This document summarizes a presentation about the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and how it relates to economic development. WIOA aims to better coordinate workforce development programs and increase accountability. It emphasizes partnerships between workforce development, education providers, and employers to align training with business needs. The document outlines improvements WIOA brings such as strategic planning requirements and a focus on work-based learning and regional collaboration between economic and workforce development entities.

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Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
of 2014 (WIOA):
What it Means to Economic Development
Presented by: Colleen LaRose

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Founded in 2012, the North East Regional
Employment and Training Association
(www.nereta.org) provides training to economic
development organizations (EDOs) and workforce
investment boards (WIBs) throughout the country.
This organization has significantly opened lines of
communication between professionals in economic
development, workforce development, education,
and business through LinkedIn groups and
professional development webinars that NERETA
provides on a national basis.
Camoin Associates (www.camoinassociates.com)
specializes in providing economic development
solutions to both public and private sector clients,
serving economic development organizations (EDOs),
local and state governments from Maine to Texas,
private sector corporations, and developers.
The firm’s work includes economic development
strategies where we build consensus among
leadership around critical opportunities and issues in
communities across the country, from small, rural
communities to large metropolitan areas and entire
states.

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What is Workforce Development?
Wikipedia: WD is an American economic development approach that attempts to enhance a region's
economic stability and prosperity by focusing on people rather than businesses.
Federal Reserve of St Louis: WD has come to describe a relatively wide range of activities,
policies and programs employed by geographies to create, sustain and retain a viable workforce that
can support current and future business and industry.
Colleen’s definition: WD is the government system that helps put people to work.

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Purpose of WF Development
Economic
• Align local business needs with skills in the
workforce
• Learn specific marketable skills
• Facilitate career pathways
• Learn to be innovative, creative, resilient
• Provide for adult basic survival needs
• Financial literacy
• Adult education
• English as a second language (ESL)
• Coping with a disability in the workplace
• Workplace readiness skills
• Connections to childcare, housing,
transportation, addiction counseling,
mental health needs, etc.
Purpose of Education
Economic
• Basic survival (reading, writing, basic math)
Cultural Understanding
• Cultural appreciation
• Values (why is my culture the way it is)
• Why is the culture of other people the way it is
Social
• Make intelligent decisions as a society
• Uphold democracy
• Involvement with other people (appreciate
individual differences)
• Conform to society
Personal
• Develop Individual talents and aptitudes
• Appreciate learning

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History of Workforce Development
• Land Grant Universities: Morrill Acts (1862 and 1890)
• Creation of Federal Department of Labor (1913)
• New Deal: Works Progress Admin - WPA and Wagner Peyser (1933-1942)
• Manpower Development and Training Act –MDTA (1962)
• Comprehensive Employment and Training Act – CETA (1973)
• Job Training and Partnership Act –JTPA (1983)
• Workforce Investment Act -WIA (1998)
• Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act - WIOA (2014)

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Too Little funding: 1979 peak funding. In real dollars, funding has dropped by 70 %!
(12% drop between 2000-2007)
Shift away from Developing Human capital: emphasis on “work first” …with training
as a last resort…over time has caused deterioration of workforce skills in the marketplace at a
time when even more skills are needed due to burgeoning technologies
Smaller share of low-skilled, low income and youth being provided training
Major Problems with WIA

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Other Problems with WIA
• Not coordinated with economic development
• Social service mentality, not proactive in supporting business
• Grant driven…chasing dollars. Change strategies with new funding opportunities.
• Lack alignment (local, regional, state, federal) of strategic planning priorities
• Changing priorities with new administrations
• Boards too big and ineffective
• Silos of service – not leveraging resources and collaborating as needed
• Training that does not result in employment
• Reactive not proactive (too tied up with red tape)
• Best practices not widely shared, little to no training for WIBs other than legislation rules
• Not supportive of entrepreneurship
• Civil servants not “motivated”
• Need more OJT and apprenticeship

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Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity ACT
WIOA
The Improvements it Brings

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Coordination of Key Programs
Strategically aligns and promotes coordination of key programs in employment,
education, and training at fed, state, regional and local levels through American Job
Centers (former One Stop Career Centers).
Wagner Peyser
Adult education
Vocational rehabilitation
and former WIA programs (adult, dislocated worker and youth programs)
• now required to co-locate, share resources, utilize integrated intake and reporting
systems
• all now be subject to reporting outcome measures (such as credential attainment,
entered employment, employment retention and wage gains)

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Increased Accountability and Transparency
of Programs
• All training providers must report on outcomes of students
• Assures accountability and transparency of training programs
• Those seeking training are not forced into “work first” before
training is considered as an option

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Best Practices Focus
Builds on proven best practices such as:
• sector strategies
• career pathways
• regional economic development approaches
• work-based learning (such as apprenticeships and on-the-
job training)
• incumbent worker training.

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Emphasis on Proper Planning
Requires four-year state plans be submitted to the Federal Department of Labor
with two-year updates (first report due March 2016).
Local plans must align with state plans
Plans must include:
• strategic planning elements
• operational planning elements
• operating systems and policies
• program specific requirements
• implementation strategy
• assurances

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Employer Emphasis
• Enhanced employer services
• Employer satisfaction surveys
• Benchmarks of performance (yet to be determined) –
How well are employer needs being met
by the American Job Centers?

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WD/ED Collaboration
Collaboration of regional economic development with workforce
development initiatives
• Joint planning
• Joint research
• Sharing of data
• Collaborative grant applications
• CEDS planning

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New Focus for Workforce System on
Employer
1. Make federal workforce training programs and policies more
focused on imparting relevant skills with job-market value
2. More easily accessed by employers and job seekers
3. More accountable for producing positive employment and
earning outcomes

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Economic development and workforce
development collaboration required to:
• Share information about business needs
• Align local goals
• Coordinate service delivery
• Leverage resources
• Create a common vision

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Ready to Work:
Job-Driven Training and American Opportunity
Job Driven Checklist
“We are using the Job driven checklist as a tool to maximize the
effectiveness of 25 competitive grant programs.”
New and existing CEDS plans
State WIB plans
(likely required of local WIBs by State WIBs)

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Job Driven Checklist
ESMORES
1. ENGAGE EMPLOYERS
2. SMART CHOICES
3. MEASUREMENT MATTERS
4. OPENING DOORS
5. REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
6. EARN AND LEARN
7. STEPPING STONES

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ENGAGING EMPLOYERS
• Work up-front with employers to determine local
hiring needs
• Design training programs responsive to those
needs –from which employers will hire

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SMART CHOICES
• Better use of data to drive accountability
• Inform what programs are offered
• Inform what is taught
• Offer user-friendly information for job seekers to choose
programs and pathways that work for them and are likely to
result in

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MEASUREMENT MATTERS
• Measure and evaluate employment and earnings outcomes.
• Know outcomes of training programs
• how many people become and stay employed
• what they earn
• help job seekers decide what training to pursue
• help programs continuously adjust to improve outcomes.
• NJ consumer report card

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OPENING DOORS
• Break down barriers
• Access to job-driven training and hiring for any
American who is willing to work
• Access to include supportive services and relevant
guidance.

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REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
• Coordinate American Job Centers with:
• Local employers
• Education and training providers
• Economic development agencies
• Other public and private entities
• Make the most of limited resources

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EARN AND LEARN
• Offer work-based learning opportunities with employers –
As training paths to employment.
• On-the-job training (OJT)
• Internships (paid is preferable!)
• Pre-apprenticeships and Registered Apprenticeships
(also volunteer opportunities in the community)

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STEPPING STONES
• Seamless progression from one educational stepping stone to
another (career pathways)
• Across work-based training and education, so individuals’ efforts
result in logical and sequential progress.
• Opportunity to progress in careers by obtaining new training
and credentials.

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ESMORES
ENGAGE EMPLOYERS
SMART CHOICES
MEASUREMENT MATTERS
OPENING DOORS
REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
EARN AND LEARN
STEPPING STONES

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Why Should Workforce Development
matter to Economic Developers?
Workforce development is the number
one reason that businesses now choose
their location, surpassing:
• tax incentives
• low cost of business
• Transportation
• and even quality of life!

