Washington, DC –– Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) voted to pass the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) out of the House Education and Labor Committee and advance it to the House floor. WIOA is a crucial reauthorization of our nation's workforce development, job training, adult education, and youth employment programs. The bill will help workers gain the skills they need to obtain good-paying jobs while also strongly supporting our small businesses in hiring the skilled employees they need to fill millions of positions currently open nationwide.
This legislation includes key priorities that Rep. Sherrill has championed, including a new Workforce Development Innovation Fund that will provide resources for evidence-based workforce programs and expanded labor representation on our state and local workforce boards.
"This legislation is critical to providing greater opportunity for workersand helping our small businesses- which are the backbone of towns throughout North Jersey - overcome labor shortages," said Rep. Sherrill. "I'm thrilled that this bill includes a robust commitment to the participation of our labor organizations in the workforce system, and to the use of rigorous evaluations to ensure that we are funding the programs that are proven to work for job seekers and businesses. I now urge my colleagues in the House to pass this important legislation as soon as possible."
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2022 strengthens our workforce system and expands opportunities available to workers by:
Fully funding WIOA job training and workforce development programs over six years, allowing the workforce system to serve one million workers annually by 2028;
Increasing the representation of labor organizations on state and local workforce boards;
Creating the Workforce Development Innovation Fund, which will fund evidence-based workforce programs that have demonstrated significant impacts on wages and jobs;
Establishing a Department of Labor program to help formerly incarcerated individuals transition back to employment and access sustainable career pathways;
Expanding summer and year-round jobs programs for at-risk youth;
Strengthening the quality of the Jobs Corps program;
Codifying partnerships between businesses and our community college system to provide high-quality job training; and
Strengthening industry and sector partnerships to help meet the needs of both employers and workers.
###
Original source can be found here.
