The Adult and Dislocated Worker programs provide participants with a  variety of employment services. Local Areas Used Various Sources to Identify Demand Occupations and Required Participants to Complete Certain Activities before Entering Training

		Most Local Areas Used a Variety of Sources to Identify Demand Occupations

We estimate that a majority of local areas used various sources of  information to identify demand occupations (see fig. Specifically, we estimate that nearly 90 percent  of local areas used state job banks to identify available jobs, and nearly  90 percent of local areas used industry and occupational projections to  identify occupations that are projected to grow. Local areas found all of the sources of information they used to identify  demand occupations at least moderately useful. As compared to other sources of  information, about 90 percent of areas used local initiatives for at least  one of the following reasons:
They more accurately reflected the current and expected needs of  local employers. They provided more detailed information. 4).case managers to discuss labor market information and training options;  2) complete a skills or interest assessment; or 3) obtain information about  the occupation for which they wanted training. Most Local Areas Overcame Challenges in Guiding Participants Toward Training

Most local areas faced challenges in guiding participants toward training,  but were still able to guide them toward training. We estimate that two- thirds of local areas faced major or moderate challenges related to (1)  participants’ lack of financial or work supports, such as child care or  transportation, and (2) participants’ lack of basic skills necessary to  participate in training, such as reading and math skills (see fig. In 57  percent of local areas, however, the challenges they experienced did not  negatively affect their ability to guide participants toward training. Local Areas Had Difficulty Helping Employers Fill Certain Jobs for a Variety of Reasons, Including the Low Skills of Some Participants

		Challenges in Helping Fill Jobs Included Participants’ Lack of Qualifications and Basic Skills

Local areas cited a variety of reasons why they had difficulty helping  employers fill certain jobs in 2012, including participants’ lack of relevant  qualifications and basic skills, according to GAO estimates. According to workforce experts, some of these jobs,  such as welders and machinists, can be considered “middle-skilled” jobs  because they require more than a high-school diploma but less than a 4- year college degree. According to these agencies, these approaches aim to enable  individuals to secure industry relevant certification and obtain employment  within an occupational area and to advance to higher levels of future  education and employment in that area. However, little is known about the extent to which local areas are using  career pathways approaches—or how they are using these approaches— specifically to prepare participants for middle-skilled jobs that employers  have difficulty filling. the extent to which these programs are positioned to help supply workers  for hard-to-fill jobs, our work suggests that the programs have difficulty  supplying workers for certain types of middle-skilled jobs due to the low  skill level of some program participants, among other reasons. Without additional information— beyond what it already plans to collect—on whether and how local areas  are using career pathways approaches to prepare participants for the  types of middle-skilled jobs that employers are having difficulty filling,  DOL may not be well-positioned to help local areas use these approaches  to better meet employers’ needs. Recommendation

To help local areas better meet employers’ needs for skilled workers, we  recommend that the Secretary of Labor:  collect information on the use of career pathways approaches by local  areas specifically to prepare workers for the types of middle-skilled  jobs that employers have difficulty filling; and  to the extent such approaches are being used, disseminate  information about them, such as implementation challenges,  strategies, and results. DOL agreed with our  recommendation and did not provide any comments on the e-supplement. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our review focused on: 1) how local workforce areas have identified  occupations that are in demand and how they have guided participants  toward training for them; and 2) what challenges local workforce areas  have faced in helping employers fill certain jobs. All estimates based on the survey results are subject to  sampling error. We used the results of the survey to  create estimates about the population of all WIBs nationwide. Appendix II: Occupations That Employers Had Difficulty Filling in Calendar Year 2012

Our web-based survey of 200 workforce investment boards (WIB)  included a question asking if employers in their local area had difficulty  filling jobs in certain occupations in calendar year 2012 (see appendix I  for more information on the survey’s methodology).
Why GAO Did This Study

The economy is recovering from the recession, but employers still have difficulty filling certain jobs. DOL's Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult and Dislocated Worker programs are designed in part to help employers find the skilled workers they need. The programs provide participants with services including job training, which must be for occupations that are in demand. However, questions have been raised about the extent to which these programs are positioned to help supply workers for jobs that employers have difficulty filling. The conference report accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012 mandated that GAO assess the Adult and Dislocated Worker programs. This report addresses (1) how local workforce areas have identified occupations that are in demand and how they have guided participants toward training for them; and (2) what challenges local workforce areas have faced in helping employers fill certain jobs. GAO conducted a web-based survey of a nationally representative sample of 200 local workforce investment boards (WIB), which oversee local workforce areas, and used the results to create estimates about the population of all WIBs nationwide. GAO also interviewed DOL officials and workforce organizations.

What GAO Found

Based on survey results for calendar year 2012, GAO estimates that most local areas used various sources of information to identify occupations that are in demand (i.e., available jobs and occupations that are projected to grow). Local areas found all of the sources of information they used to be at least moderately useful. To identify occupations that are in demand, GAO estimates that nearly 90 percent of local areas used state job banks and occupational projections, both of which are funded by the Department of Labor (DOL). All percentages presented on this highlights page are estimates from the survey and have a sampling error of no larger than plus or minus 7 percentage points. In addition, 93 percent of areas used at least one local initiative, such as a partnership with the local economic development agency, to identify such jobs. As compared to other sources, areas reported using local initiatives because they provided more detailed information and better reflected local employers' needs. To guide participants toward training, most local areas required them to complete certain activities, such as meeting with a case manager to discuss training options (80 percent) or completing a skills assessment (78 percent). Most local areas faced challenges in guiding participants toward training. Specifically, local areas faced challenges related to participants' lack of financial or work supports, such as child care or transportation (67 percent); participants' lack of the basic skills necessary even to participate in training (66 percent); difficulty finding training providers who could quickly adapt curricula to employers' changing needs (62 percent); and high training costs (54 percent). However, in 57 percent of local areas, these challenges did not affect their ability to guide participants toward training.
Local areas had difficulty helping employers fill certain jobs for a variety of reasons, including the low skills of some participants, according to GAO estimates. Eighty percent of local areas reported that employers had difficulty filling certain jobs, some of which can be considered "middle-skilled" jobs, such as welders and machinists, because they require more than a high-school diploma but less than a 4-year college degree. These local areas had difficulty supplying such workers because participants lacked relevant qualifications or the basic skills needed to participate in related training, among other reasons. To help participants improve their skills, DOL and other agencies have encouraged the use of career pathways approaches that combine job training with basic skills education and support services. According to these agencies, such approaches aim to enable participants to secure industry relevant certification and obtain employment within an occupational area and advance to higher levels of future education and employment in the area. However, little is known about the extent to which local areas are using career pathways approaches--or how they are using these approaches--specifically to prepare participants for middle-skilled jobs that employers have had difficulty filling. Without information on whether and how local areas are using these approaches to prepare participants for such jobs, DOL may not be well-positioned to help local areas use these approaches to better meet employers' needs.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOL collect and disseminate information on how local areas have used career pathways approaches to prepare workers for middle-skilled jobs that employers have difficulty filling. DOL agreed with our recommendation..