIOA programs. While streamlining performance indicators was 

a step in the right direction, there are additional measures that Congress could take 

to reduce the administrative burdens associated with collecting and reporting data. 

For example, a designated state agency should be required to assist training providers by performing all ‘‘back end’’ data operations, such as matching program participants with wage records. In addition, automatic eligibility for certain providers, 

such as community colleges, would reduce barriers to entry for some training providers. Current WIOA performance indicators center on outcomes that occur after 

exiting a WIOA program. While these indicators provide important information 

about employment placements, credential attainment, and wage gains, this may 

lead to a focus on short-term results for an outcome to count. Adding an indicator 
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that captures career progression could encourage system providers to focus on career pathways and other strategies that are effective over a period beyond just 

placement in employment. 

Question 2. Students in rural communities often struggle to find post-secondary 

educational opportunities that align with the needs of businesses in their communities. This results in many young people leaving their communities or not pursuing 

post-secondary education. 

What improvements should we make to WIOA so that rural communities can develop and sustain strong workforce development systems? 

Answer 2. Rural communities often face challenges unique from urban or suburban settings, such as a lack of training providers, unreliable internet service, a lack 

of public transportation, and limited options for career advancement. Starting in 

2019, DOL is currently funding its sixth round of grants under the Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Initiative, which is designed to provide 

grants to help address persistent economic challenges through aligning communityled economic and workforce development strategies and activities. Building on the 

lessons learned and best practices from WORC grantees, Congress could codify the 

WORC Initiative in WIOA (currently it is authorized under the demonstration authority in WIOA and thus not directly in statute). Codifying the WORC Initiative 

would allow Congress to set program parameters and priorities, authorize funding 

levels, and create a more stable program rather than relying on demonstration authority. 

Question 3. Competency-based assessments can help individuals bypass unnecessary course or training requirements if they’re able to demonstrate that they already have the desired knowledge for a given role or credential. 

How can we improve and expand the use of competency-based assessments in the 

workforce system? 

Answer 3. Competency-based assessments have a critical role in the larger ecosystem of skills-based employment practices, which focuses on documenting and 

translating skills and competencies, regardless of where they were obtained, into 

signals of qualification in the labor market. Congress could encourage the expansion 

of competency-based assessments by supporting the development and implementation of a common skills language used by employers, learners, jobseekers, and education providers. This also includes the development and deployment of digital credential wallets that are recognized and accepted across education systems, workforce systems, and employers. These wallets would serve as repositories of easily 

shareable and verifiable digital records of people’s work and learning histories and 

would facilitate seamless transitions across learning and employment opportunities. 

Federal support for efforts to develop and scale digital credentials wallets could include funding pilots that use innovative technologies such as blockchain to ensure 

portability and verification, convening key stakeholders, and supporting research 

and development. 

RESPONSE BY DR. LISA BLY-JONES TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR LUJA ́ N, SENATOR

HASSAN AND SENATOR SMITH

SENATOR LUJA ́ N

Question 1. Thanks to the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, we’ve seen an investment of Federal dollars across the country 

that will allow us to build infrastructure that meets the needs of the 21st century. 

In additional to Federal dollars though, we need a skilled workforce that is ready 

to begin construction on these infrastructure projects. 

What can we do here at the Federal level to ensure WIOA programs are nimble 

enough to meet the demand of sectors such as broadband or clean energy that require skilled workers? 

Answer 1. Although WIOA requires states and local workforce boards to support 

industry partnerships, WIOA does not supply targeted funding. To ensure WIOA 

programs are nimble enough to meet the demand of sectors such as broadband or 

clean energy, WIOA reauthorization should include dedicated funding to establish and maintain industry and sector partnerships. With WIOA there is 

a lot of emphasis on individuals, but there is also a need for stronger ties to employers that provide access to career pathways for workers with progressive levels of 

education, training, supportive services and credentials throughout an individual’s 

career. 
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Each local community has a local economy and employers in those communities 

are best able to identify emerging industry trends, recommend training needs based 

on the skills required for the occupations that exist. It’s critical to involve employers 

on the front end and establish industry or sector partnerships that bring together 

local businesses, and other stakeholders, to develop workforce strategies and provide 

training that supports area demand. This is especially valuable for small and medium-sized businesses. 

A reauthorization of WIOA should include language similar to the Digital Skills 

for Today’s Workforce Act which would establish a formula grant program for 

states to develop digital skills training programs as well as provide funding to support digital equity among individuals who face barriers to employment and who 

have been historically underrepresented. Digital Skills Building is necessary in 

today’s labor market to keep up with technological advancements. Technology is increasingly prevalent at all career levels and across industries. According to a NSC 

report, ‘‘Recent research shows that 92 percent of jobs require digital skills and that 

number is expected to increase. At the same time, only two-thirds of workers have 

the foundational digital skills necessary to enter and thrive in today’s jobs.’’ Workers 

and businesses require digital skills support especially related to upskilling opportunities for workers who are on the job and reskilling opportunities for those who have 

lost jobs. 

SENATOR HASSAN

Question 1. I’ve heard from some stakeholders who say WIOA reporting requirements are overly burdensome. State and local leaders devote significant resources 

to writing lengthy plans which—in some cases—end up acting as more of a compliance exercise than a strategic, project management tool. I’ve also heard that community partners are sometimes dissuaded from becoming eligible training providers 

due to WIOA’s performance reporting requirements. This can unintentionally stifle 

innovation and the diversification of providers. 

How do we strike the right balance between performance accountability and nonburdensome reporting requirements? Are the current performance indicators the 

right ones? If not, what should be added or taken away? 

Answer 1. Striking the right balance between performance accountability and 

nonburdensome reporting requirements are accurately described as a challenge and 

concern. 

With funding not keeping pace with inflation and wage increases, offices responsible for reporting requirements are short-staffed and stretched thin, which creates 

a burden when there is insufficient staffing to support the work. 

