    [House Hearing, 117 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                      WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY
                         ACT REAUTHORIZATION: CREATING
                       OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                                SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                              HIGHER EDUCATION AND
                              WORKFORCE INVESTMENT

                                     OF THE

                        COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
                         U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                  HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 27, 2021

                                   __________

                               Serial No. 117-16

                                   __________

          Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

              Available via: edlabor.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov

                                   __________

                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    44-800 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2022

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR

                 ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia, Chairman

    RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona            VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina,
    JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut              Ranking Member
    GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,      JOE WILSON, South Carolina
      Northern Mariana Islands           GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania
    FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida         TIM WALBERG, Michigan
    SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon             GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
    MARK TAKANO, California              ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York
    ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina        RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia
    MARK DeSAULNIER, California          JIM BANKS, Indiana
    DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey          JAMES COMER, Kentucky
    PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington          RUSS FULCHER, Idaho
    JOSEPH D. MORELLE, New York          FRED KELLER, Pennsylvania
    SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania             GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina
    LUCY McBATH, Georgia                 MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa
    JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut            BURGESS OWENS, Utah
    ANDY LEVIN, Michigan                 BOB GOOD, Virginia
    ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota                LISA C. McCLAIN, Michigan
    HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan           DIANA HARSHBARGER, Tennessee
    TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico   MARY E. MILLER, Illinois
    MONDAIRE JONES, New York             VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
    KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina     SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
    FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana              MADISON CAWTHORN, North Carolina
    JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York, Vice-Chair  MICHELLE STEEL, California
    MARK POCAN, Wisconsin                JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana
    JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas                Vacancy
    MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey
    JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky
    ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
    KWEISI MFUME, Maryland

                       Veronique Pluviose, Staff Director
                      Cyrus Artz, Minority Staff Director
                                     ------

           SUBCOMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE INVESTMENT

                    FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida, Chairwoman

    MARK TAKANO, California              GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina
    PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington            Ranking Member
    ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota                GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
    TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico   ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York
    MONDAIRE JONES, New York             JIM BANKS, Indiana
    KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina     JAMES COMER, Kentucky
    JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York              RUSS FULCHER, Idaho
    MARK POCAN, Wisconsin                MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa
    JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas                BOB GOOD, Virginia
    MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey           LISA C. McCLAIN, Michigan
    ARIANO ESPAILLAT, New York           DIANA HARSHBARGER, Tennessee
    RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona            VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
    JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut            JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana
    SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon             VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina
    ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia    (ex officio)
      (ex officio)

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

    Hearing held on May 27, 2021.....................................     1

    Statement of Members:
        Wilson, Hon. Frederica S., Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Higher

          Education and Workforce Investment.........................     1
            Prepared statement of....................................     5
        Foxx, Hon. Virginia, Ranking Member, Committee on Education
          and Labor..................................................     7
            Prepared statement of....................................     8

    Statement of Witnesses:
        Barela, Joe, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Labor
          and
          Employment.................................................    10
            Prepared statement of....................................    13
        McGrew, Patrick J., Executive Director, Indiana Governor's
          Workforce Cabinet..........................................    15
            Prepared statement of....................................    17
        Sigelman, Mathew, CEO, Burning Glass Technologies............    19
            Prepared statement of....................................    21
        Wu, Portia, Managing Director for Public Policy, US
          Government Affairs, Microsoft Corporation..................    31
            Prepared statement of....................................    34

    Additional Submissions:
        Questions submitted for the record by:
            Omar, Hon. Ilhan, a Representative in Congress from the
              State of Minnesota.....................................    74
        Response to question submitted for the record by:
            Mr. McGrew...............................................    75

                            WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND
                        OPPORTUNITY ACT REAUTHORIZATION:
                           CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR
                                YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

                                  ----------

                             Thursday, May 27, 2021

                      House of Representatives,
                          Subcommittee on Education and
                                  Workforce Investment,
                              Committee on Education and Labor,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 12:05 p.m.,
    via Zoom, Hon. Frederica S. Wilson (Chairwoman of the
    Subcommittee) presiding.
        Present: Representatives Wilson, Takano, Jayapal, Omar,
    Leger Fernandez, Jones, Manning, Bowman, Pocan, Grijalva,
    Courtney, Bonamici, Scott (ex officio), Grothman, Stefanik,
    Fulcher, Miller-Meeks, Good, Spartz, Letlow, and Foxx (ex
    officio).
        Staff present: Jessica Bowen, Professional Staff; Ilana
    Brunner, General Counsel; Scott Estrada, Professional Staff;
    Rashage Green, Director of Education Policy; Sheila Havenner,
    Director of Information Technology; Eli Hovland, Policy
    Associate; Ariel Jones, Policy Associate; Katie McClelland,
    Professional Staff; Richard Miller, Director of Labor Policy;
    Max Moore, Staff Assistant; Mariah Mowbray, Clerk/Special
    Assistant to the Staff Director; Lorin Obler, GAO Detailee;
    Kayla Pennebecker, Staff Assistant; Veronique Pluviose, Staff
    Director; Banyon Vassar, Deputy Director of Information
    Technology; Claire Viall, Professional Staff; Joshua Weisz,
    Communications Director; Cyrus Artz, Minority Staff Director;
    Courtney Butcher, Minority Director of Member Services and
    Coalitions; Amy Raaf Jones, Minority Director of Education and
    Human Resources Policy; Hannah Matesic, Minority Director of
    Operations; Jake Middlebrooks, Minority Professional Staff
    Member; Mandy Schaumburg, Minority Chief Counsel and Deputy
    Director of Education Policy; Brad Thomas, Minority Senior
    Education Policy Advisor.
        Chairwoman Wilson. The Subcommittee on Higher Education and
    Workforce Investment will come to order. Welcome everyone. I
    note that a quorum is present. I note for the Subcommittee that
    Mr. Mrvan of Indiana is permitted to participate in today's
    hearing with the understanding that his questions will come
    only after all members of the Subcommittee on Higher Education
    and Workforce Investment on both sides of the aisle who are
    present and had an opportunity to question the witnesses.
        The Subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony on
    ``Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Reauthorization:
    Creating Employment Pathways for Dislocated Workers''.
        This is an entirely remote hearing. All microphones will be
    kept muted as a general rule to avoid unnecessary background
    noise. Members and witnesses will be responsible for unmuting
    themselves when they are recognized to speak, or when they wish
    to seek recognition.
        I also ask that Members please identify themselves before
    they speak, so call out your name before you speak. Members
    should keep their cameras on while in the proceeding. Members
    shall be considered present in the proceedings when they are
    visible on camera, and they shall be considered not present
    when they are not visible on camera.
        The only exception to this is if they are experiencing
    technical difficulty and inform Committee staff of such
    difficulty. If any Member experiences technical difficulties
    during the hearing you should stay connected on the platform,
    make sure that you are muted and use your phone to immediately
    call the Committee's IT director, you have been given that
    number in advance.
        Should the Chair experience technical difficulty or need to
    stop to leave, or step away to vote on the floor Mr. Takano, or
    another majority Member as a Member is hereby authorized to
    assume the gavel in the Chair's absence.
        This is an entirely remote hearing and as such the
    Committee's hearing room is officially closed. Members who
    choose to sit with their individual devices in the hearing room
    must wear headphones to avoid feedback, echoes and distortion
    resulting from more than one person on the software platform
    sitting in the same room.
        Members are also expected to adhere to social distancing
    and safe healthcare guidelines, including the use of masks,
    hand sanitizers and wiping down their areas both before and
    after their presence in the hearing room.
        In order to ensure that the Committee's five-minute rule is
    adhered to, staff will be keeping track of time using the
    Committee's field timer. The field timer will appear on its own
    thumbnail picture and will be named 001_timer. There will be no
    one-minute remaining warning. The field timer will show a
    blinking light when time is up.
        Members and witnesses are asked to wrap up promptly when
    their time has expired. While a roll call is not necessary to
    establish a quorum in official proceedings conducted remotely
    or with remote participation, the Committee has made it a
    practice whenever there is an official proceeding with remote
    participation for the Clerk to call the roll and help make
    clear who is present at the start of the proceeding.
        Members should say their name before announcing they are
    present. This helps the Clerk, and also helps those watching
    the platform and the livestream who may experience a few
    seconds delay.
        At this time I ask the Clerk to please call the roll.
        The Clerk. Chairwoman Wilson?
        Chairwoman Wilson. Congresswoman Wilson is present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Takano?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Ms. Jayapal?
        Ms. Jayapal. Jayapal is present.
        The Clerk. Ms. Omar?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Ms. Leger Fernandez?
        Ms. Leger Fernandez. Ms. Leger Fernandez is present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Jones?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Ms. Manning?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Bowman?
        Mr. Bowman. Mr. Bowman is present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Pocan?
        Mr. Pocan. Mr. Pocan is present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Castro?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Ms. Sherill?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Espaillat?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Grijalva?
        Mr. Grijalva. Grijalva present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Courtney?
        Mr. Courtney. Courtney present.
        The Clerk. Ms. Bonamici?
        Ms. Bonamici. Suzanne Bonamici's present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Scott?
