Narrative: II. c.

1. The state’s workforce system is complex, comprising numerous programs, services, and initiatives administered by state agencies, secondary and higher education, community and technical colleges, local adult education providers, Registered Apprenticeship, and vocational rehabilitation providers. System partners are responsible for the delivery of a wide range of workforce education and training programs and related services, as well as education programs that support career preparation and advancement.

The system is interrelated because the programs and agencies serve either a common customer or are charged with achieving similar employment and education outcomes for their targeted customer groups. Therefore, the strategic planning process is designed to identify and focus on systemic issues that affect multiple parts of the system programs or agencies that address broad, big-picture workforce issues. Because the system strategic plan focuses on issues that span agencies and programs, it fulfills a unique and complementary role in the workforce system and does not duplicate the purpose or scope of other agency or program plans.

Several priority issues were identified by the Arkansas Workforce Development Board that are being addressed by system partners during our ongoing strategic planning activities.

Increasing Skills and Education Attainment

Education is the foundation to a strong workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted numerous individuals across the state, causing unprecedented increases in unemployment and rapid changes in the way people learn and access information. In a post-pandemic recovery era, Arkansas will need more focus on equity, education, and training, which is crucial to creating more skilled workers, deeper talent pools, and a more resilient workforce.

As the skill requirements of jobs increase and change rapidly, businesses need a diverse, highly skilled pipeline of workers ready for the jobs they create, and Arkansans need access to training so they can be equipped for those jobs.

Below are specific strategies identified to help increase skills and education attainment and to ensure Arkansas has the best workforce development system in the country.

1. Increase career awareness. Every Arkansan needs access to quality career information that will help them identify occupations and jobs that are growing in their area and available training programs that can help to prepare them for those jobs. Career information includes individual experiences with employers and access to data and career exploration tools, such as Discover Arkansas. 
2. Advocate for increased educational attainment. Enhance programs to raise the high school graduation rate and improve the technical curriculum offered – including remote online learning environments. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the evolution of education in the digital age. The importance of digital literacy is highlighted in the effort to increase the number of postsecondary degrees, credentials, or certificates needed to address the education attainment gap
3. Promote access to job training for high-demand fields. Many employers have job openings that remain unfilled because of a lack of workers with the right skill sets. To meet those demands, specifically in a post-pandemic era, recruitment and re-training are vital. The key is to promote the use of Arkansas Workforce Centers and engage with workforce development boards for incumbent worker training programs, internships, and apprenticeships to
   collectively reconnect the disconnected workforce and job seekers to high-demand fields. Employers in all sectors are called upon to collaborate with partner agencies to identify and adopt effective strategies to increase alignment and make better use of resources. It is also important that all partners recognize that the need for high-demand fields are not the same from region to region.
4. Increase access to education for those that have barriers. Support persons with disabilities, adult learners,  former offenders, and others with equitable access to employment, education, and resources. Additionally, support initiatives that promote opportunities for disconnected youth between the ages of 16-24, to build a career path and obtain the skills and education needed to prepare them for successful employment and continued educational achievement. Increased Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act funding for at-risk youth
   programs permits the implementation of more high-quality, work-based learning opportunities, like  apprenticeships. Financial assistance for books and materials, childcare, transportation, internet access, and electronic devices are wrap-around support critical to successful participation in training and educations.

Fostering Employer Leadership

Arkansas will proactively address the changing needs of the economy for a job-driven system by strengthening and expanding business engagement strategies. Employer-led job training programs have the best career outcomes. Employers know best what skills their workers need, and employer involvement is key for workforce development and job readiness. Businesses that invest in developing North Carolina’s workforce will benefit from well-trained employees and a more innovative and diverse workplace that better reflects its community.

Below are specific strategies identified to ensure a stronger connection to the business community and to ensure that the workforce system is meeting the needs of the economy.

• Create a workforce development system that is value-driven for employers, aligns education with industry demands, prepares Arkansans for the future, and drives economic development. To meet this goal, we will streamline customer access, measure, and invest in what works and coordinate across agencies to actively engage employers to drive Arkansas' workforce system. 
• Increase the number of employers participating in work-based learning experiences and apprenticeships while also establishing employer champions, including current members of the State and Local Workforce Development Boards.
• Leverage employer data on workforce projections and training needs using tools and measures for business engagement. Technology such as Ready For Life can be utilized to assist Arkansas businesses to connect with and get more information about job seekers in Arkansas.

Supporting Local Workforce Innovation

Arkansas' workforce development system is supporting communities across the state that are developing great local models of workforce development. Arkansas must build upon these successes by highlighting them for replication to continue to build and expand innovative workforce solutions.

