Improving Skills Through America’s Workforce Development System

This detailed report by the American Enterprise Institute reviews the skills gap in the labor market today and underlines the inefficiencies in coordination between the U.S. Department of Labor and programs seeking to train workers. Because there are more jobs for middle-skill workers than there are people to fill them, the Federal Government created programs like the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to upskill workers into these positions for the benefit of the workers and the economy. The report explains ways to improve workforce development initiatives by clarifying the program to grantees, improving coordination between college financial aid officers and American Job Center caseworkers, making requirements for data collection and reporting more flexible and easier to track, finding other sources of state and federal funding for WIOA beneficiaries, partnering with private businesses to offer training, and allowing training providers to transfer their credentials between states. These initiatives will streamline the workforce development process and allow for fewer inefficiencies and higher quality training.