This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
From labor disputes cases to labor and employment publications, for your research, you’ll find solutions on Bloomberg Law®. Protect your clients by developing strategies based on Litigation...
Are federal dollars well spent on Job Corps and other training programs? The Labor Department needs to sharpen its data to help answer that question, training advocates told a House appropriations subcommittee April 4.
The suggestion comes as lawmakers are reviewing such programs amid the Trump administration’s proposal for budget cuts. Lawmakers are also seeking ways to help bridge skills gaps and respond to the needs of the nation’s evolving workforce.
The suggestion for stronger DOL data isn’t new, but it could be more important as the Trump administration calls for belt-tightening.
Allocating funding and gauging existing programs requires “greater need for labor data” and “good labor skills data,” Zoë Baird, CEO and president of the Markle Foundation, told the lawmakers.
The DOL is attempting to improve data collection in existing programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which sets data standards to gauge performance.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) insisted during the hearing that many existing workforce development programs and related support services should remain intact.
“This subcommittee can accept these cuts or not, but the testimony we are hearing really demonstrates that the budget we are seeing, at least in the skinny budget, is really going to take us in the wrong direction if we are concerned about vocational training, job training and helping people lift themselves out of poverty and into the middle class,” she said.
Subcommittee chairman Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) cautioned the panel that proposed cuts aren’t final.
“I don’t think President Obama’s budget proposal ever got a single favorable vote on the floor,” he said. “I suspect a proposal is a long way from reality, but we will see because we are still into that process.”
The April 4 subcommittee hearing came the same day the DOL announced the availability of $5.7 million in grants to aid its Workforce Data Quality Initiative. The initiative is intended to promote market-relevant education and workforce data on the state level.
The hearing also came the day the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, spoke about the need for more apprenticeship programs during a CEO town hall meeting at the White House.
The importance of such programs has peppered conversations among policymakers and company executives in Washington in recent weeks. DOL secretary-designate Alexander Acosta touted the importance of job training programs during his Senate confirmation hearing in March.
Job training advocates gave the subcommittee a list of suggestions of what programs they believe are effective for job training. Apprenticeships and workforce centers rank high on the list.
“What many people have already said is registered apprenticeship would be near the top of the list, and there’s a lot of good evidence on that,” said Demetra Smith Nightingale, an institute fellow at the Urban Institute. “There’s also good evidence on YouthBuild, and there’s good evidence on continuing to invest in Job Corps. So I think all of those provide opportunities for combining skills, education and support services, which we think are critical ingredients.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Tyrone Richardson in Washington at trichardson@bna.com
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peggy Aulino at maulino@bna.com; Terence Hyland at thyland@bna.com; Christopher Opfer at copfer@bna.com
Copyright © 2017 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
All Bloomberg BNA treatises are available on standing order, which ensures you will always receive the most current edition of the book or supplement of the title you have ordered from Bloomberg BNA’s book division. As soon as a new supplement or edition is published (usually annually) for a title you’ve previously purchased and requested to be placed on standing order, we’ll ship it to you to review for 30 days without any obligation. During this period, you can either (a) honor the invoice and receive a 5% discount (in addition to any other discounts you may qualify for) off the then-current price of the update, plus shipping and handling or (b) return the book(s), in which case, your invoice will be cancelled upon receipt of the book(s). Call us for a prepaid UPS label for your return. It’s as simple and easy as that. Most importantly, standing orders mean you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you’re relying on. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.960.1220 or by sending an email to books@bna.com.
Put me on standing order at a 5% discount off list price of all future updates, in addition to any other discounts I may quality for. (Returnable within 30 days.)
Notify me when updates are available (No standing order will be created).
This Bloomberg BNA report is available on standing order, which ensures you will all receive the latest edition. This report is updated annually and we will send you the latest edition once it has been published. By signing up for standing order you will never have to worry about the timeliness of the information you need. And, you may discontinue standing orders at any time by contacting us at 1.800.372.1033, option 5, or by sending us an email to research@bna.com.
Put me on standing order
Notify me when new releases are available (no standing order will be created)