Below are specific strategies identified to ensure Arkansas workforce development system is innovative.

•  Advance leadership development opportunities to workforce professionals. Education and workforce partnerships drive successful career-readiness initiatives. Empowering local workforce leaders with development opportunities that encourage knowledge transfer will promote capacity building, strengthen the effectiveness of localized efforts, and improve outcomes across the communities they serve.
• Support initiatives to innovate and replicate good ideas. Local leaders know the unique needs, challenges, and opportunities of the communities they serve. Supporting the piloting of new ideas designed for their communities is critical. When local innovation efforts are successful, communities across the state can learn from them and incorporate them into their local efforts as well. In this way, replication of good ideas can become best practices across the state. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ADWS convened weekly virtual meetings with Local Workforce Development Areas to share best practices and innovative service delivery strategies. We will continue these regularly scheduled meetings as part of our ongoing strategy.
• Promote local COVID-19 pandemic workforce recovery initiatives leveraging technology to reimagine the talent pipeline. Employers want educated, skilled, and competent workers to help them solve tomorrow's business challenges today. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened this workforce need. Utilizing technology to retool the employer/job seeker connection and upskilling and reskilling our workforce for emerging and high-demand roles is an effective and efficient way to address talent expectations.

Promoting Governance and System Alignment

Arkansas' workforce system includes multiple agencies, programs, and funders. Collaboration, policy alignment, systemic communication, integration, and modernization of the workforce system will ensure a strong and healthy workforce system that can adapt to an ever-changing economy.

Below are specific strategies identified to ensure Arkansas' workforce development system has strong system integration while fostering collaboration.

• Strengthen and support system integration and inclusive practices through continuous coordination,  communication, and data sharing among the key components of Arkansas' workforce system
• Support increased awareness, communication, accessibility, and understanding of the Arkansas Workforce System through building a broad brand awareness aimed at attracting a large and diverse customer base, promoting a unity of effort to increase accessibility and user-friendly navigability. Continue to evolve the scope of technology in the career center system to provide enhanced remote accessibility to all Arkansans.
• Research advanced technology for marketing to adapt to new generations entering the workforce by staying abreast of the rapidly changing demands and needs of businesses and job seekers to ensure that our workforce system remains nimble, adaptive, and fully utilized. As technology advances, there is a continuous need to adapt to consumer expectations and environmental changes such as the recent pandemic.
• Measure and report on the effectiveness of the workforce development system including the usage and quality of services by collecting, understanding, tracking, and sharing data effectively to maintain a responsive and successful workforce development system, while evaluating the current system to identify any changes to maximize outcomes for Arkansas. The Arkansas Division of Workforce Services utilizes this data to
  ensure alignment of workforce development programs in Arkansas.

Industry Sector Partnerships

The Arkansas Sector Partnership (ASP), a partnership of employers, state agencies, education providers, Registered Apprenticeship, and community leaders, will engage project stakeholders in ongoing regional planning efforts across the state to assess workforce development needs and job demand. Input obtained from regional planning efforts will be used to adjust training (on an as needed basis) to meet employer needs. The ASP will utilize a regional planning sector framework that focuses on critical factors that include: 1) existing labor market information and other workforce related data; 2) regional input from community stakeholders; 3) industry sector/employer input; 4) aligned education and training activities to meet employer needs; 5) aligning business services/workforce services/case management services to serve workforce customers (both employers and dislocated workers); and 6) continuous improvement and sustainability after the life of the grant.

ASP will engage in regional planning activities, structured around WIOA regions, including assessing the workforce development and economic landscape to identify employer training needs, industry trends, and areas of job growth. The resulting information, data, and analysis will serve as a basis for serving dislocated workers and employers under ASP as well as serve as the cornerstone of WIOA regional and statewide planning activities. The regional and sector strategies planning activities will include career pathways to design career ladders that will focus on hard to serve individuals.

Both geographic and industry-based sector strategies are proven to be effective methods for aligning workforce service providers and community partners to address the occupational based training needs of employers.