The current performance indicators are the right ones, but they do not 

go far enough to measure if workforce programs are leading to long-term economic 

gains for workers and businesses. The current measures reflect short-term outcomes 

and do not adequately capture how people progress from entry-level jobs, experience 

wage and skill advancement with an employer, and continue their education to 

progress along a quality career pathway. 

WIOA performance indicators should be expanded to include measures on quality 

credential attainment, employment and wage outcomes for at least 2-years after 

program completion, occupation specific job placement and measures on job quality, 

such as hourly wages and hours worked. 

WIOA should also disaggregate all training performance outcomes by race, 

ethnicity, gender, and other important demographic or socioeconomic factors like 

English language proficiency, income, and geography, in order to effectively evaluate 

progress toward equitable outcomes and the efficacy of the public workforce system 

for all workers, including workers of color who are the majority of those accessing 

these services. 

Access to workforce data enhances our ability to advocate for workforce 

equity. By receiving comprehensive data on the state’s workforce, we can better 

identify areas of improvement, advocate for policies that benefit all residents and 

measure programmatic progress. 

SENATOR SMITH

Question 1. I frequently hear from people who are eager to go into high-quality, 

good-paying careers, but struggle to do so. These are people who want to work hard, 

contribute to their communities and support their families, but they face some tremendous barriers. It’s my belief that some of the key things that help people get 

and keep jobs are transportation, training and childcare. Dr. Bly-Jones, some argue 
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1 https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63a0838721aff66b22dd2598/t/ 

63a0987639ba57582d347355/1671469174913/Supportive-Services-Summary-Report-Sept-2021- 

FINAL.pdf. 

that providing supportive services through WIOA is not a good use of funds or that 

we should have stricter rules about how much should go toward training and limit 

what we can spend on supportive services. What do you think of that perspective, 

and what challenges have you encountered when facilitating access to supportive 

services? 

Answer 1. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA, P.L. 113–128) 

programs appear to be reaching the at-risk populations the workforce system is intended to serve. Some customers, however, have greater barriers than others, and 

it is not clear that all customers get the services they need to succeed. WIOA programs do not provide sufficient supportive services to help customers overcome systemic barriers that disproportionately impact women, people of color, people with disabilities, and other groups. 

In 2021, the Chicago Jobs Council released Supportive Services: Lessons Learned 

from the Field which outlines the importance of expanding and enhancing supportive services within workforce development programs to address systemic barriers to employment, particularly for groups that have been marginalized. This includes childcare, housing, and transportation, which are essential for securing and 

maintaining employment as well as mental health services which have become increasingly important following the pandemic. 

In that report, contributors identified that ‘‘six months or a year is not enough 

time for people who have experienced trauma, such as mental illness, homelessness, 

or incarceration, to seamlessly transition back into the workforce’’ and that ‘‘losing 

supportive services during the gap of time between when a client becomes employed 

and gets their first paycheck can make it hard for participants to meet their own 

needs.’’ 1 Congress can ensure that there are sufficient resources to bolster supportive services and have those services extend past probationary employment periods in order to help give participants more time to adjust and settle into jobs. Language in the BUILDS Act could serve as a model for these efforts as the legislative text includes provisions to provide support to workers in the pre-employment 

stage and for as much as a year into a job. 

For people facing entrenched barriers to employment, particularly women and 

people of color, the process of finding a good-paying job along a career pathway can 

be especially challenging. These systemic and structural barriers can manifest as 

limited affordable childcare options, lack of transportation access, inadequate or 

unaffordable healthcare, and housing instability resulting from public disinvestment 

in those services. 

Question 2. We have made record investments in critical sectors like manufacturing and clean energy through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure 

Investment and Jobs Act. Nationwide, we’ve already seen the creation of 800,000 

new manufacturing jobs and 270,000 clean energy jobs since the beginning of the 

Biden administration, including 1,100 clean energy jobs in Minnesota. We will need 

to continue to grow our workforce. Dr. Bly-Jones, how can we ensure that as we 

do so, all workers will have the opportunity to benefit? 

Answer 2. The ideal model for comprehensive inclusive strategies is local 

Sector Partnerships and Pathways. The workforce system is a dual-customer 

system, serving the needs of both jobseekers and businesses. State and local workforce boards work directly with businesses and industries to understand and address their workforce needs and support economic development. In that role, both 

state and local boards have an opportunity to collaborate with businesses to increase 

the diversity of their workforce and increase the availability of quality jobs and the 

supports workers need to succeed in them. WIOA reauthorization should include dedicated funding to establish and maintain industry and sector 

partnerships. 

Many quality jobs with family sustaining wages require a postsecondary degree 

or credential. The Chicago Jobs Council (CJC) has been working with coalition partners and stakeholders to build a robust clean energy workforce in Illinois by fostering collaborations across the labor, education, and industry sectors. 

CJC was actively involved in the passage of the Illinois Climate Equity Jobs Act 

(CEJA), which could be a national model for clean energy and infrastructure jobs. 

CEJA prioritizes investments, job training, and business opportunities in communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change. It funds training 

programs to prepare workers, including formerly incarcerated individuals, for clean 
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63a0986c2f41ed099d83a59c/1671469164785/Building-Pathways-to-Clean-Energy-Jobs-in-Illinois-March-2021.pdf. 

energy jobs. CEJA establishes programs to assist both startup contractors in the 

solar industry as well as contractors looking to grow and become prime contractors 

for renewable energy projects. CEJA aims to reach 100 percent renewable energy 

by 2050, phasing out fossil fuel plants by 2045. Requires 40 percent renewable energy by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040—a major increase in clean energy deployment. 

Additionally, the act supports workers, creates new community grants, and promotes utility accountability and ethics reform. Overall, it establishes Illinois as a 

national leader in equitable climate policy by centering disadvantaged communities, 

driving major emissions reductions, and holding utilities accountable—all without 

raising taxes. 

Established sector partnerships provide real-time conversations and innovation to 

pivot where needed based on emerging needs and keeping pace with technological 

advances. Localized collaboration supports employers in their recruitment and retention efforts to create a pipeline and build a diverse workforce within their industry. Long-standing relationships with employers happens at the local level. WIOA 

reauthorization should include dedicated funding to establish and maintain industry and sector partnerships. 

