WIA and Community Colleges

Community colleges can play important roles in the federal workforce  programs under WIA. In addition, as a key provider of both education and career  and technical training programs in their communities, community colleges  can meet the education and training needs of one-stop clients by working  closely with their local one-stop centers to understand these needs and  meeting WIA requirements to become eligible training providers. Community Colleges Tailor Career and Technical Training Courses to Meet the Workforce Development Needs of Businesses, Workers, and Students

To meet businesses’ current and future workforce needs, the community  colleges that we visited keep their career and technical education  programs up to date through a variety of data collection and outreach  efforts. They also provide training directly to local employers through  contract or customized training programs; work with small businesses;  and offer programs to help specific groups of students and workers, such  as those receiving TANF. Community Colleges Integrate with the One-Stop System in Many Ways, Including Operating and Colocating with One- Stops and Participating on WIBs

The community colleges that we visited integrate with their one-stop  centers through various activities. Examples of these activities include  operating the one-stop; participating on the local WIBs; or partnering with  the one-stop on workforce activities, such as strategic planning or data  sharing. According to several community college and workforce officials at the  sites that we visited, colocation of community college staff at the one-stop  was another way that the college was integrated with the one-stop system. Based on  our survey, we estimated that about 11 percent of the one-stops are  operated solely or jointly by a community college, while 34 percent of the  one-stops have community college staff colocated at the one-stop center. To  accomplish this, they conduct cross-training. State Funding and Leadership Help Community Colleges’ Workforce Efforts, While WIA Performance System Measures and WIA Funding Issues Present Challenges

State funding and leadership are some of the factors that community  colleges and other workforce officials identified as supporting their  workforce efforts and integration with one-stops. For example, WIA  holds state and local workforce areas accountable for meeting  performance levels in their Adult, Dislocated Workers, and Youth  programs on measures such as job placement, retention, and earnings. We recommended that  Labor develop a systematic model for all states to use that could take into  account the type of population served or the economic conditions of the  state. To date,  Labor has not implemented this recommendation. In addition, these officials stated that Labor works to  ensure consistency in the negotiation process for establishing state  performance levels between the department’s regional offices, which  conduct the negotiations, and the states, through guidance to the regions  as well as discussions between the Assistant Secretary and Labor’s  regional office administrators. Labor and Education Have Focused on Community Colleges’ Workforce Development Efforts through Targeted Grant Programs and a Strategic Partnerships Initiative, but Their Impact Is Not Fully Known

In addition to other activities, Education and Labor have undertaken and  supported two key initiatives that focus on building linkages between  community colleges and the workforce system: the WIRED, Community  Based, and High Growth grants and the Strategic Partnerships for a  Competitive Workforce Initiative, a joint initiative with Education. It is  unclear whether these initiatives will be successful in building such  linkages or encouraging more community colleges to focus on workforce  development, due to the agencies’ inability to measure the full impact of  these collaborative efforts. In addition, Labor and Education jointly funded and organized a $1.5  million initiative—the Strategic Partnerships for a Competitive  Workforce—to help build linkages between community colleges and the  workforce system. Labor and Education are planning to issue a report in  2008 highlighting the lessons learned from the initiative. Labor and Education have taken some important first steps that address  aspects of the community colleges’ role in the workforce system through  Labor’s WIRED, High Growth, and Community Based grants and the  jointly sponsored Strategic Partnerships initiative. Continued efforts by  Labor and Education to build on past successes in aligning their respective  workforce programs will help ensure that the nation will benefit from the  full potential of community colleges that are already actively engaged in  workforce development and the one-stop system and will encourage more  community colleges to follow their examples. III);  Education did not. Workforce Investment Act: Additional Actions Would Further Improve  the Workforce System. GAO-05-4.
Why GAO Did This Study

In the future, businesses will demand workers with higher-level skills and more education. Community colleges are key providers of career and technical training as well as traditional academic education. These colleges can also play important roles in the one-stop system created by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), through which a variety of federally funded employment and training programs provide services. Given the importance of community colleges to workforce development, GAO was asked to examine (1) how community colleges meet the workforce training needs of their communities; (2) what community colleges do to integrate with the nation's one-stop system; (3) the conditions or practices that enhance or impede these efforts; and (4) the actions the Departments of Labor and Education have taken to encourage linkages between community colleges and the workforce investment system, including one-stops. To address these objectives, GAO visited 20 community colleges, surveyed one-stop centers and their associated workforce investment boards, and talked to Labor and Education officials. Labor and Education generally agreed with GAO's findings.

What GAO Found

The community colleges that GAO visited developed various approaches and programs for career and technical training to meet the needs of industry sectors, individual employers, and certain types of students and workers. Through a variety of outreach, relationship building, and data collection efforts, community colleges have come to understand the specific training needs of key industries in their regions and use this information to keep programs current or develop new programs to address these needs. Community college activities include providing contract or customized training to the employees of specific employers; working with small businesses; and targeting training and education programs to specific populations, such as disadvantaged adults, high-school students transitioning to college, and one-stop clients. Many of the community colleges that GAO visited integrate with their one-stops by operating the one-stop centers, colocating college staff at the one-stop, and participating on workforce investment boards. Nationwide, GAO estimated that about 11 percent of one-stops are operated solely or jointly by a community college, while 34 percent have community college staff colocated at the center. Similarly, GAO estimated that, nationwide, 49 percent of local workforce investment boards have community college presidents represented on their boards. Some of the benefits of these arrangements include cost sharing and improved communication among participating programs. Officials at the colleges and one-stops that GAO visited reported also conducting other joint activities, such as strategic planning and data sharing. Community college and workforce officials cited state funding and leadership as factors that help integration between community colleges and the workforce system but identified WIA performance system measures and WIA funding issues as impediments. Under WIA, states and local workforce areas must meet performance levels in their Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth programs that can be difficult to obtain when serving some populations, such as those on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or youth, causing disincentives for the one-stops to serve them. In a 2004 report, GAO recommended that Labor develop a systematic way to account for differences in the population groups served by states' one-stop centers and apply it to all states when establishing their performance levels. Labor has not taken action on this recommendation; however, Labor officials stated that states may use their own adjustment models and that the department has worked to ensure consistency in the process. It is uncertain whether Labor and Education's efforts to build linkages between community colleges and the workforce system will be successful in encouraging community colleges to focus on workforce development. Labor's WIRED, High Growth, and Community Based grants aim, in part, to help community colleges and other workforce entities collaborate. As discussed in GAO's recent report on these grants, Labor's evaluations do not fully measure their effectiveness, and GAO recommends that Labor take steps to do so. Labor and Education jointly funded a $1.5 million initiative in 2006 to help build linkages between community colleges and the workforce system. The agencies did not conduct an evaluation, but plan to issue a report in 2008 about the participants' challenges and successes.