        Mr. Scott. Scott's present.
        The Clerk. Ranking Member Murphy?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Grothman?
        Mr. Grothman. Present.
        The Clerk. Ms. Stefanik?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Banks?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Comer?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Fulcher?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Ms. Miller-Meeks?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mr. Good?
        Mr. Good. Good here.
        The Clerk. Mrs. McClain?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mrs. Harshbarger?
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Mrs. Spartz?
        Mrs. Spartz. Spartz is present.
        The Clerk. Ms. Letlow.
        [No response.]
        The Clerk. Ranking Member Foxx?
        Ms. Foxx. Foxx is here.
        The Clerk. Chairwoman Wilson that concludes the roll call.
        Ms. Wilson. Thank you so much.
        Mr. Jones. Madam Chair how is Jones recorded?
        The Clerk. Mr. Jones, I have marked you as present.
        Mr. Jones. Thank you.
        Mr. Takano. Madam Chair how is Takano recorded?
        The Clerk. Mr. Takano you are present as well.
        Mr. Takano. Thank you.
        Chairwoman Wilson. So everyone has been recorded. Thank
    you. Thank you so much. Pursuant to Committee Rule 8(c) opening
    statements are limited to the Chair and the Ranking Member.
    This allows us to hear from our witnesses sooner and provides
    all Members with adequate time to ask questions.
        I now recognize myself now for the purpose of making an
    opening statement. Today we meet for our second bipartisan
    hearing on reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and
    Opportunity Act, or WIOA.
        This hearing will address key priorities to support workers
    who have been forced out of their jobs and to help workers
    avoid future displacement through lifelong learning. WIOA
    supports an array of programs that provide displaced workers
    with the skills and support they need to attain higher paying
    and more rewarding careers.
        These include career services ranging from career planning
    and counseling to supportive services including lead-based
    payments. WIOA also provides workers with access to training
    services, including on the job training which allows workers to
    earn while they train. That is so important and have individual
    training accounts or ITA's which workers can use on approved
    in-State training programs.
        There is no better time to strengthen critical initiatives
    that help displaced workers get back on their feet,
    particularly as millions of workers remain unemployed, or under
    employed due to the pandemic. Worse, too many of the jobs lost
    during the pandemic will not be coming back, yet since well
    before COVID-19, Congress has underfunded workforce development
    programs under WIOA making their services largely unavailable
    to the workers and business they're intended to serve.
        Over the last decade Federal funding for workforce systems
    has decreased by nearly 20 percent adjusted for inflation.
    WIOA's core dislocated worker programs specifically received
    appropriate funding but lower authorized levels by combined 500
    million between fiscal years 2016 and 2020.
        As a nation we have repeated failed to sufficiently invest
    in workforce infrastructure. The United States currently spends
    on about 0.1 percent of its gross domestic product of workforce
    policy, compared to an average of 0.6 percent in other
    developed nations.
        In fact, in the last program year only allowed 30 percent
    of people who interacted with the public workforce system were
    actually able to access training because of the lack of
    funding. This chronic underfunding is a significant barrier to
    preparing workers to remain competitive in the global economy.
        It is also particularly frustrating given WIOA's programs'
    long record of helping employers and displaced workers overcome
    the challenges they currently fact. For example, a 2017 study
    found that individualized career services under WIOA included
    individualized employment plans and counseling, increased
    earnings for worker by up to 20 percent over a 30-month period.
        And in 2019 WIOA's displaced workers program served more
    than 250,000 people with more than 70 percent of those workers
    employed 1 year after they left. However, we should aim higher
    than just adequately funding WIOA to respond to workers
    displacement.
        We must also take proactive steps to prevent workers from
    being displaced in the first place. Today with the help of our
    expert witnesses, we will discuss how we can expand access to
    the lifelong learning and career navigation support that
    workers need in this ever-changing economy.
        These steps include expanding program eligibility to ensure
    more workers can access the full range of benefits and
    supportive services. Currently workers displaced by trade
    receive comprehensive support under the Trade Adjustment
    Assistance Act, but workers displaced for other reasons have
    access to a far more limited range of services under WIOA.
        We can also expand other career services and better track
    and demand skills and competencies for workers to upgrade their
    skills. This will enable more workers to rejoin or stay
    connected to the workforce at a time when businesses need
    talented employees.
        The importance of this effort to strength the WIOA is best
    understood through the real-life success stories. Let me give
    you one. Take for instance Wendy, an Idaho resident who was
    laid off from her job as a sales representative when she earned
    $21.00 an hour and benefits.
        After several unsuccessful interviews she had a temporary
    part-time and on-call retail position at Walmart paying $9.00
    an hour with no benefits. Here was Wendy, an unemployed worker
    over the age of 50 was feeling discouraged and doubtful that
    she could compete in the modern economy.
        With support from WIOA funded programs, she enrolled in a
    training program that helped actually turn her life around.
    After completing the program she was hired for an upper
    management job with Walmart's home office while making $25.00
    an hour with benefits.
        This success story can be replicated for millions of
    workers if we simply commit to funding and strengthening WIOA.
    Today we will discuss how we can help displaced workers forge a
    pathway forward while also preparing them with the lifelong
    education and training to navigate our changing economy.
        [The prepared statement of Chairwoman Wilson follows:]

      Statement of Hon. Frederica S. Wilson, Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
                   Higher Education and Workforce Investment

        Today, we meet for our second bipartisan hearing on reauthorizing
    the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or WIOA. This hearing
    will address key priorities to support workers who have been forced out
    of their jobs and to help workers avoid future displacement through
    lifelong learning.
        WIOA supports an array of programs that provide displaced workers
    with the skills and support they need to attain higher-paying and more
    rewarding careers.
        These include career services--ranging from career planning and
    counseling to supportive services and needs-based payments. WIOA also
    provides workers with access to training services--that is support so
    important--including on-the-job training, which allows workers to earn
    while they train and have individual training accounts, or I-T-As,
    which workers can use on approved, in-State training programs.
        There is no better time to strengthen critical initiatives that
    help displaced workers get back on their feet, particularly as millions
    of workers remain unemployed or underemployed due to the pandemic.
    What's worse--too many of the jobs lost during the pandemic will not be
    coming back.
        Yet, since well before COVID-19, Congress has underfunded workforce
    development programs under WIOA, making their services largely
    unavailable to the workers and businesses they are intended to serve.
    Over the last decade, Federal funding for workforce systems has
    decreased by nearly 20 percent--adjusted for inflation. WIOA's core
    dislocated worker programs, specifically, received appropriated funding
    below authorized levels by a combined $500 million between fiscal years
    2016 and 2020.
        As a Nation, we have repeatedly failed to sufficiently invest in
    workforce infrastructure. The United States currently spends only about
    0.1 percent of its gross domestic product on workforce policy, compared
    to an average of 0.6 percent in other developed nations.
        In fact, in the last program year, only around 30 percent of people
    who interacted with the public workforce system were actually able to
    access training because of the lack of funding.
        This chronic underfunding is a significant barrier to preparing
    workers to remain competitive in the global economy. It is also
    particularly frustrating given WIOA programs' long record of helping
    employers and displaced workers overcome the challenges they currently
    face.
        For example, a 2017 study found that individualized career services
    under WIOA, including individualized employment plans and counseling,
    increased earnings for workers by up to 20 percent over a 30-month
    period.
        And, in 2019, WIOA's Displaced Worker programs served more than
    250,000 people--with more than 70 percent of those workers employed 1
    year after they left.
        However, we should aim higher than just adequately funding WIOA to
    respond to workers' displacement. We must also take proactive steps to
    prevent workers from being displaced in the first place.
        Today, with the help of our expert witnesses, we will discuss how
    we can expand access to the lifelong learning and career navigation
    support that workers need in this ever-changing economy.
        These steps include expanding program eligibility to ensure more
    workers can access the full range of benefits and supportive services.
    Currently, workers displaced by trade receive comprehensive support
    under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act, but workers displaced for
    other reasons have access to a far more limited range of services under
    WIOA.
        We can also expand other career services and better track in-demand
    skills and competencies for workers to upgrade their skills. This will
    enable more workers to rejoin or stay connected to the workforce at a
    time when businesses need talented employees.
        The importance of this effort to strengthen WIOA is best understood
    through real-life success stories. Take--for instance--Wendie, an Idaho
    resident who was laid off from her job as a sales representative where
    she earned $21.00 an hour and benefits.
        After several unsuccessful interviews, she had a temporary, part-
    time, and on-call retail position at Walmart paying $9.00 an hour, with
    no benefits.
        Here was Wendie, an unemployed worker over the age of 50, who was
    feeling discouraged and doubtful that she could compete in the modern
    economy. With support from WIOA-funded programs, she enrolled in a
    training program that helped actually turn her life around.
        After completing the program, she was hired for an upper management
    job with Walmart's home office, making $25.00 an hour with benefits.
    This success story can be replicated for millions of workers if we
    simply commit to funding and strengthening WIOA.
        Today, we will discuss how we can help displaced workers forge a