In 2020, CJC released a report entitled Building Pathways to Clean Energy Jobs 

in Illinois, which highlights the importance of investing in the future clean energy 

workforce as part of public investments in clean energy infrastructure. The report 

is informed by interviews with clean energy employers, workforce development practitioners, policy experts, and uses publicly available labor market and job posting 

information to illustrate how the state can effectively invest in workforce development so that people marginalized by racism, sexism, and environmental injustice 

can directly access [clean energy] jobs, advance within green industries, and benefit 

from public investments in clean energy. 2

Through collaboration and partnership with those closest to the issues. The Chicago Jobs Council (CJC) is a relentless advocate for economic equity and inclusion, 

working tirelessly to empower individuals from all walks of life to achieve financial 

stability and self-sufficiency. 

RESPONSE BY MATTHEW DICKERSON TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR HASSAN

SENATOR HASSAN

Question 1. Students in rural communities often struggle to find post-secondary 

educational opportunities that align with the needs of businesses in their communities. This results in many young people leaving their communities or not pursuing 

post-secondary education. 

What improvements should we make to WIOA so that rural communities can develop and sustain strong workforce development systems? 

Answer 1. Summary: It is no secret that rural communities are grappling with 

substantial challenges in establishing effective workforce development systems, primarily due to factors such as brain drain, sparse employer distribution over vast 

geographic areas, under-resourced populations, and limited access to crucial skills 

training and employment opportunities. These obstacles are intensified by diminishing Federal support, which constrains the ability of local workforce boards to afford tuition and vital supportive services necessary for fostering workforce talent in 

economically disadvantaged regions. This situation forces many residents to migrate 

to urban areas in search of improved prospects, subsequently depriving rural areas 

of essential services like healthcare, affordable housing, and skills development facilities. 

The shortfall in funding complicates the implementation of customized skills 

training programs that could benefit both local employers and their prospective employees. Although the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) provides 

personalized guidance and case management important for participant success, the 

scarcity of supportive services in rural locales presents considerable challenges. Additionally, the establishment of industry and community partnerships and access to 

American Job Centers (AJCs) are hindered by the limited organizational presence 

and logistical constraints such as inadequate public transportation, high costs, or insufficient internet access for virtual services. 
102 

A pressing need exists to augment WIOA funding tailored to rural local workforce 

development areas to rectify these issues and bolster support for rural districts. This 

increase in financial support would alleviate some of the economic pressures these 

areas face, enabling the realization of robust workforce development systems that 

empower marginalized individuals and contribute to rural communities’ economic 

growth and sustainability. Revising transportation funding under WIOA and addressing employment within family run businesses are critical steps. Moreover, 

adapting the WIOA to enhance post-secondary education alignment with local business needs, expand workforce training for better economic mobility, modify performance metrics for more adaptable training provision, and incorporate Economic Development as a mandated resource-sharing partner can significantly aid these efforts. 

Narrative: Rural communities continue to experience challenges in their efforts 

to provide remote services and programs to both individual and employer customers. 

The ‘‘brain-drain’’ which widens prime-age employment gaps, and creates an unfair 

competition with large corporations in big cities for top talent continues to exist. Additionally, rural workforce systems operate differently from their urban and suburban counter parts, facing unique challenges such as having fewer employers spread 

across a larger geographic area and historically under-resourced populations when 

compared to their urban counterparts. 

In many instances, students in rural, poor areas lacking adequate access to necessary skills training; particularly skills training that may result in a full-time, unsubsidized employment opportunity in a demand occupation in a targeted industry. 

Likewise, employers encounter difficulties in sourcing affordable skills training that 

meets their workforce integration needs. From the viewpoint of a rural, local workforce board covering 6,500 square miles, and with a single community college operating three rural campuses, hosting economically viable training classes typically 

necessitates a minimum class size of 10 or more. Given the specialized training 

needs of businesses, consortia of employers are impractical. 

A constant reduction in Federal funding has left local workforce boards unable to 

cover the demand for tuition costs and essential supportive services that are critical 

for significantly improving the workforce talent in rural, economically disadvantaged 

areas. As a result, both youth and adults are forced to relocate to larger urban centers in pursuit of education, skills training, and job prospects. This forced migration 

leaves those who remain, feeling trapped and abandoned; often forced into accepting 

low-wage jobs that fail to provide self-sufficient wages and perpetuates generational 

poverty in rural areas. Additionally, this migration of people seeking better opportunities elsewhere often results in limited access to healthcare, diminished affordable 

housing options, and restricted opportunities for skills development in rural American communities. 

Many times, local employers in rural communities can benefit from customized 

skills training which is a viable employer-based training service available under 

WIOA, to train prospective trainees prior to employment placement. However, the 

magnitude of training needs (i.e., classroom, employer-based) far exceeds the availability of funding. In addition, small businesses lack the employer match necessary 

to implement the Customized Training Agreement. 

A critical component of WIOA is the personalized guidance provided by the case 

management staff which is tailored to the specific needs and goals of each individual 

participant. This individualized approach fosters a deeper connection between the 

case manager and the participant, enhancing participant engagement and motivation to achieve successful program outcomes. Regular check-ins and progress assessments by case managers ensure that participants stay on track toward the achievement of their education and employment goals as jointly created and agreed upon 

by the individual and his/her case manager and made a part of the individual’s program plan (IEP). This accountability fosters a sense of responsibility and ownership 

over their professional development, ultimately strengthening their human capital 

through consistent growth and improvement. While urban and suburban areas have 

many supportive service options available, rural areas do not, making it more expensive and cumbersome to provide support. 

Developing and maintaining industry and community partnerships are very important to the workforce system. However, finding partners in rural areas is challenging because many organizations do not exist in these communities, and those 

that do face similar challenges and frustrations as the AJCs. 

Accessing rural AJCs becomes equally challenging for individuals when public 

transportation is unavailable and they cannot afford private transport. Even when 

transportation is accessible, it often proves unreliable for reaching training or job 

opportunities located miles away from their residences. Additionally, while virtual 
103 

services are an alternative, individuals face significant hurdles in areas where internet access is minimal, costs are prohibitive, or non-existent in rural communities. 

