Leveraging Community Colleges in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: A Blueprint for…

“In this paper, [the authors] discuss the state and local structures of [the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act] (WIOA), including sector partnerships, career pathways, workforce development boards, set-aside funds, and individual training accounts. Throughout, [they] highlight how community colleges can be integrated as key players in WIOA-mandated governance structures and programmatic initiatives to encourage fruitful connections between job-seekers and employers” (p.2).

The authors begin with an overview of the origins and structure of WIOA, stating that the law “seeks to bridge the needs of job-seekers and employers through available training and other support measures” (p.3).

They suggest that “[t]he open-access mission, low cost, and local governance of community colleges lends them the accessibility, experience and flexibility to offer a wide range of educational opportunities attuned to local job seekers’ needs” (p.3-4).

The rest of the paper is structured around four subject areas that each relate to the four recommendations synthesized here:

1. “Creating Career Pathways through Local Sector Partnerships” (p.5).

2. “Using the Capacity of Community Colleges to Meet Individual Job Training Needs” (p.7).

3. “Leveraging Set-Aside Funds to Meet State-Specific Needs” (p.9).

4. “Community College Voices at the State Level” (p.11).

(Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

Full publication title: Leveraging Community Colleges in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: A Blueprint for State Policymakers

“The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 offers multiple opportunities to align the workforce development efforts of [individuals and employers] through structural measures and targeted support….[The authors] offer four key ways [community colleges] can be leveraged in WIOA to create a more effective and cohesive system: 1. State and local Workforce Development Boards (WDBs) can build sector partnerships that leverage community colleges and other education and training providers to develop career pathways that align workforce supply and demand. WIOA emphasizes the value of recognized postsecondary credentials, and the attention given to career pathways in the act provides a way for community colleges to contribute to the growth of skilled and credentialed workers in their local areas. 2. Community colleges designated as an Eligible Training Provider…can offer programs that qualify for WIOA support. Eligible job-seekers can defray the cost of participating in these programs using Individual Training Accounts (ITAs). Students in accredited programs may be able to combine ITAs with federal student aid, maximizing support as they gain new skills or retrain for a new field of work. 3. Governors can use the state set-aside fund to align job-seekers’ need for employment and local employers’ need for skilled workers, leveraging the training capacity of local community colleges to prepare workers for employment in growing fields in their region. 4. State policymakers should engage community college leaders at the state level to contribute to the development and implementation of the state economic development plan. This can be accomplished through the inclusion of community college representatives on the state WDB and through their input on the state economic development plan” (ES1-2). (Abstractor: Author)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2016
• Author(s): Campbell, Colleen and Love, Ivy.
• Organizational Author(s): Education Commission of the States
• Funding Source: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Justin Venneri
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies