This scan describes recent and long-term economic and policy developments with relevance for the public workforce system. It focuses primarily on topics and trends related to the changing world of work and their implications for the public workforce system. Topics include broad economic trends and recent changes in employment and wages; changes to industries and occupations due to technology, automation, and the rise of the gig economy; growth in remote workforce system services; and Federal policy trends related to the public workforce system.

This set of resources identifies toolkits, tip sheets, webcasts, and other guidance on how to address partnerships for specific youth populations under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. These resources cover several topics, such as employer engagement, serving homeless and runaway youth, collaborative opportunities for vocational rehabilitation, serving youth in foster care or with juvenile records, rural youth, and partnerships with TANF.

These 2020 National Indian and Native American Employment and Training Conference Western Regional Peer-to-Peer Training Conference presentations cover several areas which are relevant to tribal workforce development programs and operations. Topics included: DOL ETA 9130 Reports; Enhancing Participant Outcome under WIOA Performance Indicators; Stackable Credentials; SMART Training; Tribal Workforce Development, Self-Determination, Innovation, Policy Recommendations; and Your Money, Your Goals: New Financial Empowerment Tools for Workforce Development. The presentations also include profiles of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Indian and Native American Programs and the Cook Inlet Tribal Council.

This toolkit offers steps on how the juvenile justice and workforce development systems can collaborate to serve youth with justice involvement. The toolkit includes a review of evidence-based practices in youth workforce development, an examination of how the public workforce system is funded under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), examples of how to utilize WIOA-funded services for better outcomes for youth with justice involvement, and steps that could be taken to form interagency partnerships between the juvenile justice and workforce development systems.

This brief summarizes potential federal funding sources and programs that can be used to address barriers facing young parents and families, such as unemployment, disruption to education, financial instability, and lack of child care access, parenting experience, or family supports. Programs listed include, but are not limited to, TANF, SNAP, SSBG, Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program, Child Care Development Block Grant, WIOA, and the Family First Prevention Services Act Prevention Funds.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will host a webinar on January 8, 2021 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET which will discuss their process for exploring vendor capacity to develop a state level holistic case management system across Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) partner programs. WIOA requires that American Job Center (AJC) partners support aligning technology and data systems to improve service delivery. Stakeholders, including workforce practitioners, local and state government representatives, ETA program operations professionals, and information technology professionals from AJC partners, are invited to participate in the discussion and ask questions. Presenters will include the Administrator and the Enterprise Program Advisor of the Office of Workforce Investment at the ETA.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will host a webinar on December 14, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET which will cover the agency’s vision for implementation of the Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 07-20. The TEGL describes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requirement that individuals who are basic skills deficient, low-income, or public assistance recipients must receive priority when receiving individualized career services training under the WIOA Adult program. ETA staff will highlight the requirements in TEGL 07-20, ETA’s method of monitoring these requirements using performance data, and how other resources can be leveraged to support WIOA adult priority populations.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) youth program includes financial literacy education as one of 14 program elements. This set of resources provides tools and guides for financial literacy education as well as pertinent research reports and curriculum. The resources cover creating budgets; setting up checking and saving accounts; managing spending, credit, and debt; understanding credit reports and credit scores; and protecting against identify theft.

The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) offers a pre-recorded webinar series to provide an overview and introduction to workforce development for new professionals in the field. Curriculum components include: Workforce History; From WIA to WIOA; Policy Layers – How They Work Together and The Importance of Each; Programs and Expected Outcomes; What is LMI?; Working with Business Services; Communication; and Extreme Customer Service. All courses include quizzes and exams, and passing scores are required to attain a Certificate of Completion. Coursework can be accessed and completed at any time between August 17 and September 11. Registration and tuition fees for participating in the Virtual Academy apply to NAWDP members and non-members.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration manages the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) program, which provides grants to states to assist individuals receiving unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. This set of resources provides updated information on operations, performance reporting, and guidance and tools for compliance with evidence-based requirements of the RESEA program. The resources are intended to support RESEA grantees in meeting the program’s four intended purposes: reduce UI duration through improved employment outcomes; strengthen UI program integrity; promote alignment with the vision of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA); and establish RESEA as an entry point to other workforce system partners.