| Public
Policy
The State of Workplace Education in the States: A Policy
Perspective
History
of Public Policy in Work-based Learning and Workplace Literacy Programs
| The
State of Workplace Education in the States: A Policy Perspective |
| |
|
History of Public Policy in Work-based
Learning and Workplace Literacy Programs
Here is a brief overview of key public policy initiatives that
have had an impact upon work-based learning and workplace literacy
programs. This is excerpted from Doris Ivy’s excellent study
titled: Workplace Literacy: Literature Review, Trends, & Models
(California Distance Learning Project, Sacramento County Office
of Education, September 1999, Revised June 2002).
Early 1900s to 1960s |
During this period,
both labor unions and employers provided workplace literacy.
Unions were interested in providing their members with
opportunities for improving themselves and protecting
their jobs. Employers-sponsored training depended, to
a great degree, on the needs of businesses to find individuals
to fill positions.
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Union-Sponsored Skill Training |
In the early 1900s,
labor unions with large immigrant began offering night
classes in English and citizenship in New York City. They
employed teachers from the New York City schools and their
own staffs, to provide English as a Second Language (ESL)
classes for their members. Workers attended to become
citizens and to advocate for the eight-hour day, labor's
right to strike, and laws strengthening safety conditions
in the workplace. While ESL was the core of the programs,
courses in public speaking, economics, literature, history,
and civics were also provided. These classes were integrated
with the overall union agenda of meeting the practical
needs of members to know English so they could participate
in developing the union and protect themselves in the
workplace. (Rosenblum, 1996)
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Employer-Sponsored Skill Training |
Employer-sponsored skill
training (ESST) has been influenced over the years by
such things as social, economic, political, and technological
changes. The amount of ESST available to employees is
influenced to a great degree by the nation's economy.
During World War I, workers were needed to support the
war effort and training was increased to meet the need.
The US Congress passed the Smith-Hughes Act in 1917 that
provided an annual amount for vocational education for
agriculture, home economics, industry, and teacher training.
When the war was over, the economy flourished, and ESST
opportunities declined. Employers had little trouble finding
skilled workers and had little need to do training. Workers
changed employment or acquired training on their own to
advance.
The Depression of the 1930s continued to be a time of
little ESST, because skilled workers could be hired from
the unemployed. The government initiated such public works
projects as The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National
Youth Administration to provide job training for students
and young adults. The Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training
was established in 1934. The George-Elzey Act and the
George-Deem Act expanded spending for vocational education
in the middle of the 1930s.
World War II drastically changed the need for ESST. Large
numbers of the nonworking population were employed to
fill the positions normally held by the men who were away
fighting the war. The name "Rosie the Riveter"
became synonymous with thousands of women who took defense
industry jobs. The government increased spending for vocational
training with the Vocational Education for National Defense
Act and the George-Barden Act. The Job Instructor Training
Program (JIT) initiated on-the-job training of new employees
by supervisors. Through JIT, supervisors investigated
job training techniques and human relations methods. JIT
was a major factor in industry developing on-the-job training.
Many thought that the end of the war would put a stop
to ESST, but interest in job training by employers, unions,
and the government continued. Unions offered training
opportunities to improve their member's chances for job
advancement, maintain their craft's standards, and control
entrance to the trade and labor supply. (Wenig, 1983 p16)
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Acts of Congress that applied
to training of workers after World War II until the 1960s
include: |
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The
G.I. Bill of Rights (Servicemen's Readjustment Act of
1944 & The Area Redevelopment Act of 1961(P.L. 87-27)
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Both addressed the chronic
unemployment in some parts of the country.
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The
Trade Expansion Act of 1962 |
Provided retraining
and benefits for workers who lost their jobs due to export
competition.
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The
Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA) of 1962 (P.L.
87-415) |
MDTA was the first
significant federal act of the 1960s relating to vocational
training. It recognized the need for more and better trained
personnel in many vital occupational categories. Section
101 of this Act states that even in periods of high unemployment,
many employment opportunities remain unfilled because
of the shortages of qualified personnel. The concern of
the Congress stemmed from a number of factors--automation
and other technological developments, foreign competition,
relocation of industry, and shifts in market demands--which
were considered responsible for rendering the skills of
many persons obsolete. The main purpose of the MDTA was
to require the federal government to develop information
and apply methods that would help in dealing with problems
of unemployment. (Wenig, 1983 p.17)
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The
Vocational Education Act of 1963 (VEA) |
VEA was the second
significant federal act of the 1960s addressing the need
for vocational training. The act focused on vocational
training and retraining for high school students, adults
who need to finish high school, and individuals with disabilities.
VEA funds could be used for instruction, facilities, staff
development, evaluation, development of teaching materials,
and administration. In later years, VEA became know as
the Carl Perkins Act. (West, 1995)
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The
Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-452) |
Provided opportunity
for education and training to combat poverty using the
programs established under MDTA. Under title II-B of the
act, the Adult Education Program was established in which
instruction in reading and writing English was an option.
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The Adult Education Act (Title II of the Workforce Investment Act, P.L. 105-220) |
The Adult Education Act (Title II of the Workforce Investment Act, P.L. 105-220) was enacted in 1966 as a part of the Great Society
programs of President Lyndon Johnson. Established to create
adult education programs that would: enable adults to
acquire the basic educational skills necessary for literate
functioning; provide adults with sufficient basic education
to enable them to benefit from job training and retraining
programs, and obtain and retain productive employment
so that they might more fully enjoy the benefits of citizenship;
and enable adults to continue their education to at least
the level of completion of secondary school. The AEA also
expanded the Economic Opportunity Act to allow services
to those with limited English speaking proficiency (ESL).
Over the years its focus has broadened to include "life-skills"
education aimed at improving adults’ abilities in
fulfilling their life roles as parents, citizens and workers.
(Moore & Stavrianos, 1994)
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The
Work Incentive Program 1967 (WIN) |
Established under P.L.
90-248 as the Social Security Amendment of 1967. It established
employability training for those receiving Aid to Families
with Dependent Children (AFDC).
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The
Government Employee's Training Act of 1968 (P.L. 85-507)
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Designed to improve
public service and retention of government workers.
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1970s |
The national interest
in competency-based adult education (CBAE) began in the
1970s. CBAE is defined as a performance-based process
leading to demonstrated mastery of basic and life skills
necessary for the individual to function proficiently
in society. (Parker and Taylor as quoted in Guide to Competency-Based
Education, 1986)
The workplace literacy movement in the 1970s was influenced
by Sticht's 1975 analysis of literacy requirements in
the military. The analysis found that using job-specific
materials improved work performance more than using general
academic materials. Later studies of literacy needs in
civilian jobs found that a significant amount of the time
in the workplace involves reading; that reading tasks
are often repetitive; and that literacy demands of school
are different from those in the workplace which often
do not prepare workers for employment (Mikulecky, 1982;
Mikulecky et al., 1987, Mikulecky & Diehl, 1980)
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Issues |
Training for limited
English speakers became a critical issue in the 1970s
when almost 200,000 Indochinese refugees arrived. This
influx forced the field to find ways to teach oral and
written language to learners who had been largely ignored
because of their small numbers (Holt, 1995).
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Trends |
Grognet notes that
the curricula of the 1970s and early 1980s, although purporting
to meet learner needs, were really reflective more of
the workplace than the workforce. Surveys and interviews
were conducted more often with employers, managers and
supervisors than with workers or coworkers. Very often,
the only employees who participated in needs analyses
were those deemed outstanding at their job. (Grognet,
1997)
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Acts of Congress
that applied to training of workers during the 1970s: |
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The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
(CETA) of 1973 |
Provided reimbursement
of CETA employee training costs to the private sector
by the Labor Department.
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The
Trade Act of 1974 |
Expanded the provisions
of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.
