Training services include such activities as occupational skills or on- the-job training. DOL agreed with  these recommendations. 803), passed by the House, would  establish both credential attainment and training-related employment as  performance measures. DOL’s Data Show That Most Training Participants Attained Credentials, but Data on Training-Related Employment Are Unreliable

		Most Training Participants Attained Credentials

During the time-period from program year 2006 through program year  2011, the total number of participants in WIA’s Adult and Dislocated   Specifically, in the Adult  Worker Programs increased significantly.Program, the number of participants increased from about 625,000 to  about 1.25 million, and in the Dislocated Worker Program, the number of  participants increased from about 272,000 to about 761,000. For example, DOL’s data show the percentage of  those who earned credentials in the Adult Program dropped from about  74 percent in program year 2006 to about 58 percent in program year  2011. According to DOL officials, the percentage of training participants who  earned credentials may have declined in part as a result of changes in the  performance measures that states negotiated. Of the training participants who attained credentials during program year  2011—approximately 89,000 in the Adult Program and 84,000 in the  Dislocated Worker Program— about two-thirds in each program earned  an occupational credential, such as a welding certificate or clinical  medical assistant certificate (see fig. Selected States Cited Some Obstacles to Collecting Data on Credential Attainment and DOL and States Have Taken Steps to Address Challenges and Improve These Data

		Manual Process of Collecting Data on Credentials Can Be Resource-Intensive

Workforce officials we interviewed in four of six states said that collecting  data on credential attainment can be resource-intensive primarily  because it requires manually tracking the information. As a result, case  managers must manually collect this information from various sources  including participants, training providers, and third-party credentialing  organizations. Despite such obstacles to verifying data on participant credentials,  several workforce experts and officials noted the importance of collecting  this information. In addition to clarifying which credentials should be reported, the 2010  guidance also included strategies that state and local officials can use to  increase the quantity and quality of credentials attained. Regarding training providers, officials in four of six states said they have  made efforts to address privacy concerns. Local officials in Alabama,  Kansas, and Texas, for example, told us that they ask participants to sign  consent forms to allow training providers to share credential information  with officials. States Face Continuing Challenges Reporting Data on Training- Related Employment, Despite Efforts by States and DOL to Improve Reporting

		Reporting Data on Training-Related Employment Is Resource- Intensive and Involves Subjective Decisions

Workforce officials in most states we studied identified challenges  reporting data on training-related employment that were greater than  those for reporting data on credential attainment, including the high  degree of resources required and the subjective nature of determining  whether employment is linked to training. Then— in a step beyond what is required for reporting on credential attainment— they must piece this information together to determine whether  participants’ employment is substantially related to their training. In addition, officials in all six states  said that making training-related employment determinations can be  subjective. According to DOL’s reporting guidance, participants’  employment is related to their training if it uses “a substantial portion of  the skills taught in training.” workforce experts from one national organization, said that one case  manager’s interpretation of what constitutes a substantial portion of the  skills obtained in training may differ from another’s. Some case managers contact employers to  obtain participants’ employment information, though employers may  not be responsive. Checking UI wage records. DOL Has Taken Limited Steps to Address Challenges and Improve Data on Training-Related Employment

While DOL has recently issued guidance aimed at increasing reporting  rates for training-related employment data, it has taken limited steps to  address states’ ongoing reporting challenges. Recommendation for Executive Action

To provide policymakers and program managers with better quality  information to assess the value of training provided by WIA’s Adult and  Dislocated Worker Programs, we recommend that the Secretary of Labor  identify and share with states strategies for collecting and reporting data  on training-related employment that could either increase access to  employment information or reduce the subjectivity of determining when  training is related to employment. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives for this study on the Workforce Investment Act’s (WIA)  Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs were to examine: 1) the extent to  which training participants obtain credentials and secure training-related  employment, 2) challenges states face reporting on credential attainment  and what steps, if any, they and DOL are taking to address them, 3)  challenges states face in reporting on training-related employment and  what steps, if any, they and DOL are taking to address them. Selection of States and Local Areas

We interviewed state and local workforce officials from a  nongeneralizeable sample of six states. We also  factored geographic diversity into state selection.
Why GAO Did This Study

As the economy recovers, some employers continue to face difficulty finding qualified workers. The WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs provide services, including job training, which aims to help participants acquire skills and credentials employers need. Under WIA, states are required to report data on training participants who obtain credentials and on those who enter employment related to the training they receive. Given that a WIA reauthorization proposal would establish both of these outcomes as performance measures, GAO was asked to examine the capacity of states to report on these outcomes. This report addresses: 1) the extent to which training participants obtained credentials and training-related employment, 2) challenges states face in reporting data on credentials and what steps, if any, they and DOL are taking to address them, and 3) challenges states face in reporting data on training-related employment and what steps, if any, they and DOL are taking to address them. GAO interviewed DOL officials, workforce experts, and state and local officials and employer organizations from a nongeneralizeable sample of six states selected in part on the basis of geographic diversity. GAO also analyzed data on credential attainment and training-related employment for program years 2010 and 2011.

What GAO Found

Of the more than two million total participants in the Workforce Investment Act's (WIA) Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs, about 11 percent and 16 percent, respectively, received training in program year 2011, and about two-thirds of the training participants in each program attained a credential. Little is known, however, about how many participants got jobs related to their training. From program year 2006 through program year 2011, the percentages of training participants who earned a credential declined from about 74 percent to 58 percent for the Adult Program and from about 75 percent to 63 percent for the Dislocated Worker Program, according to data from the Department of Labor (DOL). Of those training participants who attained a credential in program year 2011, about 65 percent earned occupational credentials, such as a welding certificate, followed by lower percentages who earned occupational skill licenses and associate's degrees, among others. In contrast, GAO found training-related employment data unreliable primarily because a significant portion of the data was missing.
Workforce officials in four of six selected states cited some obstacles in reporting data on credential attainment, and both DOL and states are taking steps to address challenges. Officials in four states GAO contacted said reporting such data can be resource-intensive, largely because case managers must manually track this information from various sources, including participants, training providers, and third-party organizations. To improve credential attainment and reporting, DOL clarified which credentials should be reported and began measuring credential attainment through an agency-wide goal in 2010. Officials in five states have taken similar steps, such as setting goals and tracking credential attainment, and enhancing data exchange with training providers. Officials in most of the six states GAO contacted noted some obstacles to obtaining such data. For example, officials from several states cited student privacy laws as a barrier in verifying credentials with training providers. Officials in three states told us that they ask participants to sign consent forms allowing training providers to give credential information to local officials.
Workforce officials in most of the selected states identified even greater challenges reporting data on training-related employment, including the high degree of resources required and the subjective nature of determining whether employment is linked to training. DOL has taken only limited steps to address these challenges. To report such data, case managers seek participants' employment information from participants, employers, and wage records. Then they must piece it together to determine whether participants' employment is "substantially related" to their training. Officials in most of the six states described this process as resource-intensive and noted that making such determinations are subjective since one case manager's interpretation of "substantially related" may differ from another's. Given these challenges, officials in all six states have taken some steps to increase access to employment information or make decisions less subjective. DOL has recently stressed the importance of reporting data on training-related employment and shared a few practices with states to increase reporting rates; however, it has not identified and disseminated strategies to address the ongoing challenges states face regarding resource intensiveness and subjectivity, which could improve the quality of such data.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOL identify and share with states strategies that may ease collection and improve the quality of training-related employment data. DOL agreed with GAO’s recommendation.