Each state must designate local service delivery areas where local elected officials will appoint Workforce Investment Boards to replace Private Industry Councils. At the core of the new system are one-stop service centers. Currently, more than 800 centers are operating across the United States, and 95 percent of states are establishing one-stops. These centers provide job seekers with a range of services, including career counseling, skill assessments, training, job search assistance, and referrals to programs and services depending on a person's needs. People use the funds to purchase training from qualified providers.
States have the discretion to determine how the vouchers are distributed and how much they're worth.
Program performance and continuous improvement will be assessed at the service provider, career center, and statewide levels of the system. Both the state and local workforce development systems will be measured annually regarding job placements, retention of people in jobs, earning gains for people receiving jobs, and skill attainment of individuals who have received training. The local board is responsible for overseeing the local one-stop delivery system. A primary focus of WIA is to meet the needs of business for skilled workers and to meet the training, education, and employment needs of individuals. To accomplish that mission, the new system will be based on the one-stop concept, in which information about and access to a wide range of job training, education, and employment services is available to customers at a single neighborhood location.