Narrative: II. b.

1. Vision

Today's economic landscape and workforce is constantly changing and the demands shift on a regular basis for a growing economy. Since 2016, Louisiana has experienced growth in numerous in-demand industry sectors of the workforce, including manufacturing, information technology, healthcare and biotechnology, to name just a few. With the increasing need for skilled workers, the creation of Industry Sector Partnerships aligns education and skills acquisition to meet the general requirements of workers and businesses. One of the goals in releasing the plan is to provide a reliable guide focused on creating and sustaining good jobs while identifying strategies that support future-oriented education and training for Louisiana citizens as well as America's Workforce.  This vision has continued the mission with which Gov. Edwards charged the people of Louisiana.  That shared mission of “Putting Louisiana First” and making it possible for all Louisiana citizens to be healthy and prosperous has guided the preparation and evolution of this plan.

 Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) and Governor John Bel Edwards work consistently to support and remain committed to workforce progress as a priority of Louisiana.  Louisiana's economy is evolving. Parallel to our evolution are the changing needs and demands of our state and nation, resulting in a shift in the business needs and skills demand to meet businesses' needs today and in the future. As the administration continues to keep the promises made during the previous and current terms, LWC has re-energized the Workforce Commission's commitment to increasing business engagement, employer utilization, reducing employer costs, and increasing value received from the workforce system to recruit and hire qualified Louisiana workers. We additionally have refocused our commitment to ensuring that working families earn a living wage that strengthens families and support our state's economic recovery.

 Louisiana's workforce climate is at an all-time high of economic vibrancy and LWC supports the philosophy of bipartisan and cross-agency collaborations that creates solutions to lift people out of poverty. It is our goal to ignite more enthusiasm in creating solutions pertinent to Louisiana's Labor environment.

 We, the people of Louisiana, envision a workforce system that will provide pathways for all Louisianans, including individuals who are receiving public assistance, the unemployed or underemployed, those who are deficient in basic skills, as well as persons with disabilities, including disabled veterans, and others who have significant barriers to employment. All will have access to education, training and supportive services needed to prepare for and secure high-demand occupations that pay family-sustaining wages.

2. Goals

STRATEGIC GOALS

Goal 1:  Continue to strengthen existing and establish new Career Pathways as a model for skill, credential and degree attainment for Louisiana citizens. This will help to secure jobs that provide opportunities for economic independence and family stability. This goal will be accomplished by executing the following objectives:

1.       Workforce development system partners will develop a shared vision and strategy for industry sector-based career pathways for youth and adults.  Career pathways are diverse, with multiple entry and exit points allowing individuals of varying abilities, including adults and youth with multiple barriers to employment and in need of skill enhancement, to have realistic access to pathways.

2.       Engage employers and integrate sector strategy principles to ensure employers, business associations and organized labor are partners in creating demand-driven career pathways.

 3.      Increase the identification, prioritization and leverage of workforce system partner resources to provide supportive services and reduce barriers,

 4.      Strengthen the alignment of K-12 education, workforce, and other viable initiatives such as improving processes for transfer credits through postsecondary, apprenticeships and college coursework as entry and exit points in the career pathways model for in- and out-of-school youth.

 5.      Expand utilization of registered apprenticeship by employers to train workers and meet industry sector standards and demands.

Goal 2: Expand career services and opportunities for targeted and special populations facing multiple barriers. 

1.       Expand and incentivize the utilization of evidenced-based workforce strategies that support targeted populations (e.g., the long-term unemployed, individuals with disabilities, veterans, out-of-school youth) into sector-based career pathways leading to gainful employment. 

 2.       Enhance and expand the delivery of integrated reentry and employment strategies to reduce recidivism among Louisiana’s returning citizens and meet the skill and workforce needs of business and industry.        

Goal 3: Increase the participation and utilization of the workforce system by employers and job- seekers to foster the improvement and expansion of employer-driven regional sector partnerships to meet occupational demands as supported by regional labor market information.

1           Increase the use of labor market and educational data and technology, in coordination with local data, to inform and guide strategic workforce development decisions.

 2.         Develop focused, regional workforce initiatives that blend partner resources (co-. investment) to educate and train workers for jobs within the workforce region.

 3.         Increase the alignment and efficacy of formula, discretionary and competitive workforce funding in efforts to support regional and local workforce initiatives.

 4.         Promote meaningful, portable industry credentials supported throughout the workforce delivery system.

 5.         Fortify a system of accountability for the workforce development system that supports and promotes the evaluation of the effectiveness of state and local workforce development boards in meeting the workforce demands of business and workforce.

3. Performance Goals

Proposed performance levels are in Appendix 1 and are subject to modification pending final agreement with the Secretary of Labor in conjunction with the Secretary of Education and approved by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL).

In addition to the common performance measures described in Section 116(b)(2)(A), LWC will continue to track business-focused metrics as USDOL identifies standardized indicators for measuring Effectiveness in Serving Employers (EISE). LWC reports annual count data, housed in the HiRE MIS system, of employer services. Further, LWC chose two EISE pilot performance measures to report to USDOL annually—Employer Penetration and Repeat Business Customers Rate. The results and methodology are detailed in the annual report.

Employer Penetration Rate (Percentage of employers using services out of all employers in the State.)

This approach tracks the percentage of employers with twenty or more employees who are using the core program services out of all employers represented in an area or the State served by the public workforce system. American Job Centers will keep track of the number of establishments served within a program year, and States will collect that data and compare it to the aggregate number of employers in the state.

PRIMARY DATA SOURCE

The primary source of information for this measure is data recorded in the Management Information Systems (MIS) system of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC), HiRE. Services to employers are both automatically recorded by HiRE and manually entered into HiRE by One-Stop Center staff. The HiRE system has the capability to have service codes added to indicate business market penetration activity.

Repeat Business Customers (Percentage of repeat employers using services within the previous three years)

This approach tracks the percentage of employers who receive services that use core program services more than once. This approach is useful in determining whether employers who receive services from the core programs are satisfied with those services and become repeat customers. This approach also assesses the workforce system’s ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with employers over extended periods of time.

PRIMARY DATA SOURCE

The primary source of information for this measure is data recorded in the MIS system of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, HiRE. Services to employers are both automatically recorded by HiRE and manually entered into HiRE by One-Stop Center staff. The HiRE system has the capability to record service codes to indicate business market penetration activity.

4. Assessment

LWC conducts an assessment of operations through review and analysis of participant data.  Leadership focuses on identification of opportunities that have been capitalized upon and those that could have been. The review and assessment is conducted on a quarterly basis, those assessments are collaboratively engaged for purposes of improvement of services.  The LWDB Directors actively participate in the evaluation and analysis of successes and opportunities.