The ASP regional planning process will also assess existing workforce services and community resources infrastructure to support workforce development efforts emphasizing the needs of hard to serve populations including those participating in career pathways. The ASP will engage in the following activities to ensure the development of a comprehensive regional and sector plan:

• • Identifying aligned industry credentials for those skills and competencies needed.
  • Assessing how well those skills and competencies are reflected in existing training programs and curricula; and
  • Identifying and mapping the necessary skills and competencies for in-demand jobs;
  • Establishing social and/or peer learning networks among regions using sector strategies;
  • Training for staff in State and local areas necessary to facilitate regional planning and implement regional strategies;
  • Developing regional plans;
  • Asset mapping and other analysis, such as SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats);
  • Acquisition, analysis, and utilization of LMI and workforce information to identify regional trends;
  • Partnership and program development with stakeholders, employers, and training programs;

This structure will also ensure that employers and regional industry representatives are actively engaged in designing and implementing strategies in five key areas: 1) serving on the project’s leadership team; 2) helping implement program strategies and goals; 3) identifying and mapping the necessary skills and competencies for the programs; 4) assisting with curriculum development and designing the program; and 5) assisting with the design of an assessment and/or credential that will address industry skill needs.

Finally, the state utilized WIOA Set-Aside funds to award additional funding to each of the state’s ten (10) Local Workforce Development Areas. This additional funding was used for regional planning purposes and designed to assist the areas in their ongoing broad strategic approaches.

Career Pathways

Arkansas leaders recognize the need for an education and training system that addresses the state’s economic challenges. Through the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative (CPI), the state has sought to coordinate publicly funded education with social services and workforce and economic development programs to produce a better-trained workforce and promote economic growth. The Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative is a series of connected education and training programs and support services that enable individuals to secure employment within a specific industry or occupational sector and to advance over time to successively higher level of education and employment in that sector. Each step on a career pathway is designed explicitly to prepare workers and students for the next level of employment and education. Using the career pathways framework, the workforce system seeks to target jobs in industries of importance to local economies and create avenues of advancement for current workers, jobseekers, and future labor market entrants, as well as a supply of qualified workers for employers.

Community colleges play a linchpin role in career pathways. The career pathways framework promotes systemic reform for community colleges -- providing a model that better aligns their various mission areas of workforce development, academic credentialing, transfer preparation, and remediation with the needs of employers. Pathways commonly feature community colleges working in partnership with other educational entities, workforce and economic development agencies, employer and labor groups, and social service providers to ensure investments in education and training pay off for the region’s economic vitality. Students entering into adult literacy or college remedial coursework are better able to advance to and succeed in college-level programs, and all students can more readily earn postsecondary credentials and make progress toward a career. Incumbent workers are provided training opportunities that help increase their skills and subsequent wages.

CPI, which began serving clients in fall 2005, seeks to improve the earnings through postsecondary education attainment of Arkansas’s low-income "TANF-eligible" adults by enabling them to work in industries of regional importance. Administered by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) with funding from the Division of Workforce Services (DWS), ADHE/CPI provides an opportunity for 25 campuses to develop Career Pathways Initiatives. Through the implementation of WIOA, the State seeks to use lessons learned and the framework created through the CPI to educate and encourage other jobseekers to utilize career pathways as a method for preparing for their eventual career.

CPI’s objectives for program participants are:

• • Improve the level of engagement among educators and employers to generate work opportunities for students and serve the workforce needs of the private sector.
  • Increased job attainment and job retention in key industries; and
  • Increased attainment of college-level certificates and associate degrees;
  • Increased enrollment in college-level certificate and associate degree programs;

Finally, Arkansas has become aware that some of the WIOA program partners are currently utilizing a software product that helps job seekers build career plans based upon their individual knowledge, skills, and abilities from previous jobs and education. The product then recommends occupations, career clusters, training programs, and available jobs. The software program is applicable to all types of workforce clients: youth, dislocated workers, TANF or SNAP E&T participants, Veterans, individuals with disabilities, and more.

Registered Apprenticeship

Many of the things that keep Arkansas’s many industries operative today were built long ago by trade and craftsmen. Fewer people are choosing a career in the trades, even as demand and unemployment rates continue to escalate. Arkansas, like many states in America, is suffering from a widening skills gap that desperately needs to be filled. That means, for everyone who enjoys modern day necessities like electricity, indoor plumbing, paved roads, air conditioning, homes, and buildings to live and work in, things could take a downward turn, because craftsmen and tradesmen are retiring at an alarming high rate, and not enough people are training to take their place.

Tradesmen and craftsmen are needed now more than ever. For those men and women that do step up to fill the ever-growing expertise gap in Arkansas, big opportunities await. From work-while-you learn apprenticeships to career-elevating college and technical courses, there are hundreds of ways to kick start a craft career in Arkansas.

Support for Registered Apprenticeship continues to grow in the State due to the relationship between the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship, the Arkansas Apprenticeship Coordination Steering Committee (a Governor appointed committee), the Arkansas Apprenticeship Coalition, the Office of Skills Development, the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services, and the Arkansas Workforce Development Board who collaborate continuously to address key issues regarding workforce development needs throughout the State of Arkansas.