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1980s |
In the late 1970s to
early 1990s, there was a rise in workplace instructional
programs to improve workers' basic skills and English
language proficiency. The need for the English proficiency
programs became increasingly urgent due to large-scale
immigration primarily from Latin America and Asia. The
foreign-born population rose from 9.6 million in 1970
to 14.1 million in 1980 and to 19.8 million in 1990. (Gibson,
1999) Over 25 percent of these new arrivals settled in
California. These new residents were eager to become self-sufficient,
and the California government was seeking ways to ensure
that these individuals became productive contributors
to the economy.
In 1984 the California State Department of Education responded
to this need for workplace programs for immigrants by
publishing a report called Approaches to Employment Related
Training for Adults who are Limited-English Proficient
(ERTA-LEP). This report included four distinct approaches
(models) to employment related training for LEP adults
as a response to the huge immigrant population residing
in the state. Each of these approaches included an intensive
language instruction component. The approaches are called
the ESL Program Approach, the Vocational Program Approach,
the Work Experience Approach, and the Workplace Approach.
The ESL Program Approach consists of language instruction
focused on employment. Depending on the number of students
and their needs, the instruction may be general vocational
ESL or occupation-specific ESL. This approach can be instituted
in any adult education program or community-based organization.
(Kremer, [1984] p.13)
The Vocational Program Approach offers closely coordinated
instruction in vocational skills and specifically related
English. Students may be placed in regular vocational
classes with native speakers of English or in separate
skill classes set up for limited-English speakers. This
approach requires a close working relationship between
vocational and ESL staff. (ibid. p.14)
The Work Experience Approach combines experience in a
place of employment and in a classroom. The student is
placed in a public or private-sector workplace to obtain
on-the-job experience, but continues to receive more concentrated
Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) and vocational
instruction in the classroom. This approach requires extensive
cooperation from business and industry. (ibid. p.14)
The Workplace Approach is directed at the Limited English
Proficient (LEP) employees within a company or group of
companies in the same industry. The training is intended
to help employees adjust to working in an English-speaking
setting and to help them become more productive employees.
This approach may also be accompanied by training for
the managers and supervisors in how to improve communication
with LEP employees. (ibid. p.14)
At the same time as the development of the Approaches,
the VESL staff at La Puente Valley Adult Schools Refugee
Project, California compiled a list of the most common
language functions found in vocations. West discusses
these language functions and a guide for assessing the
needs of an industry or business for occupational-specific
VESL including using various sources of information regarding
the industry such as reference books on job descriptions,
vocational education materials, job site observations,
employee observation, and vocational instructors. After
this research is complete, the information is then organized
into content areas (such as equipment, safety, measurement,
processes, and quality control) and language requirements
(such as vocabulary, situations, functions, structures,
and register). Syllabus design comes from a logical analysis
of the job. (West, 1984)
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Issues |
Starting in the 1980s,
workplace literacy came to national prominence because
America was perceived as losing its “competitive
edge.” (Imel & Kerka, 1992) It was easy to place
the responsibility for the economic situation on workers
and schools and not on all the other factors such as changes
in management philosophy, the economy, the sending of
US jobs overseas, or the increased dependence on technology.
The lack of the necessary skills was referred to as the
cost of illiteracy.
Workplace literacy was viewed as a solution to this problem.
Programs were developed to raise the basic skills of employees
so they could perform their jobs more effectively. This
assumption about workplace literacy or adult illiteracy
dehumanized workers by the very language used to describe
it. It discounted the skills and knowledge that workers
brought with them to the workplace. Hull describes it
as underestimating and devaluing human potential. Workers
do not want to attend classes that identify them as deficient.
Imel and Kerka in their 1992 study identify other issues
involving program development and implementation. One
of the issues includes the goals or reasons for providing
workplace instruction. This issue includes what should
be taught and who decides what is included in the instruction.
