The US Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration announces the availability of approximately $10 million in grant funds under the TBL Initiative, to be awarded through a competitive process. The purpose of the Initiative is to expand access to training, resulting in an increased number of workers trained, particularly in high-growth, high-demand occupations, and to meet the needs of industry for skilled employees.
This report highlights the results of a study of Career Academies
–a popular
high school program that combines academics with career development
opportunities. Eight-year findings show that the programs produced
sustained employment and earnings gains, particularly among young men.
Career Academy participants were also more likely to be living
independently with children and a spouse or a partner.
The Earth Times reports that National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) has awarded $500,000 in grants to the State of Pennsylvania and ten philanthropic partners. NFWS is a national initiative to support workforce solutions that both increase opportunities for lower-skilled workers and increase economic competitiveness. The NFWS grant will be used in Pennsylvania to help workers develop careers in industries facing critical shortages of workers.
In this Alternet.org piece, Sarah Sattlemeyer and Margy Waller of the Mobility Agenda argue that the workplace has not kept up with the changing lifestyles of Americans since the 1950s. They call for more policies that enable a work-life balance, such as guaranteed paid sick days. The authors point out that only 39 percent of low-wage jobs offer sick days, compared to 79 percent of higher-wage jobs.
In a report presented to Congress, the United States Government Accountability Office examined collaborative efforts between community colleges and one-stop centers. The report focused on how these collaborations work, what factors improve or weaken them, and the Departments of Labor and Education's roles in encouraging these collaborations.
This report addresses the need of workforce intermediaries (organizations that match the needs of low-skilled workers seeking jobs with the needs of employers seeking workers) to secure funding both for the services they provide and for their core funding. The report describes a number of strategies, including bond financing, unemployment insurance and tuition-based strategies, and describes the advantages of each as well as the potential obstacles to implementation.
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