Narrative: II. a. 2.

STATE AGENCY PROGRAM RESPONSIBILITY

THE STATE'S WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

Arkansas continues to support the Governor's belief that our State's workforce development system must be built on three core principles:

• That education and skills attainment are the foundation to a strong and resilient workforce;
• That an employer-led workforce development system is key to the growth of a highly skilled and job ready workforce; and
• That innovation is critical to a dynamic and effective workforce system.

To support these principles, in January 2021, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson unveiled a new cornerstone to achieving the goal of assisting Arkansans in acquiring and retaining good-paying jobs to support themselves and their families.

Ready for Life, an initiative for those who want to improve their skills or change careers as well as gather career and employment data from business and industry, will strengthen the state’s workforce and offer business leaders better information about the state’s talent pool.

“This initiative combines a gold mine of information about educational and employment opportunities that will make it easier for Arkansans to enhance their education or to change careers even,” Governor Hutchinson said. “Ready for Life will make it easier for employees and employers to find each other, and it will offer business leaders a quick snapshot of the state of the employee pool in Arkansas as they recruit talent.”

Governor Hutchinson has allocated $14.7 million in federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds in support of Ready for Life, which is a partnership with the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, the Division of Workforce Services, K-12, and Institutions of Higher Education. 

ARKANSAS WORKFORCE CENTERS

The Arkansas Workforce Centers are at the forefront of the workforce activities and represent Arkansas’s version of the American Jobs Center. There are 29 workforce centers spread across the state providing access to many Arkansans. In addition to these locations, Arkansas has six mobile workforce center units that travel the state and provide service locations in rural parts of the State.

The Arkansas Workforce Centers are overseen at the state level by the ADWS and are managed locally by each of the local workforce development boards. Local boards are comprised of local businesses, labor, partner agencies, and other key stakeholders to create a diverse and functional group. The boards, in alignment with the States’ vision, provide front line strategic implementation for state-wide initiatives in addition to their locally-determined priorities. State initiatives include sector strategies, career pathway development, and delivery of standardized business services. Local priorities include layoff aversion, specific career pathway development, youth programs, targeted sector partnerships, work-based learning, and others.

Local boards are tasked with procuring a one-stop operator for the daily operation of their perspective center(s) in accordance with WIOA 121(d). These boards carry out workforce activities by partnering locally though Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) to implement core, non-core, and other partner programs. Arkansas Workforce Centers are fully integrated with WIOA, Wagner-Peyser, Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG), Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Unemployment Insurance (UI), Adult Education and Family Literacy, Vocational Rehabilitation. Local partnerships and integration also exist in many areas with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training Programs and others.

With this foundation for service integration, Arkansas Workforce Centers operate under the “no wrong door” philosophy, while local areas have developed their own customer flow strategies that are unique to their areas. Typical customers entering the center are engaged by an intake process that is designed to identify the needs of the individual by gathering information and then utilizing the appropriate resources for those needs. In some cases, the resources are initiated by a referral to a partner program. Customers are given solutions and next steps to their questions, barriers, and issues by connecting directly with the appropriate workforce system partner as part of this philosophy.

The Adult Education Section funds 36 local adult education programs, including two community-based and/or privately operated literacy councils, and special projects such as the Arkansas Adult Learning Resource Center through state and federal grants. The service delivery systems are diverse. Programs are funded through a variety of local administrative entities, including public schools systems, community based organizations, colleges, community colleges, technical institutes, and the Arkansas Department of Corrections. Local programs provide adult education services such as teaching academic skills to people who function from beginning reading through NRS educational functioning ABE Level 6level and all levels of English as a Second Language (ESL). These services are free and provided in classes held in locations throughout each program’s service area. Additional programs such as family literacy, Integrated and Education Training,  and Workforce Alliance for Growth in the Economy (WAGE™) are also offered in workplaces and correctional institutions. In the 2018-2019 program year, 22, 980 adult Arkansans received services from programs receiving adult education funding; 4, 611 or 20 percent were English Language Learners s and 3, 438 or 15 percent were individuals in institutional settings such as correctional facilities or community corrections programs.

Arkansas Rehabilitation Services (ARS) has field offices co-located at Arkansas Workforce Centers in Harrison and Searcy. ARS maintains counselor itinerary points at all other Workforce Centers.

DSB continues to support its 17 accessible kiosks for consumers at Arkansas Workforce Center locations. The original ten kiosks were placed in the same cities where DSB has offices; the second set of seven kiosks was placed in cities with either two- or four-year institutions of higher education. The kiosks provide consumers the same access to the Internet to search for jobs as a sighted person seeking services from workforce centers. DSB provides training to workforce center staff and clients on the use of the kiosks.

Division of Workforce Services local workforce center services are available to all citizens in Arkansas.  DSB created the pilot kiosk project to increase participation of blind or visually impaired persons in the local workforce centers with the assistance of DSB Vocational Rehab Counselors. DSB continues to partner with Division of Workforce Services to assist consumers with specific questions related to blindness.  

WORKFORCE SYSTEM SERVICES - UNEMPLOYED AND UNDEREMPLOYED

Arkansas Workforce Centers offer the full array of career services outlined in WIOA 134(c)(2) for unemployed and underemployed jobseekers. Career services available at the centers vary because of local area inflexion and needs of particular communities. Basic career services are available at these center locations throughout Arkansas. Each center has computers, printers, copiers, printed resources, and staff to assist jobseekers. Many of the services, including Arkansas Job Link and Discover Arkansas LMI Portal, can be accessed virtually though the internet via computer, smart phone, or tablet. Arkansas Job Link is the state job matching system and the virtual one-stop-shop where Arkansans can centralize all their career search activities. It allows jobseekers to self-enter his/her resume(s) and job search 24/7. Arkansas Job Link also provides access to a toolbox of job search assistance links, including career exploration, training resources, self-marketing tools, Unemployment Insurance information, and additional job banks. The built-in event calendar communicates upcoming hiring events, job fairs, and other workforce activities.

Discover Arkansas LMI Portal allows jobseekers to make informed data-driven career decisions. This labor market system provides a wide variety of regional labor market services, such as labor trends, statistics, economics, demographics, salaries, and employer data. It allows jobseekers to set up a personal page for their career exploration data to be readily accessible. Basic career services also extend beyond the virtual world. After the initial assessment, customers, as appropriate, may be provided with direct linkages to additional workforce activities, including multiple education and training opportunities across the workforce system though partner referrals.

Many of these partners are housed within the workforce center.

 JOBSEEKER SERVICES

Individualized career services within the Arkansas Workforce Centers vary across the state, but all the offices offer a full line of activities to prepare jobseekers for the modern workforce. They address many of the soft skills and technical skills training Arkansas employers require such as:

Labor exchange services must also provide labor market information to the individuals seeking services. The information must be accurate and include information on local, regional and national labor markets, such as:

• Job vacancies
• Skills necessary to obtain the jobs
• In-demand occupations and related earning potential
• Opportunities for advancement in those occupations

All One-Stops must provide the following career services:

• Outreach, intake and orientation
• Initial assessment
• Labor exchange services
• Eligibility determination
• Referrals to programs
• Performance and cost information
• Information on unemployment insurance
• Financial aid information
• Follow-up services

Additionally, One-Stops and partners must provide appropriate services for individuals to obtain or retain employment. These services include, but are not limited to:

• Individual Employment Plan (IEP)
• Career planning and counseling (no longer called case management)
• Comprehensive assessment
• Occupational Skills Assessment
• Short-term prevocational services
• Internship and work experience, including transitional jobs and industry partnerships
• Workforce preparation
• Out-of-area job search
• English language acquisition
• Financial literacy

TRAINING SERVICES

Career services are not always enough to enable job seekers to obtain self-sufficient employment. In some instances, formal training is required. Arkansas Workforce Centers offer multiple training services such as:

• Occupational skills training
• On-the-job training (OJT)
• Registered Apprenticeships
• Incumbent worker training
• Skill upgrading and retaining
• Entrepreneurial training, and
• Adult education and family literacy activities

Training services are funded through WIOA programs, Pell Grants, partner programs, and state and local grants. Local areas are responsible for establishing and implementing local polices for eligibility, Individual Training Account (ITA) limits, and the identification of in-demand sectors or occupations. Through multiple initiatives and projects, Arkansas has focused training and career development activities on sector strategies/partnerships and career pathway development. At the state level, the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) has been updated pursuant to WIOA Sections 122 and 134. This list ensures that Arkansans are able to make informed decisions on training providers and programs based on accurate data including completion and placement rates; labor market information; and wage expectations.

SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

In order to assist jobseekers in obtaining or retaining employment through career or training services, Arkansas Workforce Centers offer a variety of supportive services. Local areas are responsible for establishing a supportive service policy that outlines types, eligibility, limits, etc. Examples of supportive services include child care; transportation; needs-related payments; tools and equipment; uniforms; and other clothing. In addition to WIOA-funded supportive services, local areas have developed relationships with community partners that assist with utility payments, food, shelter, and other basic needs.

BUSINESS SERVICES

The focal point of all workforce system activities is business and industry. These activities are taking place statewide and may include:

• Access to facilities -Use of Workforce Center facilities by a business for a variety of purposes such as meetings, trainings, orientations, interviews, etc.;
• Assessments - Any test or assortment of tests used to measure the skills, interests and/or personality traits of a jobseeker, potential employee, or current employee;
• Business education - Seminars, round tables, workshops, focus groups, etc.;
• Business information - Information given to a business pertaining to a variety of incentive programs or other information requested that provides a benefit to that business;
• Hiring events - A customized event for a single employer that assists with recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of one or more positions;
• Job fairs - Event for multiple employers that assists with the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of one or more positions;
• Job postings - Staff-entered or web-entered job orders approved by staff;
• Labor market information - Information on state and local labor market conditions; industries, occupations, and characteristics of the workforce; area business identified skills needs; employer wage and benefit trends; short and long-term industry and occupational projections; worker supply and demand; and job vacancies survey results;
• Rapid Response - A variety of services to businesses that are facing restructuring and downsizing including onsite workshops for employees in transition; job placement assistance; and information on unemployment benefits;
• Screening - Any service that involves the initial evaluation of applications or resumes that assists the employer in the recruiting process;
• Training and retraining - Any service provided to a business that involves the training or retraining of current or future employees including OJTs, Work Experiences, Incumbent Worker Training, etc.

The individual program services offered are detailed and provide program specific information in Section VI and VII.

SERVICES TO DISABLED PERSONS

Arkansas Rehabilitation Services is the general vocational rehabilitation agency in Arkansas. It has the responsibility of providing targeted services to eligible Arkansans with disabilities that assist clients in obtaining or maintaining competitive integrated employment. Currently there remain significant barriers to working age Arkansans with disabilities in participating in the state’s workforce.  This is evidenced by the Annual Disability Statistics Compendium: 2018, indicating only 30.8% of individuals age 18 to 64 with disabilities are employed. This places the state in the lower 10% nationally. 

Through the Governor’s Executive Order 10-17, DSB coordinates with other state agencies to increase employment of Arkansans with disabilities. The order also aims to focus consumer services first toward the goal of self-sufficiency through employment.

[1] Reference: Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics (StatsRRTC), (2008); Report on Disability Demographics for Arkansas; Retrieved 12/21/2015, URL: https://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/report.cfm?fips=2005000emp-state.

B. The Strengths and Weaknesses of Workforce Development Activities

Provide an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the workforce development activities identified in (A) above.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

Initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Arkansas’s workforce development activities suggests that our talent development system has the right expertise and pockets of excellence.

