Election 2024: Initial Takeaways

Election Day is Next Week Here's What We're Watching 

Sept. 30, 2024 - WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) has announced its incoming Board of Directors, comprised of 24 workforce industry leaders who will guide NAWB through the coming year. The announcement was made today during NAWB’s Annual Member Meeting. “Having leaders from local, state and national perspectives guiding our work here at NAWB is essential for our success in supporting local and state workforce development boards,” said NAWB President and CEO, Brad Turner-Little. “I’m excited for this new cohort of directors to join the existing Board as they bring important local perspective and experience to inform our strategic direction.” “Amid challenging times, workforce development boards nationwide have continued their vital mission: helping job seekers gain new skills and find employment while connecting employers with qualified talent," said Lisanne McNew, Chair of NAWB’s Board of Directors. "We are inspired by the opportunity to support these boards via NAWB as they identify the skills needed for success in the evolving economy, leverage all available resources to expand access to education and training, and implement strategies that drive measurable outcomes and foster sustainable growth in the workforce system.” Joining Chair McNew as Board officers are Vice Chair Kathy Jewett, Past Chair Jennifer Harris; Treasurer Al Searles; and Secretary Melanie Flowers. Returning to the Board are Lewis Brown, Jaime Cruz, Karolyn Ellingson, Antwanye Ford, Jeffrey Frederick, Debra Giordano, Mark Guthrie, Kyla Guyette, Ryan Hundt, Lee Lambert, Randy Miller, Walter Simmons, and Jennifer Wilson. New Board members are President & CEO​, CareerSource Broward, Carol Hylton; and CEO​, SCPa Works, Jesse McCree. Additionally, McNew has appointed the following for one-year special purpose directorships: Kevin Doyle​ of Wexford Strategies​, Brian Holland​ of Sectigo, John Kutch​ of Trinity Health, and Todd Nielsen of Colorado Urban Workforce Alliance. The new term will begin on Oct. 1, and new members will be sworn in at the fall Board of Directors meeting on Oct. 17. ### About the National Association of Workforce Boards NAWB serves, supports, and represents the nation's more than 590 workforce development boards, which coordinate with education and economic development stakeholders to administer regional workforce programs that meet the needs of job seekers, career-seekers, businesses, and communities. For more information on NAWB’s latest work and initiatives, please visit www.nawb.org .

NAWB Board Chair Provides Testimony to the House Small Business Committee Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development Read the full text below.

Bi-Partisan House Resolution Supporting September 2024 as "National Workforce Development Month" Introduced

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY25 Funding Bill, Rejects House Committee-Passed Draconian Cuts

June 21, 2024- The Senate made available a discussion draft of a bill to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Please note this has been messaged as a discussion draft, and the Senate Committee intends to solicit feedback before finalizing a bill. NAWB intends to be actively engaged in that process. NAWB was invited to a briefing by Senate committee staff and we have a few topline takeaways to share based on our initial review of the legislative text and related briefing: No Training Mandate: The discussion draft does not contain a mandated spend on training services. This is a major improvement over the House-passed WIOA proposal which contained a 50% training mandate for all Title I Adult and Dislocated Worker funds. NAWB is extremely pleased with this aspect of the proposal. Re-designation of local areas: The Senate’s draft proposal significantly increases the ability for State Governors to consolidate or otherwise restructure local workforce development areas (LWDAs). While these provisions are similar to the House bill in many ways, the Senate’s proposal goes much further in affording flexibility to States to re-designate LWDAs. This is an area of significant and growing concern for NAWB. Statewide Funding Reservations: Similar to the House-passed WIOA proposal, the Senate discussion draft would allow states to set-aside an additional 10% of WIOA Title I funding for statewide training initiatives. However, the draft is a bit more prescriptive and would require these funds to be used for Industry / Sector Partnership efforts or employer-based training activities. NAWB remains concerned about this aspect of the draft proposal as it would result in fewer resources for local communities to address their needs and wider priorities. Funding: The bill does not propose specific authorized funding levels for any programs authorized under the legislation, instead using “such sums as may be necessary” language throughout the bill. This means that, as written, appropriations leaders would be given much more discretion in determining funding for WIOA as part of the wider federal budget and appropriations process. In addition, the discussion draft envisions providing a new formula funding stream to states and local communities using H-1B visa fees for the exclusive use of funding Individual Training Accounts. As recently highlighted in the Senate’s WIOA hearing, the public workforce system must be adequately resourced to meet current and emerging needs. This is a key message NAWB is continuing to elevate for Congress.

NAWB gave testimony in support of a 5% funding increase for core Title I WIOA programs to the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee. Read the full text below.

NAWB gave testimony in support of a 5% funding increase for core Title I WIOA programs to the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee. Read the full text below.