Narrative: III. a. 2. H.

Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS)

 Expanding the availability and effectiveness of education and on-the-job learning programs that are aligned to critical competencies in dynamic fields requires both innovations and new pathways for training in in-demand and labor-gapped occupations. Specific strategies underway to assure credentials are industry-recognized and that they are portable and stackable requires commitment to continuous review of what is available. NMDWS accomplishes by maintaining an Eligible Provider Training List (ETPL) that is relevant and current. Each local workforce development board is activity engaged in identifying and developing new training programs to meet industry needs and making sure these training programs are certified.

New Mexico K-12 public schools are also actively engaged in creating and developing dual credit courses that not only prepare students for post-secondary education, but also include opportunities to earn portable and stackable credentials that are meaningful to current industry. NMDWS partners closely with Carl D. Perkins funded Career Technical Education (CTE) programs to assure they are informed by local industry and aligned with identified sector strategies and used to inform career pathways throughout post-secondary education.

In New Mexico, many Registered Apprenticeship programs have articulation agreements with post-secondary institutions by which apprentices receive related instruction and also acquire post-secondary credentials leading to an Associate’s Degree.

Title II – Adult Education and Family Literacy Program

Adult Education is committed to supporting the goals and overarching strategies presented in this Plan.  It is committed to service excellence within its scope of activities and to the identification of increasingly effective ways to align State and partner efforts to serve individuals with significant barriers to employment, especially individuals with low literacy levels.  This includes collaborating with WIOA core programs and partner programs included in the Combined State Plan, as well as outside partners in Education and Industry, Health and Human Services, Economic Development, and beyond.  Because of its focus as an education program that fundamentally supports workforce development, Adult Education is oriented more directly toward continuously improving the coordination, alignment, and provision of services to individuals, but excellent service in this domain necessarily involves the coordination, alignment, and provision of services to employers.  And it certainly involves close partner engagement with New Mexico's educational institutions, primarily with its institutions of higher education, but also with other eligible training providers and with the Public Education Department and community schools.

Adult Education is committed to improving access to postsecondary credentials.   Providing bridges to postsecondary education and training with recognized credentials is one of Adult Education's core priorities and performance indicators.  Co-enrollment with core WIOA partner programs is one strategy for improving access to postsecondary credentials; working with partners to identify and eliminate barriers is another.  Adult Education is working with NMHED and financial aid departments of postsecondary institutions to clarify ability to benefit issues in a way that could help improve matriculation for Adult Education and other students, and as indicated in (E) it is specifically working to address the state's remediation issues that are holding many students back from persisting and completing postsecondary education and training and earning credentials.  In addition, Adult Education is spearheading efforts to add an additional option for secondary credentialing to New Mexico's sanctioned options; the National External Diploma Program will help a subset of New Mexicans achieve a high school diploma so they can move on to earn postsecondary credentials.  Adult Education is working to support the development of more high-quality integrated education and training programs and models in the state, which will help improve program completion rates.  And as reinforced in section (D), supporting the coordinated, strategic development of priority industry sector-driven career pathways in the state will contribute substantially to valuable postsecondary credential access.

Additional examples of Adult Education strategy and alignment efforts will be addressed in the next section (I).

MODIFICATION UPDATE: National External Diploma Program (NEDP) pilot

After several years of advocacy and subsequent legislative action, in 2020 NMHED-AE was able

to begin formal preparations to launch our state NEDP pilot. The NEDP will provide New Mexicans with an alternative pathway to high-stakes testing to earn a high school credential, via a hands-on learning program that assesses high school-level skills and awards a traditional diploma to help graduates meet their academic and career goals. Designed for self-directed out-of-school youth and adults with life and work experiences and a general familiarity with the computer, this alternative credential pathway will be able to offer critical flexibility for busy adults with multiple work and family demands.

Like all Adult Education services, the NEDP will be offered at no cost to eligible adults and at nominal cost to the state. The comprehensive program will include guided tasks and projects related to in-demand career and lifelong learning experiences in Financial Literacy, Health Literacy, Civic Literacy, Geography, History, Science, and Twenty-First Century Workplace and will evaluate skills based on the Common Core College and Career Readiness standards.

NMHED-AE is currently working with PED and several local Adult Education programs to roll out the NEDP pilot this program year. The National External Diploma Program was recently named as an innovative practice in adult education by the Advancing Innovation in Adult Education project, a five-year effort led by Manhattan Strategy Group and funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE).