As a way to attract more workers to Registered Apprenticeship, the Arkansas Apprenticeship Coordination Steering Committee established a website to inform jobseekers who may be interested. http://arkansasapprenticeship.com/. This website informs prospective apprentices of the occupations, the training, and what employment opportunities exist.

Jobs for Arkansas’s Graduates (JAG)

The Jobs for Arkansas’s Graduate (JAG) program is a state affiliate of the national Jobs for America’s Graduates. Middle and high school students, who are experiencing barriers to graduation, are provided a comprehensive set of services designed to keep them in school through graduation and improve the rate of success in achieving their education and career goals. Along with the academic support, JAG also provides work-based learning experiences that will assist students to further their education and training in pursuit of a rewarding career.

The JAG model is based on and evaluated by a series of performance measures and standards, which allow the program to report student outcomes. The data collected and reported includes student demographics, contact hours with students, graduation rate, direct work experience, job placement one year after graduation, and employment outcomes.

The former Arkansas Department of Career Education and Arkansas Division of Workforce Services established a strong partnership to ensure Arkansas high students graduate and continue on the path to success either in today’s workforce in or postsecondary education.

Arkansas Career Coach Program

The College and Career program is designed to motivate and support Arkansas students to achieve their goals as it relates to college and career planning. Students may begin working with a Career Coach in the 8th grade (7th, if enrolled in Career Orientation) with continued services through high school graduation. Career Coaches work in partnership with the Career Orientation instructors and school counselors to assist with the development and revision of the student’s college and career plans. The College and Career Coach program provides assistance and information for resources in the areas of: academic tutoring, career counseling, mentoring, financial guidance, and other supports necessary for postsecondary education/training access, retention, and success.

The Arkansas College and Career Coach Program was introduced as a pilot initiative in January 2010. The program was administered through the former Arkansas Department of Career Education and established partnerships with the Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas Department of Higher Education, and Arkansas Division of Workforce Services. During the pilot phase, the program was designed to provide college and career planning services and activities to middle/high school students within the twenty-one most economically challenged counties across the state of Arkansas. After the completion of the pilot phase, the program demonstrated a positive impact in the areas of college-going rate, ACT Scores, remediation rates, and financial aid applications and was expanded beyond the initial twenty-one counties.

Sector and Regional Planning

One of the functions of the Arkansas Workforce Development Board found in 20 CFR § 679.130 and under WIOA sec. 101(d) is assisting the Governor in the:

"Development and continuous improvement of the workforce development system, [including the] development and expansion of strategies to meet the needs of employers, workers, and job seekers particularly through industry or sector partnerships related to in-demand industry sectors and occupations.

In a 2019 USDOL Region IV meeting, the USDOL Regional Administrator introduced the State of Colorado Workforce Development Council’s Sector Strategies Plan. Arkansas has developed a similar strategy.

On February 9, 2017, - Release of Issuance PY16-10 to Local Workforce Development Boards- "Guidance for Implementation of Sector Strategies under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act".

https://www.dws.arkansas.gov/src/files/PY16-10-Guidance-for-Implementation-of-Sector-Strategies-under-the-WIOA.pdf

June 8, 2018 - Release of Issuance PY17-09 to Local Workforce Development Boards- "Applications for Regional Planning and Industry/Sector Partnerships Funding Assistance".

https://www.dws.arkansas.gov/src/files/PY-17-09-LWDB-Assistance-Proposals-Issuance.pdf

CURRENT- Planning adjustments to Regional planning fund requirements, including increased allotments (funding permitted) and reporting requirements that would allow Arkansas to report on Sector Strategy implementation.

Finally, a comprehensive review of the Colorado program identified the following areas in which Arkansas can make improvements in the development of its system.

Quick GAP between AR and CO information, based on the website:

2. Center to WIOA is the integration of service delivery amongst multiple workforce and talent development programs. Arkansas has strong partnerships among state agencies, two- and four-year educational institutions, economic development, Registered Apprenticeship, and community-based organizations. A priority of the Arkansas Workforce Development Board and central to the implementation of the strategic plan is to prevent and eliminate duplication across programs and align core programs. Alignment of core and optional programs will be made possible by the following strategies.

Reflect Robust Partnerships Reflect the establishment of robust partnerships among partners. The workforce center operator facilitates an integrated, co-located partnership that seamlessly incorporates services of the core partners and other workforce center partners.

Organize Service by Function Organize and integrate services by function (rather than by program); when permitted by a program’s authorizing statute and as appropriate, and by coordinating staff communication, capacity building, and training efforts. Functional alignment includes having workforce center staff who perform similar tasks serve on relevant functional teams, e.g. Skills Development Team, Business Services Team. Service integration focuses on serving all customers seamlessly (including targeted populations) by providing a full range of services staffed by cross-functional teams, consistent with the purpose, scope, and requirements of each program.