Is the goal narrowly defined to provide instruction just
to teach skills needed for a specific task or more broadly
based to improve the worker's basic knowledge? Should
workers be involved in deciding what is included in the
curriculum?
Another issue is the design and method of delivering the
curriculum. What instructional approaches should be used?
Should the focus be on basic skills instruction or on
specific skills for a particular task? Since literacy
skills learned in the classroom with traditional materials
do not transfer to the literacy skills needed in the workplace
(Sticht, 1982) (Mikulecky, 1993), what kinds of materials
should be used? What kind of teaching techniques should
be used? Should instruction include materials delivered
by technological means?
Should employers provide time during the workday, or should
employees be expected to attend classes on their own time?
A related issue is whether incentives should be given
for completing training.
Other issues include what kinds of assessment and evaluation
should be administered to determine the effectiveness
of the program and improve future instruction? Should
instructors be workplace employees, or traditional adult
educators? If adult educators deliver instruction, how
do they collaborate with the business to develop appropriate
materials? Should peers be used as tutors?
Finally, who is responsible for providing the resources
needed to develop programs? How can small companies provide
adequate programs? Should the government provide funding?
Should employees pay for their own training?
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Trends |
Around 1986, the literature
indicates that workplace educators were advocating a switch
to a functional context approach. The functional context
approach focuses on analyzing the gaps between a workplace’s
literacy requirements and the abilities of its work force.
In this approach, a curriculum was developed to fill in
the gaps, usually through a top-down process with decisions
made primarily by higher-level educational experts. (Jurmo,
1993)
From 1988 through 1994, the U.S. Department of Education's
National Workplace Literacy Program (NWLP) funded more
than 300 basic skills programs, 49% of which offered some
ESL instruction (Burt & Saccomano, 1995)
During the same time period, employers increasingly included
workers in the development of workplace learning. Groget
states that there was a new emphasis in curriculum design
and classroom methodology in the field of adult instruction.
This was a more humanistic trend, calling for the learner
to be an active creator, not a passive participant in
the learning process. The curriculum became more of a
flexible framework, where teachers and learners together
identified and created the crucial ingredients that empower
learners, freeing them to learn and grow. Imel notes this
trend as a call for a different interpretation of contextualized
learning, one that is more participatory in nature and
supports the move toward high performance organizations.
It is argued that such an approach ensures greater relevance
for and buy-in by all stakeholders, while reinforcing
the critical thinking and teamwork required to transform
workplaces into high-performance, continuous improvement
organizations.
Other trends of the 1980s include an increase in the field
of literature about program development, an increase in
government-funded projects, and an increase in available
instructional materials although quality varies greatly.
Spikes lists several implications of these trends for
graduate preparation in the field of adult and continuing
education. Adult educators should work in corporate settings;
understand the issues in workplace literacy; broaden their
preparation through interdisciplinary study; understand
the impact of technology on the workplace; participate
in meaningful internships; and contribute to the field
of HRD.
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Acts of Congress
that applied to training of workers during the 1980s: |
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The
Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984 |
One of its primary
purposes was to assure LEP persons access to quality vocational
programs. The Act explicitly states that LEP persons are
to be actively sought and given the opportunity to enroll
in any occupational area and type of vocational program,
including occupational-specific courses, cooperative education,
and apprenticeship training.
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U.S.
Department of Education's National Workplace Literacy
Program (NWLP) 1988-1994 |
Congress created the
National Workplace Literacy Program (NWLP) in response
to the concerns that an increasing number of American
workers lacked the skills to compete in the world marketplace.
Starting in 1988, the NWLP provided grants to fund local
projects that were operated by partnerships of business,
labor, and educational organizations.
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1990s |
In 1990 in a continuing
effort to contextualize training for workplace literacy,
Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole formed the Secretary's
Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). The
Mission for SCANS was to "define the necessary
functional and enabling skills which society must provide
to every child by the age of sixteen." The Mission
Statement for SCANS went on to say, "We believe
that these skills are best learned in context and especially
in the context of realistic workplace problems. Thus
the teaching of functional skills will require the most
radical change in educational content since the beginning
of this century."