    pathway forward while also preparing them with the lifelong education
    and training to navigate our changing economy.
                                     ______

        I now recognize the distinguished Ranking Member of the
    full Committee on Education and Labor, Dr. Foxx for the purpose
    of making an opening statement. Dr. Foxx.
        Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Chairwoman Wilson. I appreciate that.
    The skills gap is a growing concern for all sectors of the
    American economy, and it impacts businesses and workers alike.
    In February of this year McKinsey study estimated that 45
    million Americans, that's a quarter of our workforce, will lose
    their jobs due to automation by the year 2030. Perhaps more
    concerning is the study's second conclusion, that only 17
    percent of those employees are likely to find new work, leaving
    an estimated and unprecedented 39 million Americans jobless.
        And the pandemic threatens is to exacerbate this troubling
    trend. We know that during economic recessions companies turn
    to machines and automation as an alternative to human labor.
    However, even with increased automation, businesses across the
    country still have open jobs, but are hampered by a lack of
    skilled workers.
        This is not an abstract concern. Even before COVID-19 7
    million jobs were unfilled due to the skills gap. Wayne Gretzky
    was the greatest hockey player ever and he once observed he
    never wanted to skate to where the puck was, but where it was
    going to be. The same is true in workforce development.
        If our workforce system focuses on today's jobs only, then
    we won't be equipped for the economy of the future which is why
    we're here today, to learn from folks on the ground what is
    working, what isn't. How can we get out of your way to expand
    upon the innovation that business is already leading?
        By battling this problem now we can remove bureaucratic
    barriers to help millions find employment opportunities today,
    and nearly a quarter of Americans avoid dislocation and
    unemployment in the future. I listened to the Chairwoman when
    she was talking about having a 70 percent placement rate in
    some of the workforce development programs that currently
    exist, and people working in those jobs a year later.
        She's a former educator, and I know she would agree with me
    70 percent is not a passing grade, and we can do better. If we
    have only 70 percent of the people in jobs 1 year after they go
    through a program that we've spent billions of dollars on,
    something's not working right, and we need to work on that.
        And perhaps it is looking toward where that puck is going
    to be, not where it currently is. As we consider
    reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
    Act, and incidentally, for those of you who weren't around,
    when we passed that bill and President Obama signed it, when we
    passed it out of the House it was called the Skills Act.
        I think we were very pressured in calling the bill the
    Skills Act then, but when it passed the House that's what it
    was called, and the Senate insisted on changing the title to
    Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act which is a mouthful.
    We should have called it the Skills Act, but we ceded to their
    wanting to change it because we wanted to get the bill passed.
        But as we consider the re-authorization, our primary goal
    and focus should be creating additional pathways for workers to
    reskill and upskill to meet the demands of our evolving 21st
    Century economy.
        I am very encouraged by the Democrats' commitment to
    examine this reauthorization thoroughly, and I'm hopeful we
    will come to a solution that works not just for politicians,
    but for the people who have everything to gain from these vital
    job savings efforts.
        And the word I think coming back to when discussing WIOA
    programs is in the hearing title: pathways. Congress creates
    pathways when we remove unnecessary barriers and offer services
    that help workers build skills that lead to lasting successful
    employment and self-sufficiency.
        Most importantly, these pathways must be responsive to the
    need of business industry. A workforce system that does not
    provide workers with in-demand skills for the region is a poor
    use of taxpayer dollars and can handicap our Nation's economic
    growth and global competitiveness for years to come.
        We must ensure that any Federal initiative embrace
    technological advances and economic innovation so that our
    workforce development programs can meet regional economic
    development needs. This will require the power of the free
    market to create an economy better than anything government can
    mandate into existence.
        I think we have a great panel of witnesses, and I want to
    thank them for joining us today for a productive discussion
    about how to reauthorize WIOA to ensure that 21st Century
    workers are prepared to meet 21st Century challenges, and with
    that Madam Chair, I yield back.
        [The prepared statement of Ranking Member Foxx follows:]