Without resources to maintain the level of services needed to support these 

marginalized individuals, rural areas will continue to suffer. 

Strategy: What improvements should we make to WIOA so that rural communities can develop and sustain strong workforce development systems? 

Improving the WIOA to better support rural communities involves several key strategies: 

1. Increase WIOA Funding to Rural Local Workforce Development Areas: 

Despite stagnant or reduced funding under WIOA, rural local areas are grappling 

with rising operational costs, stringent regulations, and set-asides earmarked for 

special programs; many of which ultimately send its program participant to the 

American Job Centers for additional services. Consequently, rural local areas struggle to meet the hiring demands of employers seeking candidates for high-demand, 

high-wage occupations who can be trained through employer-based programs. Additional workforce development funding would support expanded efforts by employers 

to provide immediate employer-based training and classroom training that can help 

ensure sustainable wage earnings for individuals seeking job training and placement assistance. Furthermore, resources for offering tuition and supportive services 

to job seekers with certain barriers have been so inadequate that local boards in 

rural areas can no longer keep up with demand. 

• Because of rising operational costs, it would be beneficial if the WIOA 

funding would include an additional allotment to directly support the infrastructure costs associated with operating career centers. It is critical, 

now, more than ever to maintain AJCs in rural communities. Because of 

the barriers that exist for the population that we serve, we do not want 

transportation to ever be a concern, or barrier. While there are some 

available options to reach individuals virtually, it is critical that we continue to provide intensive case management and career development 

services, in-person to individuals who have been determined to be the 

‘‘hardest to serve’’ populations in need of public assistance, as these services can prove to be the lifeline needed for many people to experience success. 

2. Formula Funding Adjustments: Modify the formula for distributing funds to 

account for the unique challenges and lower population densities of rural areas. This 

could involve allocating a minimum percentage of funds specifically designated for 

rural workforce development efforts. At the very least, the threshold utilized to determine unemployment and excessive underemployment should vary annually to 

correspond with the national unemployment rate, workforce participation rate, or 

the current dislocated worker formulary for all funds which equitably allocates 

funds to all parishes/counties. 

• Over the past three funding cycles most states experienced substantial 

decreases to their WIOA formula funding in each of the Title I programs 

funded under WIOA while the Federal allocations have remained constant. The allocation must depend on the hold-harmless factors to avoid 

even deeper cuts to states. A review of the allocation formula to ensure 

that certain data variables do not have devastating effects leading to 

these outcomes. Possible consideration can be to use the Workforce Participation Rates over the Unemployment Rates, giving a more accurate 

depiction of eligible adults who are not engaged in the workforce. The formula should provide greater sources of funds to rural area with large 

populations of individuals who are not part of the state’s current workforce, and therefore not included in the Workforce Participation Rate of 

the state. 

3. Flexibility in Fund Usage: Provide greater flexibility in how funds can be 

used in rural areas. This includes allowing funds to support innovative approaches, 

such as mobile training units, distance learning technologies, or partnerships with 

local industries, which may be more effective in rural settings. Expand the amount 

allowable for local incumbent worker training which is currently set at 20 percent 

of adult and dislocated worker allocations. 

• Combine Adult and Dislocated Worker funds into a single funding category to allow greater flexibility. 
104 

 ̄ Currently, the transfer of funds can be cumbersome and does not provide 

local areas with the level of flexibility and nimbleness needed to respond 

quickly to local demand shifts. 

 ̄ Dislocated Workers, under a combined funding concept, can become a 

‘‘priority population’’ like others under current law. 

4. Capacity Building: Allocate resources for technical assistance and capacity 

building tailored to rural workforce development boards to mitigate unique challenges around skills training access and funding. This can help them effectively utilize funds, implement programs, and navigate regulatory requirements. 

• Raise the allowable 20 percent percentage from Adult/Dislocated Worker 

program funding a local area can expend on incumbent worker training. 

These opportunities would help meet the demand of local employers’ 

unique skill upgrade needs; thereby opening new job opportunities for 

entry level positions. Employers would then be able to provide upward 

movement for established employees increasing retention rates and experience modifiers. 

• Rural areas often have difficulties finding partners (foundations, chambers of commerce or other economic development agencies) when many of 

the organizations do not exist in rural communities; and when they do, 

these organizations share the same challenges and frustrations AJCs experience. 

5. Targeted Support for Priority Industries: Focus funding on priority industries for rural areas, such as agriculture, renewable energy, healthcare, and tourism. This ensures that workforce development efforts are aligned with local economic opportunities and demand. 

6. Flexible Training Delivery Models: Promote flexibility in training delivery 

models to accommodate the dispersed populations and geographic challenges of 

rural areas. This may include online learning options, mobile training units, or partnerships with local community colleges and businesses. 

• Rural communities often have unique economic and demographic characteristics that may not fit well with a standardized One-Stop Operator requirement. Removing this requirement allows communities to tailor their 

workforce development strategies to better meet local needs and leverage 

local resources. 

• Removing the One-Stop Operator requirement can reduce financial burdens and redirect resources to more effectively support workforce development initiatives that directly benefit employers and job seekers. 

• Overall, removing the One-Stop Operator requirement for rural communities aims to promote flexibility, reduce barriers to effective service delivery, and empower local stakeholders to design and implement workforce development strategies that are responsive to their unique challenges and opportunities. 

7. Integration of Wagner Peyser Services: Implementing the ‘‘one door’’ strategy for integrating service delivery of both WIOA Title 1 and Title III at AJCs allowing local staff to provide employment services promises to enhance operational 

effectiveness, improve service delivery, optimize resources, and ultimately benefit 

both the limited staff at remote facilities and enhance outcomes for job seekers and 

employers alike. 

• Cost-Effectiveness: Utilizing local staff can be more cost-effective than 

deploying personnel from distant locations. It minimizes travel expenses 

and allows resources to be allocated more efficiently toward direct service 

delivery. 

