In July, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (H.R. 803) (WIOA) became law. This important piece of legislation authorizes $9.5 billion for work force development and training and is an important step in ensuring workers develop the skills they need.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the construction industry’s need for workers will grow twice as fast as the average for all industries, and the industry will face a work force shortage of 1.6 million workers by 2022. WIOA provides federal funding for a state-based work force development system that gives priority to veterans and low-income trainees but is open to anyone in the U.S.
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) has been a supporter of this bill because it ensures local stakeholders are involved in shaping job training efforts and more job seekers have access to job training programs that will prepare them for career opportunities in their local economies.
WIOA’s goal is to get employers actively engaged and focused on training for in-demand jobs. In addition, it is significantly more streamlined than its predecessor, the Workforce Investment Act, which expired in 2003. Among other things, WIOA allows existing construction craft training programs and others that provide workers with industry-recognized credentials to use work force investment funding.
Under the bill, small businesses have the opportunity to participate in developing programs that will train people for available career opportunities. It also opens up green job training grants to firms that aren’t associated with a labor union by removing previous restrictions preventing construction employees who choose not to be affiliated with a labor organization from participating.
Here are some ways contractors can get involved with using WIOA:
- Qualify as a training provider. WIOA streamlines the process for employers to qualify as training providers and eliminates the need to qualify at the local level.
- Get reimbursed for on-the-job training, incumbent training and customized training. Employers now can get 50 percent to 90 percent of a trainees’ wages.
- Get paid for training through a training account. An alternative to competitive grants, these accounts pay on a per-employee basis.
In addition to improving ways employers can train directly, WIOA also allows many other ways employers can work on improving training opportunities by getting involved in the process before training even begins. Employers can do the following: Partner with a local training provider — for example a high school or com-munity college — to help it plan and assist it in providing services.
- Enter into a sector partnership with other local stakeholders to develop a strategy for closing the skills gap in an industry. These partnerships, or “work force collaboratives,” are convened by and/or work together with state or local work force boards.
- Serve on a local work force board. On both state and local work force boards, employers make up 80 percent of the members. That means there are plenty of chances for construction contractors to participate.
- Participate in a business consultation convened by a local work force board. These conversations can cover everything from changing work force needs to in-demand occupations and skills.
- Become a part of the process to produce a state’s four-year plan for work force development.
- Participate in the consortium that runs a local American Job Center (One-Stop).
To learn more about the opportunities this bill will open up, visit a local American Job Center, which can be found on www.careeronestop.org or reach out to a state office of Workforce Investment, which can be found http://us.jobs/state-workforce-agencies.asp.
Dan Brodbeck is the founder, president and CEO of Compass Partners LLC, Brentwood, Tennessee.
For more information on ABC, visit www.abc.org or call (202) 595-1505.