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What’s the workforce worth in cold hard cash?
$ Total cash in the world is about 45 T
$ Total assets in the world about 500T(not including human capital)
$ US wealth – + = 58T
+ + = 118T
US-4.5 % of world’s population, 12% of the hard assets wealth
By the way, US debt is 16T…one fourth of all physical assets.
About $50,000 per every man, woman and child in the US)

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Workforce Development:
Coordination of skills
development initiatives that
prepare individuals for current and
future occupations, giving
businesses the human capital
necessary to meet demand.
Economic Development:
Implementation of business
development and quality of
life policies that influence the
growth and restructuring of a
region to improve its overall
economic well-being.
Definitions

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Workforce Development
1. Job Development (who has jobs)
2. Collaborative
3. Federally funded
4. Attempts to be a system
5. Employer services related to acquiring
employees (job postings, screening, OJT, etc.)
6. Jobseeker services (Eligibility/Resumes)
7. Coordination of education providers
8. Youth Support
9. Coordination of social services supports
10. Holistic support system
Economic Development
1. Job Creation (make jobs)
2. Compete locally/regionally
3. Locally and state funded
4. Not a system
5. Business recruitment/retention services such
as Tax Incentives, Location Hunting
6. Infrastructure/transportation support
7. Business development support
8. Community Development support
9. Bottom-Line $$$
10. Quality of Life (e.g.. Parks)
Comparisons

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Ten Steps to Aligning Workforce Development
and Economic Development
1. Evaluate local economic/workforce strengths and weaknesses.
2. Evaluate community’s place in the broader regional economy.
3. Evaluate community’s economic development and workforce development vision and goals.
4. Evaluate community’s strategy to attain its goals.
5. Evaluate connections between economic development, workforce development and other local
policies.
6. Evaluate the regulatory environment.
7. Evaluate local economic development and workforce stakeholders and partners.
8. Evaluate the needs of your local business community.
9. Help create an environment that supports the start-up, growth and expansion of local businesses.
10. Evaluate community’s economic development and workforce development message.
Inspired by a report from National League of Cities and IEDC: “The Role of Local Elected Officials in Economic Development. 10 things
you should know.”

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• 3033 counties nationally, and 285 cities with more than 100,000 people
• 380 EDD Regions, 568 WIB regions
• Multiple economic development partners (county, city, state, regional,
private, public etc.) who are competing with one another
• Some regions have no active economic development planning
• Workforce development seen as service provider, (job seeker focused)
• Workforce development - “new kid on the block”
Coordinating…
no one said this was going to be easy!

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• Dynamic Environment business cycles impact amount of capital companies can invest in expansion/growth (ie tax revenue to
fund eco dev), the public workforce system can be limited in investments it can make (Incumbent worker training in good economic
times/OJT in bad economic times).
• Forecasting is an inexact science
• Conflicting priorities (Globalization/Buy American)
• Economic Gardening vs. Recruitment
• Infrastructure support/growth vs. tax base (new schools, new neighborhoods, more traffic, etc)
• Business vs. environmental/quality of life
• Business vs. sustainable wages
25% of jobs in the US pay below the poverty line,(less than $23,000 yr for family of 4)
50% of the jobs in the US pay less than $34,000 a year
From Economic Policy Institute
Goal Setting Challenges

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Prioritizing the most important asset:
WORKFORCE!
• Career awareness through education
• Lifelong career planning/pathways
• Lifelong preparation and training
• Retention (of businesses and talent)
• Succession planning
• Employer outreach (Sector and Cluster Strategies)
• Goal setting
• Marketing
• Grant writing
• CEDS planning
• Entrepreneurship Support
• Community volunteering activities
Finding the
Synergies!

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How
Camoin
Helps
Provides
research
services to
guide decision-
making
Facilitates goal-
setting
Develops
Action Plans
Evaluates
progress
Convenes the
right parties at
the right times

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Presentation by:
Colleen LaRose
Founder & CEO | North East Regional Employment &
Training Assoc.
Workforce Development Specialist | Camoin Associates
For questions or comments, please contact:
Colleen LaRose
Camoin Associates & NERETA
E-mail: colleen@nereta.org
Phone: 908-995-7718
Website: www.nereta.org
Twitter: @neretaorg
For more information about Camoin Associates:
Visit our blog for information about upcoming webinars:
http://www.camoinassociates.com/blog/
Visit our website: www.camoinassociates.com
Follow us on Twitter: @camoinassociate
Find us on Facebook

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Presentation by:
Colleen LaRose
Founder & CEO | North East Regional Employment & Training Assoc.
Workforce Development Specialist | Camoin Associates
For questions or comments, please
contact:
Colleen LaRose
Camoin Associates & NERETA
E-mail: colleen@nereta.org
Phone: 908-995-7718
Website: www.nereta.org
Twitter: @neretaorg
For more information about Camoin
Associates:
Visit our blog for information about upcoming
webinars: http://www.camoinassociates.com/blog/
Visit our website: www.camoinassociates.com
Follow us on Twitter: @camoinassociate
Find us on Facebook