Strengthening Workplace Education Program Policies to Enable Low-Wage Workers’ Advancement

Arguing that workplace education programs “can improve workers’ job performance by improving their workplace literacy and numeracy skills using work-related instruction and materials,” the author described how some states use resources such as WIA Title I and II funding, state discretionary funding, and unemployment insurance surcharges to operate workplace education programs and support employers who invest in workers with low skills (p.4). She found that “while some of these states experienced challenges getting employers and providers to apply for the funding, workplace education remains an important strategy for developing the skills of low-wage workers” (p.11). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

The authors highlighted the following examples of state workplace education programs: • New Jersey promotes literacy development in the workplace through its Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills (SWFBS), which provides “Literacy Skills Grants” to employers or consortia of employers, employer and labor organizations, and community-based organizations. Training can include ESL, basic reading, math, writing, and a range of computer skills. The state requires a 50 percent match to ensure employer commitment to the training. • The authors identified two interesting aspects of Massachusetts' Learn at Work program, which provides workers with the basic skills required in high wage/high demand occupations while helping them contribute to business productivity. First, “basic skills, ESL, and computer literacy must be contextualized to the workplace. Furthermore, funds can be used to develop new curriculum to ensure the needs of employers and workers are addressed. To promote participant persistence and completion of classes, the coordination of support services is an allowable expense” (p.7). • The California Employment and Training Panel (ETP), a statewide business-labor training and economic development program, funds training for “frontline workers with multiple barriers to employment, such as those moving from welfare to work or living in areas of high unemployment” (p.8). In order to meet the growing demand in industries such as health care, the state emphasizes the use of Career and Technical Education and related programs. (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2011
• Author(s): Clymer, Carol
• Organizational Author(s): Working Poor Families Project
• Funding Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ford Foundation, Joyce Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
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• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies