WIA Fact of the Day, Employment & Training Administration (ETA)

March 18, 2005

Question:

How does the President's Job Training Reform Proposal, as part of WIA reauthorization, provide enhanced services to veterans?

Answer:

President Bush believes it is absolutely essential that the best and most comprehensive job training programs are available to all veterans. One way to ensure veterans receive job training and employment services is through WIA Plus Consolidated State Grants.

WIA Plus will better meet the needs of our nation's veterans by eliminating stove-piped job training programs scattered across federal, state and local agencies. These programs add unnecessary administrative and infrastructure costs which consume valuable resources that could be devoted to training veterans to get good jobs with good pay. Consolidating funding streams will allow more veterans to be served with the funding available.

WIA Plus allows states and localities to create the workforce investment system that best meets the needs of their economies and specific populations. The WIA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs and Employment Services will form the base of the consolidated program. In addition, states will have the option of consolidating certain other Federal job training and employment programs that are currently administered by the Departments of Labor, Education and Agriculture, including the Local Veteran Employment Representative (LVER) and Disabled Veteran Outreach (DVOP) Programs.

Too often, targeted populations such as veterans are pushed solely toward single points of service delivery that specialize in services to that population. While specialized services are valuable, allowing Governors to consolidate Veterans Employment Programs will lead to more effective employment and training services for veterans. Every veteran will have the opportunity to better access the full array of services available through the One-Stop system in addition to specialized services.

Enhanced, integrated service delivery will equal better jobs for veterans and better employment outcomes than can be achieved by a single program. Today, the goal for employment of veterans in the specialized veterans programs is that less than two-thirds of program participants will gain employment. The actual entered employment rate for employment and training programs under WIA is significantly higher - 81% for the Dislocated Worker Program, with a retention rate of 89.2%. The President's goal is that every veteran that receives services will have a positive employment outcome.

Military and veterans' spouses will also benefit from expanded accessibility and the integrated approach to employment and training services enabled by WIA Plus.

In recognition for their service to our country, veterans currently receive priority of service in all DOL-funded employment and training programs. Under WIA Plus, priority of service will be expanded to any of the programs included in the consolidated grant, thus ensuring greater accessibility to services delivered through the workforce investment system for veterans.

WIA Plus provides important safeguards that ensure continued levels of service for targeted populations such as veterans. At a minimum, states would be required to serve the same numbers of veterans under WIA Plus as they did previously. Those needing specialized services from the LVER and DVOP programs will continue to receive them.

Businesses nationwide have identified veterans as a much sought after labor pool in today's economy. They possess important transferable occupational skills as well as a strong work ethic. WIA Plus will provide veterans with greater access to the businesses that want and need them and will increase their potential for successful employment outcomes and opportunities for career growth.

The benefits of the President's Job Training Reform Proposal to veterans are clear:

They would become part of the customer base of the workforce development system most directly connected to and accessed by employers;
They would have access to the full array of educational and job training services, employment, and supportive services available from ALL consolidated funding streams;
They would be assured of continued levels of service and the potential for increased numbers served with freed up resources;
They would benefit from additional resources for job training, which is critical in an economy where 80% of the fastest growing jobs require post secondary education;
In a demand-driven, fully integrated workforce system, they will have opportunities to leverage their military skills and access good jobs and career pathways in high growth, high demand industries.

For more information on the President’s Job Training Reform Proposal, please visit www.doleta.gov. If you have specific questions regarding the Proposal, please e-mail them to WIAreform.questions@dol.gov.