• Accessibility and Convenience: By having services delivered locally, 

job seekers can access assistance more conveniently. This reduces barriers such as transportation costs and time constraints, making it easier 

for individuals to seek and maintain employment. 

By implementing these improvements, WIOA can better support rural communities in developing and sustaining strong workforce systems that are responsive to 

local needs and conducive to long-term economic growth. 
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RESPONSE BY MONTY SULLIVAN TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR HASSAN, SENATOR

SMITH, AND SENATOR BUDD

SENATOR HASSAN

Question 1. I’ve heard from some stakeholders who say WIOA reporting requirements are overly burdensome. State and local leaders devote significant resources 

to writing lengthy plans which—in some cases—end up acting as more of a compliance exercise than a strategic, project management tool. I’ve also heard that community partners are sometimes dissuaded from becoming eligible training providers 

due to WIOA’s performance reporting requirements. This can unintentionally stifle 

innovation and the diversification of providers. How do we strike the right balance 

between performance accountability and nonburdensome reporting requirements? 

Are the current performance indicators the right ones? If not, what should be added 

or taken away? 

Answer 1. Accountability for Federal job training funds under WIOA is critical to 

ensuring that individuals are receiving the training that is most effective to obtain 

and maintain employment. The major indicators of performance that are essential 

to assess most job training programs are employment status post-training and earnings. Within the totality of the WIOA system, however, an indicator that assesses 

measurable skills gains is also important, especially when considering how adult 

education fits into the WIOA system. 

Question 2. Students in rural communities often struggle to find post-secondary 

educational opportunities that align with the needs of businesses in their communities. This results in many young people leaving their communities or not pursuing 

post-secondary education. What improvements should we make to WIOA so that 

rural communities can develop and sustain strong workforce development systems? 

Answer 2. Fostering stronger connections between educational institutions, such 

as community colleges, and businesses is critical. In Louisiana, the individual campus leaders within the Louisiana Community and Technical College System work 

closely with businesses in their local communities to understand the skills and 

knowledge businesses are seeking in potential employees. This guides campus leaders and our system to streamline educational opportunities and industry-specific 

skills and knowledge. WIOA should further encourage collaboration between businesses and community colleges. 

SENATOR SMITH

Question 1. It’s important to me that we prepare job seekers for high-quality, 

good-paying careers. However, these usually require a firm grasp of the English language, digital literacy and numeracy. In Minnesota and around the country, adult 

basic education programs are instructing people from a variety of backgrounds in 

these critical skills. What can Congress do to improve the delivery of these services, 

reduce the challenges that providers may face and better respond to the needs of 

adult learners? 

Answer 1. As I said in my testimony, adult education programs are essential to 

ensuring that our Nation’s workforce can take advantage of job training opportunities as well as succeed in obtaining and retaining employment. Ensuring that we 

fund the Federal Adult Education State Grant program is critical to reaching all of 

the people who need adult education services to improve and strengthen their employability. Adult education providers in Louisiana are adept at delivering these 

services and are limited primarily by a lack of funding. 

SENATOR BUDD

Question 1. Dr. Sullivan, I’d like to highlight Workforce Pell and how passing 

Workforce Pell this Congress will meet the needs of workers and employers. As you 

may know, I introduced the Promoting Employment for Lifelong Learning ( PELL) 

Act this Congress, which would allow low-income students to use their Pell Grants 

at short-term, high-quality programs that prepare them for in-demand jobs. Unfortunately, students or workers looking to skill or re-skill do not have this option 

today because Federal policy has unfairly supported only degree programs instead 

of all postsecondary pathways. The PELL Act would allot short-term programs at 

all institutions to be eligible while requiring these programs to meet a number of 

quality requirements, so both students and taxpayers can be assured that Pell 

Grant funds are supporting only high-quality programs. As Board President of Rebuilding America’s Middle Class, you have expressed support for the PELL Act. Can 

you explain why you think this bill is important? Can you describe ways you’ve seen 
106 

short-term program providers partner with employers to develop relevant high-quality skills that open up good opportunities for job seekers? 

Answer 1. Extending Pell Grant eligibility to short-term courses is essential if we 

are to meet American workers where they are. Many students who attend our colleges are single parents who are also working full-time. They simply do not have 

the time to spend multiple years pursuing an associate degree part-time; a shortterm program resulting in a credential that leads directly to a good paying job with 

benefits is one of the only sustainable paths for them to pursue. When that person 

achieves their first credential, it puts them on a path to earn additional credentials 

and possibly degrees, widening their economic possibilities. Expanding Pell to cover 

these short-term credentials may be the most important tool that Congress can give 

Americans seeking a better economic future. 

Question 2. Dr. Sullivan, employers are often deterred by stiff requirements when 

considering whether to invest in training current or prospective employees. Employers face the choice of paying for this training or saving the money to allocate to 

other business-related costs. How could partial reimbursements to small and medium-sized businesses for job training accelerate worker opportunities and help close 

the skills gap? Specifically, how might this encourage employers to invest more in 

training and upskilling their workforce? 

Answer 2. Employers working closely with community colleges produce programs 

that are directly applicable to available jobs in a local community. Employers must 

be part of the discussion to identify education and training opportunities to fund 

with WIOA, state or local job training resources. Often, the work that small and 

medium-sized businesses do on the front end with community colleges ensures that 

the businesses get a return on their investment in time. 

Question 3. Dr. Sullivan, in your view, how critical are short-term credential programs to meeting the immediate needs of local employers and addressing skills gaps 

in the workforce? Can you provide examples of partnerships between your colleges 

and local businesses that could be strengthened by the availability of short-term 

Pell Grants? 

Answer 3. Short term credential programs are extremely critical to meeting both 

the needs of employers and the individuals they employ. For example, in the 

healthcare space, Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) has partnered with local 

hospitals and healthcare providers to offer short-term nursing and medical assistant 

programs. These programs are designed to quickly produce qualified healthcare professionals to meet the growing demand in the region. Short-term Pell Grants could 

expand these programs, enabling more students to enroll and complete their training, thus alleviating the critical shortage of healthcare workers. Additionally, South 

Louisiana Community College (SLCC) collaborates with Ochsner Health to provide 

fast-track certifications for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. 

