Last week, NEFI joined the Jobs and Careers Coalition (JCC) and other business-focused organizations in a letter to House and Senate leaders requesting the reauthorization of the Workforce Opportunity and Innovation Act (WIOA) and that they use last year’s H.R. 6655, A Stronger Workforce for America Act, as the template for reauthorizing and reforming the nation’s public workforce system.

The letter stated:

“The past few years have been a turbulent economic time, but one thing has remained constant for our industries. Technological change is unstoppable, and it is transforming the American workplace, driving increased demand for skilled technical workers. The upshot for our businesses: persistent skills mismatches that hinder our ability to meet the needs of our customers or grow the economy. 

The employers represented by our coalition saw H.R. 6655 as an important step forward to improve the effectiveness of the public workforce system, drive increased participation by employers, create opportunities for workers, and strengthen the U.S. economy.”

Some of the most promising provisions of H.S. 6655 include:

• The 50-percent training requirement

• The industry partnership development fund

• The critical industries skills fund

• The option for expanded incumbent-worker training

• The demonstration grants designed to spur innovation

• The new employer performance metric

• Using outcomes metrics to raise the bar for fundable training providers

For more information, please contact Jim Collura at jim.collura@nefi.com or (202) 441-8857.