Located in:
- II. Strategic Elements
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a Strategic Planning Elements section that analyzes the State’s current economic environment and identifies the State’s overall vision for its workforce development system. The required elements in this section allow the State to develop data-driven goals for preparing an educated and skilled workforce and to identify successful strategies for aligning workforce development programs to support economic growth. Unless otherwise noted, all Strategic Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. Where requirements identify the term “populations”, these must include individuals with barriers to employment as defined at WIOA Section 3. This includes displaced homemakers; low-income individuals; Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians; individuals with disabilities, including youth who are individuals with disabilities; older individuals; ex-offenders; homeless individuals, or homeless children and youths; youth who are in or have aged out of the foster care system; individuals who are English language learners, individuals who have low levels of literacy, and individuals facing substantial cultural barriers; farmworkers (as defined at section 167(i) of WIOA and Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 35-14); individuals within 2 years of exhausting lifetime eligibility under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program; single parents (including single pregnant women); and long-term unemployed individuals. Additional populations include veterans, unemployed workers, and youth, and others that the State may identify.
- a. Economic, Workforce, and Workforce Development Activities Analysis
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include an analysis of the economic conditions, economic development strategies, and labor market in which the State’s workforce system and programs will operate.
- a. Economic, Workforce, and Workforce Development Activities Analysis
II. a. 1. C. Comparison of Economic and Workforce Analytical Conclusion. Describe areas of opportunity for meeting hiring, education, and skills needs identified in the economy compared to the assets available in the labor force in the state.
Current Narrative:
While Louisiana boasts a diverse economic landscape and workforce, there are areas in need of more skilled workers. An analysis of total job openings by occupation over the past 12 months, alongside data on completers of educational programs in Louisiana, reveals some occupational and industry areas that require more attention. Construction, health care, manufacturing, and transportation industries all appear to have large deficits in the supply of skilled workers in comparison to the job openings available within related occupations in Louisiana. Some of the most notable occupations in need of more workers are Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, which is in need of approximately 2,000 skilled workers who can fill available positions. Other notable occupations in demand of skilled labor include Nursing Assistants (1600), Welders (1230), Customer Service Managers (900), and Installers and Repairers (615). Occupational areas in which there are a saturated presence of skilled labor include Chief Executives, Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians, Electrical and Electronic Installers and Repairers, and Computer and Information Systems Managers.