    Statement of Hon. Virginia Foxx, Ranking Member, Committee on Education
                                   and Labor

        The skills gap is a growing concern for all sectors of the American
    economy and it impacts businesses and workers alike. In February of
    this year, a McKinsey study estimated that 45 million Americans--that's
    a quarter of our workforce--will lose their jobs due to automation by
    the year 2030.
        Perhaps more concerning is the study's second conclusion; only 14
    percent of those employees are likely to find new work, leaving an
    estimated and unprecedented 39 million Americans jobless.
        And the pandemic threatens to exacerbate this troubling trend. We
    know that during economic recessions companies turn to machines and
    automation as an alternative to human labor. However, even with
    increased automation, businesses across the country still have open
    jobs but are hampered by a lack of skilled workers. This is not an
    abstract concern; even before COVID-19, seven million jobs were
    unfilled due to the skills gap.
        Wayne Gretzky was the greatest hockey player ever, and he once
    observed he never wanted to skate to where the puck was but where it
    was going to be. The same is true in workforce development. If our
    workforce system focuses on today's jobs only then we won't be equipped
    for the economy of the future.
        Which is why we are here today--to learn from folks on the ground.
    What is working? What isn't? How can we get out of your way to expand
    upon the innovation that business is already leading?
        By battling this problem now, we can remove bureaucratic barriers
    to help millions find employment opportunities today and nearly a
    quarter of Americans avoid dislocation and unemployment in the future.
        As we consider a reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and
    Opportunity Act, our primary goal and focus should be creating
    additional pathways for workers to reskill and upskill to meet the
    demands of our evolving 21st century economy.
        I am encouraged by the Democrats' commitment to examine this
    reauthorization thoroughly and am hopeful we will come to a solution
    that works not just for politicians, but for the people who have
    everything to gain from these vital, jobs-saving efforts.
        The word I keep coming back to when discussing WIOA programs is in
    the hearing title: pathways. Congress creates pathways when we remove
    unnecessary barriers and offer services that help workers build skills
    that lead to lasting, successful employment and self-sufficiency.
        Most importantly, these pathways must be responsive to the needs of
    business and industry. A workforce system that does not provide workers
    with in-demand skills for the region is a poor use of taxpayer dollars
    and could handicap our Nation's economic growth and global
    competitiveness for years to come.
        We must ensure that any Federal initiatives embrace technological
    advances and economic innovation so that our workforce development
    programs can meet regional economic development needs. This will
    require the power of the free market to create an economy better than
    anything government can mandate into existence.
        I thank the witnesses for joining us today for a productive
    discussion about how to reauthorize WIOA to ensure that 21st century
    workers are prepared to meet 21st century challenges.
                                     ______