In June 1991, the SCANS report, What Work Requires of
Schools, was released. It outlined the basic skills
that employers expect employees to possess when they
come to the job. These skills looked very different
from traditional reading, writing, and arithmetic. The
report indicated that workers also need communication
and teamwork skills, computer skills, and problem solving
ability. The SCANS message was that “We believe,
after examining the findings of cognitive science, that
the most effective way of learning skills is “in
context: placing learning objectives within a real environment
rather than insisting that students first learn in the
abstract what they will be expected to apply.”
(United States Department of Labor, 1991)
In 1993, California’s State Department of Education
addressed workplace learning needs with the state’s
Workplace Learning Initiative. The purpose of the Initiative
was to help key stakeholders respond to workplace learning
needs with high quality instructional programs for employees
with a focus on programs where the objectives related
to applied basic literacy skills that improved the worker’s
ability to function in today’s work environment.
(Workplace Learning Provider’s Manual, 1993)
Another 1990s initiative, Equipped for the Future, (EFF)
is a five-year project aimed at improving the adult
literacy and life-long learning system so that every
adult has the opportunity to build the knowledge, skills,
and abilities needed to fulfill real-world responsibilities
as a parent, citizen, and worker. EFF is a customer-driven,
standards-based reform process. (Stein 1997) EFF began
by asking adult learners the following question: "What
is it that adults need to know and be able to do in
order to be literate, compete in the global economy,
and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship?"
(ibid) The National Institute for Literacy launched
EFF in 1993 in response to a congressional mandate to
measure America's progress toward National Education
Goal 6:
By the year 2000, every adult American will be literate
and possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete
in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities
of citizenship.
The desired result of the EFF initiative is a set of
consumer-driven literacy content standards that will
provide a framework for the specific skills and knowledge
adults need to acquire. EFF will result in curriculum,
assessment, and instruction innovations in adult literacy
and basic skills programs.
The National Skills Standards Board (NSSB) was created
in 1994 because of the concern that the workforce in
the United States was not remaining competitive in the
global economy. The mission of the Standards Board is
to encourage the creation and adoption of a national
system of skills standards. Skills standards are the
performance specifications that identify the knowledge,
skills, and abilities an individual needs to succeed
in the workplace. They are critical to improving the
skills of employees, will raise standards of living,
and will improve the competitiveness of the U.S. economy.
(National Skills Standards Board 1998)
As of August 1999, twenty-two projects have been completed
in the following industrial clusters:
- Agriculture, Forestry,
and Fishing Public Administration, Legal and Protective
Services
- Business and
Administrative Services Restaurants, Lodging, Hospitality
and Tourism, and Amusement and Recreation
- Construction
Retail Trade, Wholesale Trade, Real Estate and Personal
Services
- Education and
Training Scientific and Technical Services
- Finance and Insurance
Telecommunications, Computers, Arts and Entertainment,
and Information
- Health and Human
Services Transportation
- Manufacturing,
Installation and Repair Utilities and Environmental
and Waste Management
- Mining
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Issues |
Many of the issues of
the past continue to be of concern in the 1990s including
contextual learning, empowerment of workers, funding for
training, and making training accessible.
A new issue came about when the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was passed in
1996. A new philosophy of "work first" requires
welfare recipients to find a job no matter how little
it pays. State welfare policies place little importance
on learning new math and reading skills, so recipients
may not get the education and training necessary to move
into higher paying jobs that lift their families out of
poverty. The challenge will be to help working parents
acquire the skills they need to find better paying work
while juggling the demands of work and family. (Levenson,
1999)
This issue needs to be considered in light of a few facts.
Forty two percent of welfare recipients are high school
dropouts. Over ninety percent of welfare parents are single
mothers, and the typical welfare family is a single mother
with two children. Barriers such as a lack of childcare,
healthcare, and transportation make it difficult for them
to acquire training for better jobs.