Increased funding through short-term Pell Grants would allow for more extensive 

training resources and potentially higher enrollment rates, directly impacting the 

availability of emergency services personnel. Further, Central Louisiana Technical 

Community College (CLTCC) has a strong partnership with local trucking companies to offer CDL training programs. These programs are essential for producing 

qualified truck drivers needed to support the logistics and transportation sectors. 

Short-term Pell Grants would make these programs more accessible, helping to mitigate the driver shortage that many companies face. Last, Louisiana Delta Community College (LDCC) partners with telecommunications companies to provide shortterm training programs in broadband installation and maintenance. These programs 

are crucial as the demand for broadband services continues to grow. Short-term Pell 

Grants could help increase the number of trained technicians, supporting the expansion of broadband infrastructure in rural and underserved areas. 

Question 4. What are the current barriers preventing students from enrolling in 

and completing short-term credential programs, and how could short-term Pell 

Grants help overcome these barriers? Are there specific financial, logistical, or informational obstacles that these grants could address? 

Answer 4. Expanding the eligibility of Pell Grants to cover short-term credentials 

would cure the problem of allocating funding to pay for the program that provides 

the credential. Any single parent with a low to moderate income may struggle to 

come up with the funds to cover even a $500 short-term program. Pell Grant eligibility for such programs removes that financial barrier. 

Question 5. Dr. Sullivan, how can workforce development boards ensure that their 

services are closely aligned with the evolving needs of local employers? What mechanisms or partnerships would be most effective in achieving this alignment? 
107 

Answer 5. Fostering strong connections between workforce boards and local employers is critical to ensuring that training programs financed with WIOA dollars 

actually relate to local available jobs. There is no substitute for ongoing and specific 

dialog between local boards and businesses about employer needs and the ways a 

local board can help respond. WIOA should encourage this sort of collaboration. 

Question 6. Dr. Sullivan, I believe that it’s important for WIOA to have effective 

performance indicators that ensure trainees receive quality education and are wellprepared for employment. What metrics or indicators do you think are most crucial 

to evaluate the success of training programs? 

Answer 6. Among other indicators, employment post-training and earnings are 

key metrics that should be used to assess the success of a training program. Both 

are directly tied to the real-world challenges facing an individual who is seeking employment—whether employment can be maintained and if earnings are sufficient for 

the needs of the person and/or their family. 

RESPONSE BY TAYLOR WHITE TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR HASSAN, AND SENATOR

SMITH

SENATOR HASSAN

Question 1. Registered apprenticeships help address workforce shortages and help 

students earn while they learn. Like many states, New Hampshire is facing a shortage of highly qualified educators in secondary math and science, as well as special 

education. The New Hampshire National Education Association, Southern New 

Hampshire Services, New Hampshire colleges, and others are doing important work 

to make teaching a viable career pathway through a New Hampshire Registered Educator Apprenticeship Program. How is WIOA being utilized to support registered apprenticeships in critical shortage areas, and what more can be 

done? 

Answer 1. Funding available to state and local workforce boards through the 

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) can support Registered Apprenticeship programs for new, incumbent, or dislocated workers, both youth and adult, 

in a number of ways, whether or not those programs are in critical shortage areas. 

For example, WIOA Title I funding can be used to support: 

• Pre-Apprenticeship Programs: WIOA funding is frequently used to 

support pre-apprenticeship programs that provide basic skills development, work experiences, and other supports designed to help participants 

qualify for entry into a Registered Apprenticeship program. 

• Instructional Costs: Individual Training Accounts funded through 

WIOA can be used to cover the costs associated with the classroom-based 

instruction (i.e. ‘‘related instruction’’) that apprentices are required to 

complete, including tuition, fees, books, and other costs, so long as the 

training provider delivering the instruction is on the Eligible Training 

Provider List (ETPL). Under WIOA, all sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship are eligible for the ETPL. 

• On-the-Job Training Costs: Under WIOA, on-the-job training (OJT) 

contracts may be established with employers to support the OJT component of Registered Apprenticeship programs. Governors and local boards 

may choose to provide reimbursement to employers of costs up to 75 percent of apprentice wage rates under WIOA. 

• Case Management and Supportive Services: Prior to entry into a 

pre-or Registered Apprenticeship, WIOA-eligible workers can receive 

screening assessments, basic skills and language training, and career 

planning support through WIOA. In some cases, WIOA dollars may be 

available to fund supportive services like transportation or child care to 

assist participants preparing for or enrolled in apprenticeship programs. 

However, because Registered Apprentices are employed and earn increasing wages over time, many will no longer qualify for services through 

WIOA once the program is underway. 

Despite the many ways that WIOA funding can be used to support participation 

in Registered Apprenticeship, there are fewer connections than one might expect between the two systems, especially at the local program level. Research has shown 

that many local workforce personnel lack a deep understanding of the apprenticeship system, making it difficult for them to promote apprenticeship opportunities to 
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1 Copson, E. et al., 2022. Challenges and Opportunities for Expanding Registered Apprenticeship with Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I, Urban Institute. United 

States of America. https://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText-Documents/ETAOP2022-39-AAIBrief-WIOA-Final-508-9-2022.pdf; Bergman, Terri and Deborah Kobes. 2017. The State of Apprenticeship among Workforce Boards. Boston, MA: Jobs for the Future. https://jfforg-prodnew.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/NAWB-Apprenticeship-092717.pdf. 2 Erica Mallett Moore, Dana Grayson, John Diaz, and Melissa Raspberry, Educator Registered Apprenticeships: Funding Profiles for Five Programs (Research Triangle, NC: Educator 

Registered Apprenticeship Intermediary, in press). 3 Ibid. 

employers or potential participants. 1 Likewise, in our own experience working with 

place-based practitioners, we find that many local apprenticeship sponsors and program leaders lack connections to their local workforce boards and are unfamiliar 

with the process by which a pre-apprentice or Registered Apprentice might qualify 

for support through WIOA. 