Successfully serving common customers in our system will require continued collaboration, coordination and re-assessment. During a strategic planning session of the Arkansas Workforce Development Board, the following strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges were identified for the workforce development system in Arkansas.

STRENGTHS

• The State has strong workforce development programs in place; however, the state needs to focus on outreach and education about the services available.
• The State’s business leaders are at the table as champions of the programs through input into program design, identification of skills development, and commitment to continuous improvement of the talent development system.
• Key industries are involved in strategic planning and committed to driving the talent development system in Arkansas.
• Economic development is involved in planning activities at the state and local level and has identified targeted industries.
• Partnerships at state level are strong and will enable the state to successfully and fully implement WIOA, thereby enhancing services to the public through the State’s talent development system.
• Despite stagnant budgets, staffing has been maintained to provide services in all 75 counties.

WEAKNESSES

• Arkansas has a shrinking labor force.
• Secondary education’s involvement in workforce development, strategic planning and program design needs to be strengthened.
• Funding for community colleges is insufficient.
• While there are strong partnerships in some areas of the state with community colleges and workforce development, involvement from all community colleges statewide should be stronger.
• Funding models for education are inadequate.
• Marketing and outreach of the State’s talent development system is inadequate and too many employers and jobseekers are unaware of the services and opportunities available.
• Employers’ outreach to students and their parents regarding potential occupations needs to be increased.
• Parent and students lack knowledge of business/industry in the State.
• Government is not at the table as an employer.
• Kiosks for consumers who are blind are not available statewide and staff turnover at the locations make it necessary to provide frequent and ongoing training.
• Staff training programs for serving the customers across agencies are not in place, especially recognizing the special needs of serving persons with disabilities.

OPPORTUNITIES

• Current Registered Apprenticeship presents tremendous opportunities for opening workforce development strategies.
• Strong industry/workforce partnerships exist in some areas of the State.
• The State has new leadership to drive the new current agenda of collaboration and coordination.
• Bringing community colleges to the table to enhance the State’s talent development system.
• Opportunities for community college programs to increase capacity.
• Program-based learning needs to be explored and utilized.
• Community College partnerships should be expanded to increase credential attainment.

CHALLENGES

• Arkansas has an aging workforce and the younger generation is not skilled to replace retiring workers.
• Regional disparities in workforce and industries make it difficult to recruit new industries.
• Misalignment of services and programs could threaten enhanced service delivery and integrity of the talent development system.
• Duplication of efforts and programs reduces the efficiency of already stagnant or declining budgets.
• Systemic education issues exist in secondary and higher education.
• Industries may be lost due to a lack of skilled labor.
• There is a lack of existing workforce training funds.
• Budgets for workforce development programs are stagnant or declining due to a lack of funding from federal sources.
• Coordination at the state level for implementation of WIOA is strong; however, this level of collaboration and coordination is labor intensive and often takes team members away from oversight and leadership responsibilities. Maintaining the current level of collaboration is critical to success.

 C. State Workforce Development Capacity

Provide an analysis of the capacity of State entities to provide the workforce development activities identified in (A) above.

Arkansas is well-poised to provide workforce and talent development activities given the strong knowledge base of its practitioners. Due to nationally-recognized system components, such as a career pathway system with many bridges and stackable credentials; a robust Registered Apprenticeship program; and training programs that meet industry demands, our pursuit becomes one of continuous improvement. Arkansas has implemented a workforce system designed to increase capacity to serve more customers. Led by the strategic vision set by Governor Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas Workforce Development Board, the functional design of the Arkansas workforce system starts with coordination at the highest level through the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet, which provides a common direction at the state agency level for driving workforce development. This partnership at the highest level will increase capacity and extend the alignment of the system to a broader and more diverse population of jobseekers across the state.