Kerka in her paper, Women, Work, and Literacy, describes
two types of barriers that may face workers, particularly
women, as internal and external.
Among the internal barriers are low self-esteem, including
past unhappy encounters with schooling, lack of family
support for education, and lack of positive role models;
self-doubt about one's ability to learn, perhaps exacerbated
by actual learning disabilities such as dyslexia; powerlessness,
including denial of existing barriers and inability to
cope with institutions affecting one's life; and guilt
about taking time from their families for self-improvement.
External barriers may include: environmental instability
(housing problems, domestic and community violence, health
and financial difficulties); need for support services
such as child care, transportation, emergency funds, or
personal counseling; inaccessible or inappropriate services--due
to location, schedule, enrollment requirements, inflexible
testing methods, or cost; and failure to set realistic
goals. (Kerka, 1989)
Increasingly, evidence demonstrates that the emphasis
on just getting people in employment will not result in
employment for self-sufficiency. (Imel, 1998) Imel goes
on to state: Based on the information in the literature,
the question should not be "Should adult education
focus on either work force education literacy development?"
but rather "Is it possible to combine both literacy
development and work force education?"
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Trends |
| Sticht in his Beyond
2000 paper includes the following adult education trends
for the 1990s:
• Growth in
intergovernmental and private sector collaborations
and a growing number of community based organizations
has expanded the contexts for teaching adult education.
Partnerships of employers, labor unions, public schools,
community action organizations, and so forth have expanded
the purposes, contents, and outcomes of adult education
beyond the traditional high school or General Educational
Development (GED) or ESL functions.
• Market segmentation has witnessed the growth
of adult education providers who specialize in programs
oriented toward workplaces, families, homeless, health,
learning disabled, welfare clients, corrections, troubled
youth, and numerous types of job training and employment
programs.
• Adult learner associations for advocacy in adult
education have sprung up in a number of states. There
have been state and national conferences to acknowledge
the struggles and achievements of adult learners. In
1998 a new national organization of adult learners was
started to advocate for adult education, among other
things.
• Technology has expanded in adult education with
the explosion of personal computers in the 1980s and
the rapid dropping of prices so that many schools, workplaces
and homes are now comfortably outfitted with television
sets, video cassette recorders, telephones, cable TV,
personal computers and a growing number of users of
the Internet with its World Wide Web sites. This explosion
in telecommunications and information technologies has
stimulated a new interest in distance learning in adult
education and has made it practically mandatory to include
computer literacy in adult education programs. (Sticht,
1998)
Basso in an article of top ten trends in the business
world also notes the potential of the Internet or Intranets
for delivering training.
For trainers and HRD professionals, the Internet has
almost unlimited potential, especially for professional
development. Newsgroups, listservs, and the World Wide
Web offer ways to exchange information and experiences
with colleagues around the world. The Internet provides
connection to a wealth of resources as training professionals
continue to look outside their organizations for development
opportunities.
We're also beginning to see the application of the Internet
and company intranets (internal computer networks) for
multiple-site delivery of training and performance support.
The Internet has tremendous advantages over current
CBT technology in both cost and convenience. Using the
WWW is paperless, requiring no postage and limited printing
costs. You can make course updates instantaneously,
without recalling diskettes or reprinting CD-ROMs. Courses
delivered via the Web are independent of platforms and
operating systems, requiring only a modem and Internet
access.
Imel in her 1995 report on trends includes the following:
- Literature related
to workplace literacy program development continues
to expand.
- A research base on
workplace literacy is emerging.
- Resources on staff
development and teacher training are becoming available.
- Materials on curriculum
development and instructional approaches continue
to expand.
As Sticht mentions above, a major trend in the resource
development for workplace basic education programs is
the use of the Internet. This has a number of advantages.