Title IV - Vocational Rehabilitation

 DVR supports state community colleges and career/technical schools by supporting students with disabilities with tuition, fees, books, tools, uniforms, and supplies for various programs.  DVR can also assist these students with out-of-town dorm costs, computers, child care, and transportation as it relates to a school plan.  

Commission for the Blind

 The Commission for the Blind provides vocational rehabilitation services that enable access to postsecondary credentials for both transitioning students and for adults who are receiving vocational rehabilitation services from the Commission. For students age 14 to 21, the Commission provides “Counseling on opportunities for enrollment in comprehensive transition or postsecondary educational programs at institutions of higher education” as a part of the Provision of the required Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) pursuant to 34 CFR 361.48(a)(2)(iii).  The Commission has also forecasted that it has sufficient resources to provide all of the five required Pre-ETS services, and the Commission is therefore able to provide the nine authorized Pre-ETS services to students age 14 to 21. This includes developing and improving strategies that enable students who are blind to participate in postsecondary education experiences pursuant to 34 CFR 361.48(a)(3)(II). Pursuant to 34 CFR 361.48(a)(3)(ix), the Commission also engages in “disseminating information and strategies to improve the transition to postsecondary activities of individuals who are members of traditionally unserved and underserved populations.”  The Commission also provides vocational rehabilitation services to adults who are attending “universities, colleges, community or junior colleges, vocational schools, technical institutes, or hospital schools of nursing or any other postsecondary education institution” pursuant to 34 CFR 361.48(b)(6). The Commission and the Commission for the Blind State Rehabilitation Council have jointly developed and adopted Goals and Priorities that improve access to postsecondary credentials, including Goals and Priorities “e, I, and j” which state:   

e. Enhance the number and quality of employment outcomes by partnering and working with community colleges and One-Stop centers to more effectively utilize services available through the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth, and Wagner-Peyser programs.

i. Enhance the number and quality of employment outcomes of transition consumers by providing enhanced Pre-Employment Transition Services, including assistive technology where appropriate as a part of an Individualized Plan for Employment, by providing assistive technology through the Technology for Children Program, by conducting increased outreach activities, by conducting educational activities to meet the specific needs of transition students, and by increasing proficient use of Braille and Braille math.

j. Enhance the number and quality of employment outcomes achieved by consumers by providing services in a way that genuinely honors the "informed choice" provisions of the Rehabilitation Act, enabling Commission consumers to have the opportunity to obtain employment at higher levels of compensation.

COMBINED PARTNERS PROGRAMS

Modification Update: Jobs for Veteran State Grants Program (JVSG)

LVER staff are provided with LVER Desk Reference as part of their continuing staff development to improve veterans and employers services.  Section IV of the LVER Desk Reference is Coordinating Apprenticeship and OJT Programs and contain the following topics:

1. State Apprenticeship Agency with benefits of starting Apprenticeship Program for the

Employer and steps to becoming an apprentice.

2. On-the-Job Training Programs for VA and WIOA.

3. Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) through NM Economic Development Department.

4. U.S. Department of Labor Apprenticeship and veteran-related job training initiatives.

5. Department of Defense Skill Bridge initiative

The LVER Desk Reference, Section IV, Promoting Credentialing and Licensing Opportunities contain the following topics:

1. NM Regulation and Licensing Department.

2. NM Department of Workforce Solutions Licensed Occupations

3. NM Higher Education Department

4. NM Motor Vehicle Department

LVER staff and DVOP specialist utilize the veteran’s DD Form 214 that identifies their primary and secondary military occupational specialties, to include collateral duty appointments, and special, and incentive occupational compensation.  The military occupation crosswalks to O*Net and provides opportunity to develop credential and certifications for veterans and eligible persons.

     Note:  Department of Defense Compensation for Hazardous and Career Incentives is available at https://militarypay.defense.gov/Pay/Special-and-Incentive-Pays/Index/. 

As provided in III. a. 2. F., Partner Engagement with Other Education and Training Providers, LVER staff and DVOP specialist have an array of resources available to assist veterans and eligible persons with referrals to education and training providers.

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)

 SCSEP participants are working to achieve certification as Peer Support Workers and Community Health Workers through national certification programs