Narrative: IV.

Staff representing each core program - Titles I, II, III, and IV – regularly meet with Veterans Program and Senior Community Service Employment Program staff for joint planning and coordination. This working group addresses issues including data coordination, policy development, performance accountability, Eligible Training Provider List), and One-Stop operator designation. The Combined Plan programs strive for workers’ economic self-sufficiency by aligning workforce development with education and economic development to support employment, training, and career progression opportunities for all Alaskans. The plan was developed with input from AWIB and surveys and ongoing input from employers, apprentices, workforce intermediaries, state agencies, and other partners’ joint planning and coordination efforts to implement the WIOA goals, strategies, and performance measures.

An example of joint planning and coordination of programs is the Alaska State Plan on Aging under the Older Americans Act, approved on September 29, 2023, for October 1, 2023 through June 30, 2027. This Senior Services State Plan was developed by the Alaska Commission (ACoA) on Aging in conjunction with the Division of Senior and Disability Services and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. It is the culmination of years of planning, surveying, and in-depth consideration of specific goals, including financial security for seniors. Through these joint efforts, Alaska will keep pace with its employment needs through planning, advocacy, and public awareness efforts, in collaboration with all organizations focused on the well-being of Alaskans.

The coordination and planning process also included nine listening sessions in May 2021, a statewide senior survey, and a provider survey to identify the top issues of concern to Alaskans. Access to health care and financial security are the greatest concerns for respondents of the 2018 Senior Survey. The provider survey identified financial need (for food, utilities, etc.) as the most important issue facing Alaskan seniors. To address this need, DVR, WIOA, ACoA, and SCSEP participate in the Senior Employment Initiative and Work Matters to promote services to seniors who want or need to be employed because they do not have enough retirement income and to assist them in obtaining new skills so that they can remain competitive and find employment.

The combined WIOA plan is informed by several other collaborative workforce planning efforts: Alaska Career and Technical Education Plan; Apprenticeship Training Plan; Alaska Gasline Workforce Plan; Alaska Healthcare Workforce Plan; Building Alaska’s Construction Workforce Development Plan; Alaska Transportation Industry Workforce Development Plan; Alaska Maritime Workforce Development Plan; Alaska Mining Workforce Development Plan; and Alaska Core Competencies for Direct Care Workers in Health and Human Services.

Another example of joint planning and coordination is determining the state’s Effectiveness in Serving Employers performance indicators. After multiple discussions among the WIOA core and required partners, Alaska uses, and is committed to improving, its Employer Penetration and Retention Rates. Our approach to serving employers emphasizes proactive, staff-initiated outreach to meet the current and future employment and training needs of Alaska employers. This focus will continue to facilitate long-term business relationships built on confidence and trust between Alaska employers and well-trained job center staff.