Often the resources are free or at very low cost. A
practitioner can access many current materials quickly
and easily. Because these materials can be downloaded
and may even allow duplication, they can be used very
efficiently. Materials can be copied on an as needed
basis and the need for storage is minimized. Some of
the available materials have been developed as a part
of adult education projects funded through state or
federal grants and are often accompanied by narrative
reports describing the experience of their use in adult
education programs. These can be very useful in adapting
materials for specific situations. (Tennessee, 1997)
Examples of Internet use will be given in the section,
Distance Learning in Workplace Literacy.
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Acts of Congress
that applied to training of workers during the 1990s:
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The
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education
Act of 1990 (VATEA) |
VATEA represents the
largest amount of federal funding ever authorized for
vocational education. The reauthorized Perkins Act, effective
July 1, 1991, enables Congress to spend up to $1.6 billion
a year on state and local programs that teach the competencies
necessary to work in a technologically advanced society.
(Imel, 1991)
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National
Skills Standards Act of 1994 |
Concern about the quality
of education in the United States, the diminishing skills
of workers, and the increasing demands of a competitive
international economy led to the establishment of the
National Skills Standards Act of 1994. (Brown, 1997)
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School-to-Work
Opportunities Act of 1994 |
This act has attempted
to develop work-based leaning opportunities to complement
school-based programs for youth to help them transition
from school to successful careers.
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Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
of 1996 (PRWORA) |
Known as the Welfare
Reform Act, PRWORA redesigned the welfare system, shifting
it from an income maintenance system to one requiring
work. For the first time in history, welfare recipients’
benefits became subject to time limits. PRWORA redefines
benefits as time-limited, and identifies them as Temporary
Aid to Needy Families (TANF) available for up to five
years over a recipient’s lifetime. However, states
have new flexibility to set time limits, benefit levels,
and other aspects of the welfare program previously left
to the federal government.
TANF requires a large percentage of the beneficiaries
to begin working within two years of receiving assistance.
The public system is now highly motivated to place beneficiaries
in jobs.
Two key incentives are offered to businesses to encourage
them to hire welfare recipients. They are the Work Opportunity
Tax Credit (WOTC) and the wage subsidy program offered
under the new welfare law. In addition, every state offers
its own tax incentives. Some companies find these incentives
helpful in offsetting the initial costs associated with
hiring.
A number of states have responded to the move at the federal
level toward greater state autonomy and control by merging
education, human services, and employment service agencies
to create "super agencies" to oversee state
work force development efforts, including adult basic
education, welfare reform, and vocational education. (Jurmo,
1996) In response to PRWORA, California passed the Thompson-Maddy-Ducheny-Ashburn
Welfare-to-Work Act that replaced the existing Aid to
Families with Dependent Children and Greater Avenues to
Independence (GAIN) programs with the California Work
Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program
on August 11, 1997. The provisions of the legislation
became effective in January 1998.
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Carl
D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998
(Perkins III) (Pub. L. 105-332) |
Enacted October 31,
1998; Perkins III restructures programs previously authorized
by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology
Education Act, setting out a new vision of vocational
and technical education for the 21st century. Improving
student achievement and preparation for postsecondary
education, further learning, and careers are the central
goals of this new vision. Perkins III promotes reform
and innovation in vocational and technical education to
help ensure that all students acquire the skills and knowledge
they need to meet challenging State academic standards
and industry-recognized skill standards, and to prepare
for postsecondary education, further learning, and a wide
range of career opportunities. Implementation of Perkins
III promises to make vocational and technical education
an integral part of state and local efforts to reform
secondary schools and improve postsecondary education.