        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. All other Members who wish to
    insert written statements into the record may do so by
    submitting them to the Committee Clerk electronically in
    Microsoft Word format by 5 p.m. on June 10.
        I will now introduce the witnesses. Mr. Joe Barela is the
    Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Labor and
    Employment. Previously Mr. Barela served as the U.S. Department
    of Labor as a Senior Advisor where he helped coordinate the
    implementation of the WIOA at State and local levels. Welcome
    to our panel today. We're so happy to have you.
        Mr. PJ McGrew is Executive director of the Indiana
    Governor's Workforce Cabinet which serves as the state's
    workforce board. As Executive Director Mr. McGrew tries to find
    solutions to workforce issues paramount to Indiana's long-term
    economic viability and the economic mobility of its citizens.
    Thank you for being with us today Mr. McGrew.
        Mr. Sigelman is the CEO of Burning Class Technologies, a
    leading labor market analytics company that carries out big
    data analysis of job posting and career businesses. I now wish
    to recognize one of our distinguished Committee Members from
    Washington, Ms. Jayapal, a leader in the Nation, a leader in
    our Congress, and we are so proud of her as she Chairs a
    congressional Progressive Caucus.
        She is going to introduce our final witness, Ms. Jayapal
    let us hear from you.
        Ms. Jayapal. Thank you so much Madam Chair for that
    beautiful introduction of me, but also for allowing me to
    recognize one of our witnesses and thank you for your
    tremendous leadership of this Committee.
        One of our witnesses is Portia Wu, she is currently the
    Managing Director of the U.S. Public Policy for Microsoft. She
    is focused on issues regarding workforce skills and
    immigration, and of course Microsoft is a powerful force across
    the country and headquartered right here in the Seattle area.
        Ms. Wu previously served in the Obama administration, first
    as Special Assistant to the President for Labor and Workforce
    Policy, before becoming Assistant Secretary of the Employment
    and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor. In
    that role she oversaw billions of dollars in Federal workforce
    and training investments.
        She also worked for Senator Edward Kennedy as Labor Policy
    Director, and General Counsel as well as serving as the Vice
    President of Work and Family Issues at the National Partnership
    of Women and Families, and as an attorney at Bredhoff and
    Kaiser where she represented workers, unions, and pension fund
    trustees.
        As we celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, it is a pleasure to
    see you here Ms. Wu and to hear the powerful voice that we know
    you will bring. Thank you and I look forward to your testimony.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much. Thank you. We
    appreciate the witnesses for participating today and we look
    forward to your testimony. Let me remind the witnesses that we
    have read your written statements, and they will appear in full
    in the hearing record pursuant to Committee Rule 8(d) and
    Committee practice, each of you is asked to limit your oral
    presentation to a 5-minute summary of your written statement.
        Before you begin your testimony, please remember to unmute
    your microphone. During your testimony staff will be keeping
    track of time, and a light will blink that time is up. Please
    be attentive to the time and wrap up when your time is over, so
    I won't have to tell you to wrap up. Then after you wrap up you
    re-mute your microphone.
        If any of you experience technical difficulties during your
    testimony, or later in the hearing, you should stay connected
    on the platform, but make sure you are muted, and use your
    phone to immediately call the Committee's IT director and that
    number was provided to you.
        We will let all of the witnesses make their presentations
    before we move to the Member questions. When answering a
    question please remember to unmute your microphone. The
    witnesses are aware of their responsibility to provide accurate
    information to the Subcommittee, and therefore we will proceed
    with their testimony.
        I now will recognize Mr. Barela for his five minutes. Mr.
    Barela?

