Narrative: II. a. 2.

A. The State’s Workforce Development Activities

The following data shows the number of people served, funds spent, and providers that are part of Washington state’s Workforce Development System, with services provided with federal funds via one-stop WorkSource career centers, including comprehensive and affiliate sites. This analysis does not include all aspects of the system, nor all programs included in this TAP plan. The following information focuses on the 12-month period that ran from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

WIOA Title I Adults: There were 8,800 persons served and $15,474,000 in federal funds expended. Providers included WorkSource Centers and affiliate sites, contracted colleges, community-based organizations, and local government agencies.

WIOA Title I Dislocated Workers: There were 6,200 persons served and $15,191,000 in federal funds expended. Providers included WorkSource Centers and affiliate sites, contracted colleges, community-based organizations, and local government agencies.

WIOA Title I Youth: There were 2,300 persons served and $15,669,000 in federal funds expended. Providers included community-based organizations, educational service districts, school districts, and city/county government through the Workforce Development Councils.

Wagner-Peyser Labor Exchange: There were 46,600 persons served and $11,905,000 in federal funds expended. Providers included the Employment Security Department and WorkSource Centers statewide.

Trade Act – Trade Adjustment Assistance: There were 1,900 persons served and $11,526,000 in federal funds expended. Providers included the Employment Security Department and WorkSource centers statewide.

Basic Education for Adults: There were 26,000 persons served and $9,036,000 in federal funds and $83,582,000 in state funds expended. Providers included Washington’s community and technical colleges and community-based organizations.

Vocational Rehabilitation Services: There were 17,300 persons served and $42,547,000 in federal funds and $15,713,000 in state funds expended. Providers included local divisions of Vocational Rehabilitation units and contracted community partners.

Department of Services for the Blind: There were 1,000 persons served and $7,891,000 in federal funds and $3,514,000 in state funds expended. Statewide services are provided through offices located throughout the state.

TANF/WorkFirst Education and Training Services: There were 2,000 persons served and $10,630,000 in federal funds expended. Providers included Washington’s community and technical colleges, private career schools, and community-based organizations.

TANF/WorkFirst Community Jobs/Career Jump: There were 1,000 persons served and $8,050,000 in federal funds expended and $106,000 in state funds expended, provided by community-based organizations throughout the state.

TANF/Community Works: There were 62 persons served and $363,000 in federal funds  expended and $7,000 in state funds expended, provided by community-based organizations throughout the state.

TANF/WorkFirst Employment Services: There were 1,400 persons served and $10,626,000 in federal funds expended. Providers included WorkSource offices and some community services offices.

Participant numbers are rounded to the closest 100 while fiscal numbers are rounded to the closest 1,000.

It should be noted that there is duplication of individuals across programs and it is hard to get a true count of the number of unique individuals served by the system. It is however possible to look at patterns of co-enrollment across these programs. In the most recently available data, the following co-enrollment patterns were observed:

• The highest program co-enrollment was that 99% of WIOA Adult, Youth, Dislocated Worker (DW), & Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) were also Wagner-Peyser participants.
• The next highest was 44% of DW were also in WIOA Adult.
• 42% of TAA were in DW.
• 31% of Training Benefits participants were in CTC Worker Retraining.
• 13% of TAA were in CTC Worker Retraining.
• 12% of DW were in Private Vocational Schools (PVS)
• CTC Worker Retraining participants were also in Wagner-Peyser (10%), Training Benefits (6%), DW (3%), TAA (2%), WorkFirst (2%), and Adult (2%).
• 8% of DW were in TAA.
• 7% of Adult participants were in PVS.
• 8% of WorkFirst participants were also in Wagner-Peyser.
• CTC Professional-Technical Education participants were also in WorkFirst (2%), Wagner-Peyser (2%), and PVS (1%).
• Secondary CTE had no co-enrollment with other programs.
• Basic Education for Adults showed no co-enrollment.

B. Strengths and Weaknesses of Workforce Development Activities

Strengths:

• Wide Reach: Programs like WIOA Title I and Wagner-Peyser Labor Exchange collectively served a substantial number of individuals (over 50,000), showcasing the extensive reach of Washington's workforce activities.
• Diverse Funding: With the combination of millions in federal and state funds spent across various programs, there's significant financial backing that supports a wide array of workforce initiatives, from adult education to vocational rehabilitation.
• Variety of Providers: The involvement of different providers, from government agencies to community colleges and community-based organizations, introduces a rich diversity in service delivery. This variety allows for a broader range of services and expertise, catering to the many needs of the workforce and employers.
• Co-Enrollment: High co-enrollment rates, like the 99% of WIOA Title IB participants also engaged with Wagner-Peyser, suggest a strong level of integration and cross-utilization of services among programs, which can offer more holistic support to individuals.

