Located in:
I. b. Plan Introduction or Executive Summary
The Unified or Combined State Plan may include an introduction or executive summary. This element is optional.
Current Narrative:
Principles and Priorities:
The planning process for the Talent and Prosperity for All (TAP) Plan began with a letter in the spring of 2023 from Gov. Jay Inslee to the Workforce Board, describing his vision for the future of the comprehensive workforce development system in Washington. This vision included stronger cross-agency collaboration and enhanced outcomes for all Washingtonians, businesses, and communities, especially those historically and structurally marginalized from economic success. The letter also reflects the urgency experienced by many stakeholders involved in Washington’s workforce system.
“Today, workforce challenges are one of the top concerns for both employers and workers here in Washington and across the country,” Inslee wrote to the board. “Our extraordinary workforce challenges limit the ability of businesses to expand and grow, stifle economic opportunity for Washington families, and hinder our work to create a Washington where everyone can thrive.”
The Governor’s message underscores a central theme of this plan: a strong and stable workforce is critical for Washington’s future economic success and quality of life.
The Governor’s vision supplied the foundation for discussions at the Workforce Board’s May 2023 retreat, where Board members and more than 60 stakeholder and partner representatives identified three guiding principles and five strategic priorities that would create the framework for the planning process for the 2024-28 state strategic plan for workforce development. Interviews were then conducted with each collaborating agency to learn how these principles and priorities resonated within the agency’s vision and mission, short- and long-term goals and operating plans. These conversations helped shape impact statements connected with each priority area of the TAP plan
Guiding Principles:
- Close economic disparities for marginalized populations.
Too many Washingtonians do not share in the state’s economic prosperity. To ensure no one is left behind, this plan focuses on those farthest from opportunity. Our goal is for more people to share in this broader prosperity rather than relying on statewide averages that can mask the financial realities many of our neighbors face.
- Deliver comprehensive support for individuals with barriers to employment.
Washingtonians are disconnected from the workforce for many different reasons, including the need for skill development, caring for their children or aging family members during work hours, a lack of affordable housing that makes it difficult to move to a new job or retain a current position, and the rising cost of transportation that makes owning a car, even a used one with many miles, economically out of reach. Needs are not bound by the eligibility and service limitations established in federal and state statutes. Success over the next four years will be determined at least in part by how well we support workers, not just with access to education and training, or help getting hired into open positions that fit their skills, but through wrap-around support that provides basics, from healthcare to childcare to transportation. Success also requires closer alignment with industry to help ensure Washington’s businesses have the work-ready talent they need to succeed. This may require statutory and administrative reforms that help incentivize the hiring of employees with barriers, along with financial and other support to help keep them on the job. A positive example of how partners came together to change policy is in the creation of a state fund pool, Economic Security for All (ECSA) that allows for continued support for low-income workers once employed. This makes good business sense for employers, and it makes good economic sense for our state as a whole when we help our workers with significant challenges keep working. ECSA was made permanent in the 2024 legislative session.
- Provide systemwide performance metrics and accountability.
Data is critical for understanding how the workforce system is operating as a whole. Are public investments in workforce development making a meaningful difference to the state’s economy and equitable benefit to all Washingtonians? This goes beyond the performance of individual programs—although those measurements also hold value. Employment rates, earnings, common skill gaps, persistent hiring challenges, and the demographics of those doing the work—including race, age, gender, disability, education level, and more—need to be looked at more holistically so we have a big picture of our workforce system and its impact. Transparent performance tracking is central to engaging more businesses and Washingtonians in helping us understand what is working and what isn’t. We will need to be more expansive and collaborative in our data collection and analysis to identify and more fully address the disparities that still exist.
Strategic Priorities:
- System: Integrate system services, data, accountability, and resources with clearly-identified partners and roles to expand, improve, and streamline customer outcomes.
Impact statements: A simplified and common intake; improved data sharing; data-informed integrated service delivery.
- Industry: Support business development and competitiveness by aligning with economic development and growth efforts.
Impact statements: Support sustainable and equitable industry growth; build and expand career pathways for critical industries; expand the definition of worker supports.
- Youth: Improve opportunities for young people to transition to an economically successful adulthood.
Impact statements: Increase youth awareness of services and programs; broaden access and shorten the time to gain industry-valued credentials.
- Credential Transparency: Explore credential transparency and expansion to improve equitable access, mobility, and long-term economic success.
Impact statements: Create a common definition of credentials using a single dictionary of terms; put learners at the center of credential pathway reforms.
- Job Quality: Develop a job quality framework to guide decisions and key investments in the delivery of business services.
Impact statements: Ensure access to pathways to living-wage jobs that are critical to communities; expand registered apprenticeships to more fields.