Even for those who are very familiar with Registered Apprenticeship, however, 

there can be barriers to integrating more fully with that system. For example, some 

providers find the eligibility determination processes too cumbersome and opt not 

to pursue resources that might benefit their participants. Additionally, Registered 

Apprenticeship programs tend to have higher entry requirements (e.g. high school 

diploma or equivalency) than other types of training provided through the WIOA 

system. Many WIOA-eligible individuals simply do not meet these criteria at system 

entry. Registered Apprenticeships are typically longer than the short-term training 

programs funded through WIOA, too. Providing funding for multi-year programs can 

impose administrative complications on local workforce boards and can be more 

challenging to capture in performance reporting. Even more fundamentally, longer 

programs tend to be more expensive than shorter programs. For budget-constrained 

workforce boards, more expensive programs typically means serving fewer people 

overall—an unappealing prospect in our current system, which incentivizes local actors to prioritize quantity over quality. 

For these reasons—and because many apprentices do not remain WIOA-eligible 

once they are employed and earning good wages through a Registered Apprenticeship program—it is more common to see WIOA dollars supporting pre-apprentices 

rather than Registered Apprentices. Pre-apprenticeships can equip workers with the 

skills and knowledge they need to compete for Registered Apprenticeship opportunities, especially in many critical shortage occupations that require a high-level of 

numeracy, literacy, or other foundational skills for entry. Pre-apprenticeships have 

been used effectively in many sectors to create pathways for disadvantaged workers—including workers of color, workers with disabilities, women, and youth—to access careers in fields where they are currently underrepresented. However, the quality of pre-apprenticeship programs can also vary considerably and many do not provide a true pathway to employment. 

As the public education system has experienced an acute labor shortage, pre-apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship programs for teaching assistants, 

paraeducators, classroom teachers and even principals have developed. Over the 

past 3 years, the number of these programs has grown rapidly. Based on emerging 

research, WIOA does not appear to be a widely utilized source of funding for educator registered apprenticeship programs. 2 Research conducted by the U.S. DOL-funded Educator Registered Apprenticeship Intermediary reveals that programs use a 

mix of one-time Federal funding (e.g., ARPA, SAE grants and ABA grants), state 

funding (e.g. recurring appropriations), and local funding (e.g. district allocations for 

staffing). 3

The programs that have leveraged WIOA (such as New Hampshire’s program and 

the enrichEd Pathways model in Texas) are using Title I funding to: 

• Provide progressive wages 

• Fund tuition costs (up to $6,000 per year for 3 years) 

• Provide wraparound supports 

• Cover certification costs 

In these programs and many others (including those outside of the education 

field), WIOA funding is braided with other funding sources to meet apprentices’ 

needs. This is especially true when it comes to providing wraparound supports. 

Many programs leave it up to individual apprentices to connect with their local job 

centers to find out if they are eligible for support under WIOA. This likely leads 

to underutilization of available resources. 
109 

4 For information on peer nation’s investments in workforce training, navigation supports, 

hiring incentives, and other active labor market policies, see the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development tables available at: https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/public-spending-on-labour-markets.html. 5 Alyssa Ratledge, Cynthia Miller, and Kelsey Schaberg, ‘‘Meeting the Needs of Job Seekers 

and Employers,’’ MDRC, September 2020, https://www.mdrc.org/publication/meeting-needsjob-seekers-and-employers. 

To better support apprenticeship in critical shortage areas through WIOA, Congress should: 

• Increase investment in WIOA Title I overall so that state and local workforce boards receive funding that is commensurate with the employment 

and training needs they are facing. Additional resources can reduce budgetary pressure that lead workforce leaders to prioritize short-term, often 

low-quality training programs that frequently fail to deliver lasting benefits for workers or employers. Given cuts proposed in the House of Representatives’ most recent appropriations proposals, WIOA legislation 

should authorize a funding level at least twice the current spend and emphasize high-quality training as a focus of new resources. Doing so would 

improve but not eliminate the effects of years of underinvestment in the 

public workforce system: Even if the U.S. doubled its spending on workforce training programs, we would still rank far behind international 

peers in the percentage of GDP dedicated to similar programs. 4

• Modify performance indicators to emphasize quality employment outcomes as a primary goal of the public workforce system. For example, 

WIOA should require measures of post-program earnings at least 1 year 

after program completion, and require wages be compared to median 

earnings in metropolitan statistical area (MSA) or the regional living 

wage. Indicators should also be added to collect information on whether 

or not program completers remain employed in occupations and industries related to their field of training. Such changes can drive local boards 

to prioritize higher quality training options, including pre-and Registered 

Apprenticeship. 

• Encourage the use of WIOA Governor’s Reserve funding for activities that 

provide staff training and develop stronger linkages between local workforce boards and apprenticeship agencies/sponsors in industries experiencing critical shortages of workers in occupations that pay at least a living-wage. Sector-specific strategies to forge such partnerships have been 

effective in addressing critical shortage areas in some industries and regions, especially when supportive services (such as those offered through 

WIOA) are included alongside targeted training. 5

• Expand access to high-quality work experiences available to WIOA-eligible youth through a work experience fund or grant program designed to 

support the development of new programs aligned to a set of rigorous 

quality standards, including pre-and Registered Apprenticeship model. 

The fund could be used to: 

 ̄ Reimburse employers for up to 75 percent of wages for providing work 

experiences to youth who are also participating in an eligible education 

and training program. Subsidies should be reserved for jobs that pay at 

least $15 an hour and which include opportunities to earn industry recognized credentials or credit, to ensure public dollars are used to create 

paths to prosperity rather than to poverty. 

 ̄ Offer incentives for local workforce boards to create progressive 

work experiences that ‘‘link’’ to a clear next step toward further 

training, a more advanced work experience, or a full-time job. Youthserving pre-apprenticeship programs that confer preferential access to or 

advanced standing in registered apprenticeship programs are just one 

promising example. 