Use Common Performance Indicators Use common performance indicators to ensure that federal investments in employment and training programs are evidence-based, labor market driven, and accountable to participants and taxpayers. Center performance is transparent and accountable to the communities and regions served; data entry staff are trained and understand the importance of data validation, data collection processes, and the importance of accurate reporting.

Offer Highly Trained Career Counselors Staff the center with highly trained career counselors, skilled in advising job seekers of their options, knowledgeable about local labor market dynamics, aware of available services inside and outside the workforce center, and skilled in developing customers’ skills for employment success.

Implement Integrated Policies Develop and implement operational policies that reflect an integrated system of performance, communication, and case management, and use technology to achieve integration and expanded service offerings.

TANF and WIOA programs will enter a Memorandum of Understanding to coordinate and establish a common intake, assessment, and client engagement model. A low-income job seeker may qualify for the Medicaid or SNAP program, under their respective eligibility and enrollment rules and be referred to TANF through MOUs with the Arkansas Department of Human Services. TANF staff will be instructed to engage these individuals through a low touch model, and offer referral services to education and workforce partners who could best service them. And, where these job-seekers can be considered TANF eligible, they can then be enrolled in direct TANF services provisioning through TANF funded programs, as well as optimize service provisioning through co-enrollment with partnering programs. TANF and WIOA programs have also agreed in the MOU to leverage their existing IT systems to achieve these objectives and others, such as the development of referral forms to streamline services to these clients.

Cross-Train and Equip Center Staff Train and equip workforce center staff in an ongoing learning process with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to provide superior service to job seekers, including those with disabilities, and businesses in an integrated, regionally focused framework of service delivery. Center staff are cross-trained, as appropriate, to increase staff capacity, expertise, and efficiency. Cross-training allows staff from differing programs to understand every program and to share their expertise about the needs of specific populations so that all staff can better serve all customers. Center staff is routinely trained and are keenly aware as to how their particular function supports and contributes to the overall vision of the local board.

Maintain Integrated Case Management Develop and maintain integrated case management systems that inform customer service throughout the customer’s interaction with the integrated system and allow information collected from customers at intake to be captured once. Customer information is properly secured in accordance with personally identifiable information guidelines, and facilitated as appropriate, with the necessary memoranda of understanding or other forms of confidentiality and data sharing agreements, consistent with federal and state privacy laws and regulations. Data, however, would be shared with other programs, for those programs’ purposes, within the workforce system only after the informed written consent of the individual has been obtained, where required.

Business Services Teams

Each of the State's ten (10) Local Workforce Development Areas (LWDAs) are required to have fully functional Business Services Teams (BSTs). These BSTs support their local employers through the leveraging of resources, human capital, technology and market research to connect regional employers to a well-trained, highly qualified workforce. These BSTs are comprised of representatives from the WIOA core-and non-core partner programs in each geographical area.

ADWS is committed to providing resources to the 10 Local Workforce Development Areas which will enhance their delivery of business services throughout the state and foster their relationships with economic development. The ongoing development of the BSTs is led by the ADWS Business Services Manager.  This state-level staff convenes the BSTs for regularly scheduled meetings, both training sessions and strategic meetings, that are designed to better assist Arkansas employers. In Arkansas, BST members are expected to be Consultants, Champions, Connectors and Service Providers.

In order to establish a professional presence when approaching businesses, it is imperative that each BST member has an in-depth understanding of the programs offered by the workforce development system. BST members should confidently explain the requirements and benefits of each program; representatives must also provide suggestions on how services can work in concert to maximize positive results for the companies served. Five programs offer the most benefit to employers: WOTC, Federal Bonding, Apprenticeship Assistance Training Grant, Incumbent Worker Training, and the On-the-Job Training Grant. Federal Bonding and WOTC can be combined and added to any of the training grants listed. BTS members should also be knowledgeable about whether program can co-enroll various workers.

At the onset of the COVID pandemic, a major service offered to Employers by the BSTs was virtual job fairs. These virtual job fairs became a highly requested service due the lack of available workers as well as the need to acquire workers via non-traditional methods.

Randolph-Sheppard Program

The VFP staff provides trainees with classroom and OJT training to obtain a license to become a manager in the Randolph-Sheppard program. The VFP has a training manual the trainee must complete on their own, and pass quizzes included in the manual. OJT is offered by way of licensed managers or experienced workers in the field. Upon successful completion of all requirements, they are licensed.