The agencies represented in this plan, some who are new to being co-located in a workforce center, will develop a streamlined customer experience through referrals from and to core, non-core, and program partners to coordinate workforce activities and increase the capacity of each partner by allowing specialized services to function optimally and assist in the elimination of the duplication of services. Furthermore, through direction by the Arkansas Workforce Development Board and one of the objectives of this plan, the State will explore ways to increase capacity, especially in rural areas across the state beyond bricks-and-mortar, through virtual services.

Concern continues for many of the programs of this plan, including the WIOA Title I programs, Wagner-Peyser, TANF, and Adult Education that have experienced stagnant or declining funding over the last several years. The lack of new funding in many programs means the State must continue to find more efficient ways to provide services to Arkansans.

Although funding has been stagnant over the past 20 years in Adult Education, providers still serve all 75 counties in Arkansas. Adult education currently receives $19 million in state funding and $5.2 million in federal funding to serve approximately 28,000 clients. The funding continues to be used for Adult Education and Family Literacy activities, such as adult basic education, literacy, workplace education, family literacy activities, English language acquisition activities, integrated English literacy and civics education, workforce preparation, correctional education, and integrated education and training.

The Adult Education Section has a strong working collaborative relationship with other state agencies and organizations to help provide education, literacy, and workforce services to clients that help reduce duplication of services and provide braided funding opportunities of approved activities. Some of the current collaborations include:

• The Arkansas Literacy Council to increase the number of literacy councils throughout the state
• The Division of Workforce Services and the Department of Human Services to provide educational support and training to Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) clients
• The Arkansas Rehabilitation Services to provide assistance for adult education students with a documented disability(ies)
• Local courts and community corrections programs to provide academic instruction to first time offenders and reentry individuals
• Arkansas Community Colleges (ACC) to provide career pathways that lead to a sustainable income to students without a high school diploma
• The Arkansas Department of Corrections to continue to provide federal funding to incarcerated adults without a high school diploma

In addition, besides the traditional classroom, one of the ways adult education is providing services is through distance education. In 2018-2019, 83 percent of programs  provided distance learning instruction. Currently, all adult education and literacy providers, with the exception of Arkansas Correctional School, has trained staff to  offer distance learning. The state office has restructured the distance learning program to provide professional development training and certified curricula that can assist with student learning. For students who are unable to attend an adult education or literacy council program or desire to work independently, distance learning has been a great alternative for education access.

The capacity to provide needed workforce development services to individuals with disabilities is difficult to predict. The WIOA mandate to spend 15 percent of client service dollars on pre-employment transition services for students with disabilities has required the state’s vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies to take a hard look at how best to utilize existing resources to address overall client needs.  It is essential VR agencies look for partnership opportunities at both the state and local levels to find alternative ways of providing services that allow individuals with disabilities to enter into and remain in competitive integrated employment.   

The State has a strong partnership between the workforce development system and Registered Apprenticeship (RA). This partnership has been strengthened through a series of USDOL RA focused discretionary grants awarded to the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services through the ApprenticeshipUSA Initiative. The awarded grants through the ApprenticeshipUSA Initiative include: the Arkansas Apprenticeship Pathways Initiative (AAPI), Arkansas Expands Apprenticeship (AREA), and the State Accelerator Planning grant. These grants promote the expansion of both the number of registered apprentices across the State as well as the number of occupational-based RA programs to meet employer-driven workforce needs in both traditional and non-traditional RA industries. Additionally, these grants promote an increased diversity in the population being served across RA programs. These grants are geared towards creating and expanding RA programs in targeted growth industries, strengthen employer and service provider partnerships, as well as provide an opportunity for participants to learn occupational specific skills as well as good wages while gaining college credit. Through partnerships with the Arkansas Apprenticeship Coalition, Community Colleges, ADWS and Local Workforce Development Area Business Services Outreach Staff, the USDOL State Office of Apprenticeship, and the Office of Skills Development, the State is working to utilize RA as an integrated WIOA workforce development tool to serve employer workforce development needs. Furthermore, all Registered Apprenticeship programs that desire so have been added to the list of approved eligible training providers.