Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy (WAGE) – Arkansas

WBackground

WAGE is a community-based workforce development program that addresses the need to improve the basic skills of the unemployed and the underemployed in Arkansas. It is a partnership between local employers, city government, employment agencies, industrial development organizations, and educators. WAGE places the employer at the center of an effort to redefine basic skills required by today's high-performance workplaces.

To become a “WAGE Certified Center,” a local community alliance must do the following:

• Form an alliance of no less than six businesses from the community
• Visit established WAGE centers
• Take Literacy Task Analysis (LTA) / “functional hooks” training (tying literacy training to real work scenarios)
• Perform six LTAs on local businesses
• Acquire signed agreements from alliance members
• Present start-up documentation for approval before the state committee

WAGE is, in essence, a certificate program conducted by Arkansas Adult Education that includes the 112 basic skills competencies determined as essential by the nation's and Arkansas' employers. WAGE offers three certificates: industrial, clerical, and employability. The industrial and clerical certificates include all the competencies noted above, with additional requirements for the respective certificates. The local WAGE Alliance Advisory Committees, consisting of at least 50 percent of committee members from business, choose the competencies and grade-level equivalency goals for the employability certificate.

WAGE accepts students who assess at less than a 12th grade, ninth month equivalency, on the Test of Adult Basic Education and who have a goal of obtaining a job, retaining a job, improving their skill level to gain improved employment, or entering next-level workplace training. Participating employers allow WAGE to perform literacy analysis on positions that need foundation skills. Educators then use the results to customize training to the workplace. Participating employers give added consideration to WAGE students, given all other candidate qualifications are equal. Some employers provide incentives to encourage employees to complete WAGE training, such as a signing bonus, an increase in hourly pay, or release time for classes.

Benefits

After the first 10 months of operation, 94 percent of WAGE graduates had jobs. In addition to increasing the employability of program participants the WAGE Program has resulted in the following benefits for participating businesses and communities.

Business Return on Investment

• Productivity improvements
• Improved quality
• Waste reduction
• Increased profits
• Safety incidents reduced
• Customer satisfaction improves
• Employee retention rates improve
• Recruitment costs reduced
• Improvements in employee attitudes
• Employees show more interest and success at next level of technical training
• Employers more competitive
  

Community Return on Investment

• Increased profits = better tax base
• Increased profits = better wages
• Better wages retain better employees
• Better wages = increased spending power
• Increased spending power benefits community through better tax base, and economic growth
• Improved communities attract good businesses and good employees

Arkansas Adult Learning Resource Center

http://www.aalrc.org

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