On April 9, the House passed comprehensive, bipartisan workforce development legislation H.R. 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act which reauthorizes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or WIOA. The vote was 378-26. This is a very positive development for our sector.

In addition to reauthorizing and fully funding all the workforce development programs embedded in WIOA the bill would:

• Dedicate 50 percent of the adult and dislocated worker funding toward upskilling workers through “individual training accounts” (ITAs).
• Manages the nation’s network of One-Stop Career Centers.
• Administers the Job Corps program with increased performance accountability.
• Streamlines the application process for “eligible training providers” to promote faster eligibility determinations and minimize administrative burdens for training providers active in multiple states.
• Encourages innovative sector partnerships by allowing states to invest in critical industry skills initiatives.
• Authorizes state and local workforce boards to aid employers in implementing skills-based hiring practices.
• Places greater emphasis on work-based learning for youth and on workforce education programs at community colleges that align with in-demand jobs.
• Establishes grant programs that support employment and training services for formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Strengthens the workforce data system by promoting the use of real-time labor market information, facilitating access to wage records data and promoting data transparency.
• Incentivizes regional consortia for workforce development areas so that workforce development boards may ensure that jobseekers are connected to industries and employers that are prominent in a region’s economy.

To read the fact sheet for A Stronger Workforce for America Act, click here.

To read the summary for A Stronger Workforce for America Act, click here.

To read the section-by-section for A Stronger Workforce for America Act, click here.

The bill now proceeds to the Senate where its path forward is uncertain. ABMA will be checking in with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee staff to obtain a better sense of the upper chamber’s plans on this issue/legislation.