Programs must also develop, improve, or expand the use
of technology in vocational and technical education, such
as by providing training in the use of technology to educational
personnel, preparing students for careers in the high
technology and telecommunications fields, and by working
with businesses in high technology industries to offer
internships and mentoring programs for students. To enhance
the quality of instruction in vocational and technical
education, Perkins III requires local programs to provide
comprehensive professional development opportunities for
teachers, counselors, and administrators. These opportunities
may include workplace internships that provide teachers
with business experience, training in effective teaching
skills, programs that help teachers and other personnel
stay current with all aspects of an industry, and other
activities
Title II of the Act reauthorizes the Tech-Prep Education
State grant program, an important catalyst for secondary
school reform and postsecondary education improvement
efforts. Tech-prep programs prepare students for careers
in high-skill fields or further education by integrating
academic and vocational and technical learning in a sequential
course of study that includes a minimum of two years of
secondary education and two years of postsecondary education
or an apprenticeship program. Perkins III promotes the
use of work-based learning and new technologies in tech-prep
programs and encourages partnerships with business, labor
organizations, and institutions of higher education that
award baccalaureate degrees. States must give special
consideration in awarding funds to tech-prep programs
that provide education and training for employment in
industries in which there are significant workforce shortages,
including the information technology industry. ( Federal
Register, February 17, 1999)
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The
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) (Pub. L. 105-220) |
Enacted August 7,
1998; Title I of the WIA authorizes employment training
and other workforce investment activities that are administered
at the State and local level by workforce investment
boards. These services must be provided through a one-stop
delivery system that is established by each local board.
The one-stop system also provides a means of accessing
education and employment-related services available
under eleven other Federal programs, including postsecondary
vocational and technical education programs authorized
by Perkins III. Entities that carry out postsecondary
vocational and technical education programs funded by
Perkins III will participate in one-stop systems through
memoranda of understanding negotiated with local workforce
investment boards. The services provided under Perkins
III through the one-stop systems must be consistent
with the Perkins III requirements.
Title II of WIA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy
Act (AEFLA) also known as the National Adult Education
and Family Literacy Act (NAEFLA), restructures and improves
programs previously authorized by The Adult Education Act (Title II of the Workforce Investment Act, P.L. 105-220). To give States greater flexibility in administering
the program, the several prescriptive administrative
requirements and restrictions on the use of funds are
eliminated. For example, The Adult Education Act (Title II of the Workforce Investment Act, P.L. 105-220), as
amended prohibited States from expending more than 20
percent of the State allocation for high school equivalency
programs, the new law eliminates this restriction.
Title V of WIA authorizes States to submit a single
''unified'' plan for two or more of fifteen Federal
education and workforce investment programs. These programs
include AEFLA, workforce investment activities authorized
under title I of the WIA, postsecondary vocational education
programs authorized under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational
and Technical Education Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-332),
(Perkins III), and, with the prior approval of the State
legislature, secondary vocational education programs
authorized under Perkins III the portion of the unified
plan that covers each activity or program must meet
all of the plan or application requirements specified
in the original authorizing statute for that particular
activity or program. Title V also authorizes the award
of incentive grants to States that exceed agreed-upon
performance levels for title I of WIA, AEFLA, and Perkins
III. (Federal Register, February 17, 1999)
10 Ways That the Workforce Investment
Act (WIA) Supports Workplace Education
1. Adult Education
programs must give priority to establishing work-related
outcomes
2. Local service
priorities must include “workplace literacy services”
3. To be funded,
local programs must meet stringent criteria, such as
providing “the skills needed to compete in the
workplace”,
4. And “…whether
programs coordinate with one-stop centers and job training
programs”
5. National Leadership
activities include: Development of models for basic
skill certificates and workplace literacy programs,
6. And evaluations
to determine how adult education activities increase
skills for involvement in training, and to enhance employment
and earnings
7. State Leadership
activities include funding the ‘integration of
literacy instruction and occupational skill training,
and promoting linkages with employers”
8. State plans
must include: integration with….career development
and employment and training activities
9. Local workforce
investment boards (WIB) set policy for the workforce
investment system. Membership includes business, adult
education, labor organizations, economic development
agencies and one-stop partners
10. Public and
private officials now identify workforce investment
as a priority, and increasingly recognize adult education
as an important partner
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Public Policy...