 ̄ Offer incentives to employers for hiring youth who face the most significant barriers to employment. Especially in a period when high schools 

are racing to dramatically expand work-based learning programs for students, WIOA must take steps to ensure the young people it serves are 

not overlooked by employers fielding multiple requests for partnership. 

 ̄ Build the capacity of workforce boards to collaborate with education and apprenticeship partners as well as employers to establish local 

or regional career pathway systems that include different tiers of work 
110 

6 For more details on this proposed concept, see U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions. ‘‘The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: Supporting Efforts to 

Meet the Needs of Youth, Workers, and Employers.’’ Testimony by Taylor White, Director, Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship. June 12, 2024. 7 For more information on how ESSA can support career education, read Advance CTE’s. 8 For a more detailed discussion of the issues of budget siloes and fragmentation, ‘‘How can 

Federal funding support systems alignment for career pathways? A blog series exploring lessons 

from three examples of flexibility’’ available at https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/ 

edcentral/how-can-Federal-funding-support-systems-alignment-for-career-pathways/. 9 Congress should also ensure definitions and data priorities in WIOA, Perkins, and ESSA 

are aligned, to the greatest extent practicable to TANF, SNAP and other relevant social and 

human service programs. 

experiences and multiple paths to credentials that lead to well-paying 

jobs and promising careers. 6

• Support research and evaluation activities to identify effective practices 

and programs and tailor future legislation and investment to replicate 

best practices, while phasing out apprenticeship and other training programs that do not reliably improve employment outcomes. 

SENATOR SMITH

Question 1. Thank you so much for speaking during the hearing to the importance 

of exposing kids, especially underserved youth, to a variety of career options before 

they leave the school system. Could you expand on how you think Congress 

can more effectively facilitate connections between young people and career exploration or employment opportunities? 

Answer 1. Currently, Federal funding to support connections between young people and career exploration and employment opportunities comes primarily from two 

sources: the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Education. Congress funds these activities through three pieces of legislation: 

• The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which includes dedicated funding for skills development, training programs, work 

experiences, and other employment-related supports for youth (as well as 

adults); 

• The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st 

Century Act (Perkins V), which provides funding for our Career and 

Technical Education (CTE) system; and, 

• The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which provides funding for 

a wide range of academic and enrichment activities provided to students 

in our elementary, middle, and high schools. 

WIOA funding supports both in-and out-of-school youth (ISY and OSY, respectively), though current legislation requires a greater share of resources be used to 

support OSY. Perkins and ESSA both focus on ISY. Whereas Perkins has an explicit 

focus on CTE, ESSA does not. However, resources provided through ESSA can be 

used to support career connected learning opportunities and often are. For example, 

a 2017 report led by Advance CTE and Education Strategy Group found that nearly 

three-quarters of states’ ESSA plans indicated they would use ESSA funding to support learning and activities related to career development. 7

Within each of these pieces of legislation, myriad funding streams and programs 

support (or can be used to support) career exploration and employment. In addition, 

there are dozens of additional funding sources and streams scattered across other 

pieces of legislation, all designed to help young adults explore or prepare for careers. 

While these supports are valuable and necessary, they are siloed and often poorly 

connected. This reality contributes to a fragmented landscape of programs at the 

state and local level, and prevents the development of a truly systemic approach to 

preparing young people for careers. 8

Fortunately, Congress can address some of these challenges by taking steps to 

promote greater alignment between these major pieces of legislation and the systems they support by, for example: 

• Revisiting and aligning definitions, accountability requirements, and eligibility requirements and determination processes each time legislation is 

reauthorized. 9

• Incentivizing—not just permitting—greater cooperation and coordination 

across state education and workforce actors in mandatory planning processes, including those required for WIOA and Perkins. 
111 

10 OECD. See footnote 3 above. 

• Creating grant programs and other incentive structures that emphasize 

cooperation across programs that connect or span youth-serving systems, 

for example, by linking high school CTE programs and pre-apprenticeships to re-engage OSY, or by supporting the expansion of dual enrollment CTE pathways for ISY; 

• Supporting states to develop stronger career advising infrastructure with 

middle and high schools; 

• Supporting an ecosystem of intermediaries and out-of-school time providers to provide career exposure and education opportunities that supplement and reinforce those provided through the public education and 

workforce systems, with a focus on students who face barriers in education and employment; 

• Investing in state and local data infrastructure to better connect K–12 

education data, higher education data, data from the public workforce 

system, and employment data to understand how early career exposure 

activities, work-based learning, and various secondary and postsecondary 

education and training paths affect employment outcomes. 

• Supporting research and evaluation to develop an evidence base for the 

many career exposure, work-based learning, career training, and other related programs supported in the ecosystem to identify best practices and 

target future investment. 

It is worth pointing out that the resources the U.S. Federal Government dedicates 

to career exposure, career and technical education, and workforce training is very 

low relative to other nations’ investments in similar infrastructure and programs, 

even despite the high number of Federal funding sources, streams, and programs. 10

If policymakers are committed to creating opportunities for our Nation’s future 

workers to gain career exposure, workplace experiences, and valuable education and 

training opportunities at scale, we must substantially increase our investment in 

the systems and programs that provide them. 

Finally, a persistent challenge in developing a coherent ecosystem of career exposure, experience and training opportunities for youth and adults is our fragmented 

approach to engaging employers, who are themselves a fragmented stakeholder 

group. Employers sit on local and state boards and are engaged in various advisory 

capacities by public economic development agencies, workforce boards, the CTE system and other training and education institutions. While there are some bright 

spots that demonstrate employers can play a more active, sustained role in talent 

development, many of these engagements are superficial. The U.S. lacks a robust, 

cross-system strategy for engaging employers in the development, evolution, and delivery of career-oriented training—not only for youth, but for adult and incumbent 

workers, too. International examples can offer useful lessons, but our approach to 

solving this problem will need to be American made. Congress should encourage innovative strategies to organize and engage American employers as co-developers of 

tomorrow’s workforce, rather than consumers or distant supporters of it. 

[Whereupon, at 12:01 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

Æ