Weaknesses:

• Complex System Navigation: With so many programs and services available, individuals find the system complex to navigate. The noted duplication of individuals across programs also points to potential inefficiencies in guiding participants to the most appropriate services.  The system is complex because it serves a wide variety of people with vastly differing circumstances. It takes a coordinated effort among many program partners at state agencies, school districts, community and technical colleges, local Workforce Development Councils, and community-based organizations to develop a skilled workforce able to meet the diverse demands of business and industry in Washington. To succeed, the system must effectively prepare individuals for the job market by offering training for occupations in demand, as well as job preparation and support services to help individuals succeed. The system must be sufficiently flexible and comprehensive to accommodate the varying needs of participants and employers. Effective coordination of service delivery is essential to success, as is employer engagement, particularly at the local level.
• Data Integration Challenges: Despite co-enrollment insights, the lack of a unified data system makes it difficult to track long-term outcomes for individuals across different programs, limiting the ability to assess overall program impact.
• Gaps in Service: The analysis doesn't clearly address how programs specifically cater to the unique needs of diverse groups, such as those with disabilities or from underserved communities, which our data indicates are most in need of services.
• Responsiveness to Market Demands: Given the dynamic nature of job markets, and the constant evolution of technology, it's unclear how quickly and effectively these programs can adapt to new labor market trends, especially in rapidly evolving sectors like artificial intelligence (AI).

C. State Workforce Development Capacity

• Robust Infrastructure: The state has a strong foundation with its network of WorkSource Centers and partnerships with educational and community organizations. This infrastructure is key to delivering diverse services across the state.
• Funding Streams: The mix of federal and state funding supports a wide variety of programs, from youth initiatives to retraining for dislocated workers. This financial diversity is a solid backbone for sustaining and expanding services.
• Policy Framework: The Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, with the membership, participation, and engagement of most members of the Washington workforce system, plays a crucial role in steering workforce strategies. Continuous policy updates and alignment with labor market needs are important to keep the workforce development activities relevant and effective.
• Interagency Collaboration: The data points to some level of collaboration between different workforce programs, but enhancing this cooperation through shared data systems and joint initiatives could significantly boost the state's capacity to address workforce challenges comprehensively.
• Technology and Data Utilization: The existing data systems support essential functions but advancing these to allow for more integrated, real-time data sharing and analysis could greatly improve the state's ability to tailor programs to evolving workforce needs and to track the effectiveness of these interventions over time.

Work that will be undertaken within Strategic Priority 1: System Integration, will better inform system partners about patterns of program participation and the outcomes for customers.

To increase the state's workforce development capacity, efforts should focus on simplifying access to programs, improving data integration for better decision-making, and ensuring that services are responsive and inclusive to meet the diverse needs of Washington's workforce and employers.

6/7 Sections in Correction Updates Follow:

The Workforce Board annually evaluates employment and earnings results for participants of Washington’s largest workforce programs, and puts this information out to policymakers, workforce development, K-12 and higher education officials, and the public, through an at-a-glance workforce system poster. https://wtb.wa.gov/planning-programs/washington-workforce-system/  This poster is printed and also available online as a PDF. In addition to employment and earnings results, the poster also provides a look at the net impact of nearly 20 workforce programs on the state’s economy and for taxpayers over a 10-year period.

The Workforce Board also provides a deeper dive into key workforce programs in an annual report known as Workforce Training Results. Basic dashboards on employment and earnings are provided online and include graphs and charts to tell the story over time, for multiple workforce programs. https://wtb.wa.gov/research-resources/workforce-training-results/

In addition, this data is linked to a comprehensive evaluation sorted by workforce development region, by race and ethnicity, gender and other demographic factors in a Tableau format in what’s known as the Data Explorer Dashboard. Also located at: https://wtb.wa.gov/research-resources/workforce-training-results/

The Workforce Board also annually evaluates the employment, earnings, and completion outcomes for participants of thousands of Washington’s postsecondary programs for potential inclusion on the state’s Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL), which is part of the state’s public-facing career and education exploration portal, www.CareerBridge.wa.gov . These WIOA-certified programs must meet certain thresholds established by the Board. The state’s WIOA Policy 5611 is located at: https://wtb.wa.gov/research-resources/etpl/

In addition to sharing employment, earnings and completion rates of ETPL-eligible programs, Career Bridge also shows the industries where recent graduates went to work. In the near future, Career Bridge will also be able to show which careers recent graduates entered, not just the broader industry area. This is possible because Washington recently became just the third state in the nation to require employers to provide job title/SOC code information as part of their quarterly UI reports. This data is being collected by the state’s Employment Security Department and we expect to be able to pull sufficient data together by the end of 2025 or in early 2026 to show on Career Bridge, helping students make even more informed decisions about what to study, and where, and know what the likely outcomes will be in the marketplace.

In addition, the Workforce Board is in the midst of modernizing Career Bridge, using nearly $1 million in legislative funding to make significant usability improvements to the site. https://wtb.wa.gov/career-bridge-modernization/  This includes providing a more up-to-date site architecture that uses the CTDL language to instantly capture linked, open data so that any updates to program information made by schools and colleges will automatically be moved to Career Bridge for more timely, informed decisions among students. This modernization effort is tied closely to High School and Beyond Planning efforts at Washington middle and high schools. Career Bridge will soon have a digital portfolio feature for high school students to readily save their career and education searches, and more fully explore their post-high school plans. The digital portfolio tool is also being designed to help high school counselors and teachers stay on top of student career and education planning—ensuring this vital work is done well by all students across the state, instead of remaining a “check the box” activity. Because Career Bridge is a free, public-facing tool, we expect a growing number of high schools to use it for state-mandated High School and Beyond Planning, including in more resource-limited, rural school districts in our state. The Workforce Board is working closely with the state’s Education Department, which is exploring a universal High School and Beyond Planning tool, ensuring that Career Bridge is fully connected to K-12 career and exploration efforts—in whatever form they take. The digital portfolio tool will also help adult workers and unemployed customers at our state’s WorkSource centers better explore and save their education and career searches via a digital portfolio.