      STATEMENT OF JOSEPH M. BARELA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COLORADO
                   DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

        Mr. Barela. Thank you, Chairman Wilson, Ranking Member Dr.
    Foxx, and Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for the
    opportunity to appear before you today. As this Subcommittee
    considers the reauthorization of WIOA, I am honored to share
    Colorado's approaches to serving dislocated workers and
    supporting lifelong learning, reskilling, upskilling, and next
    skilling of the workforce, and to provide recommendations to
    ensure that all workers, learners, and employers are future
    ready.
        The Colorado Workforce Development eco-system responded to
    COVID-19 with agility, shifting to remote work and virtual
    service delivery, so we could serve thousands of Coloradans,
    hundreds of thousands of Coloradans. Now as we look to recover
    from the pandemic, in preparation for the future of work, we
    have the opportunity to create a proactive workforce system
    that builds lifelong learners, a skilled workforce, and
    connects people with economic success.
        Our workforce system must be able to act proactively to
    support workers and communities. In Colorado our just
    transition office is using State funds and existing WIOA
    resources to support call workers, employers, and communities
    as they plan for the future closings of coal plants, upon which
    their communities depend.
        We know that the transition from coal and the COVID-19
    pandemic are just a few of many disruptions our communities
    will face as technology advances and work evolves. WIOA
    eligibility that allows us to support workers before they are
    laid off will mitigate the economic impact of these
    transitions, and it will help us keep communities together.
        To be successful, our workforce system must also be funded
    based on more recent data and have the agility to pivot in
    order to be responsive in a timely manner. Colorado has a
    dynamic economy, and a funding formula based on 2-year lags and
    data prevents our system from providing adequate services when
    it is most needed in the community.
        Our workforce system must support lifelong learning and
    facilitate upskilling, reskilling, and next skilling throughout
    an individual's work lifecycle. Increased investments in work-
    based learning, especially earn and learn models, like
    apprenticeships, are critical to this effort.
        Work based learning combines skill development with
    training opportunities and is a key strategy in Colorado for
    developing talent and preparing Coloradans for the workforce
    and evolving labor market. So many underemployed and dislocated
    workers do not have the ability to stop working, earning a
    wage, and attending education training that is separate from
    workplace.
        CDLE partners with local workforce systems, the U.S.
    Department of Labor, and partner organizations like Career Wise
    to help implement a high-quality apprentice system with more
    than 6,000 apprenticeships, and more than 400 registered
    apprenticeship programs.
        These programs work and their reach needs to be expanded to
    youth, underemployed, mid-career professionals and dislocated
    workers. When Brandon, a general manager at Old Chicago
    Restaurant was laid off due to COVID, he decided to make a
    career change. With support from his local workforce center he
    became an apprentice with a local electrician, and he had costs
    covered for his supplies from the dislocated worker program.
        The first year of related instructions were covered as
    well. He is on track with an industry that is growing and has
    the potential to reach more than minimum wage, a livable wage
    in a community he chooses to live in here in Colorado.
        Our workforce system must partner with business and
    industry. Sector, partnerships are partnerships of business
    leaders from the same industry and in shared regions who work
    with education, workforce development, economic development,
    and community organizations to address the talent and
    competitiveness needs of their industry.
        More than 1,600 businesses are actively involved in 30
    sector partnerships across Colorado. These sector partnerships
    inform competency-based career paths that ensure education,
    training and workforce systems stay attuned and responsive to
    the needs of the labor market in order to ensure businesses
    have the access to appropriately skilled talent pipelines and
    prepare students and workers with the skills and credentials
    they need for jobs and careers.
        The model for partnership works in all corners of the
    State, and with any type of industry. During the past year
    sector partnerships have developed and engaged training
    strategies to support both incumbent workers and new workers in
    the field. Our workforce system must provide for workers to
    reskill, upskill, and connect with quality career paths.
        This requires effective career coaching, with a partnership
    and support from the Markle Foundation, Skillful, and the
    Rework American Alliance, Colorado invests in professional
    development and support for frontline career development
    professionals, so they apply skills-based practices, labor
    market insights, and high-quality coaching practices to connect
    underemployed, mid-career professionals and dislocated workers
    to opportunities.
        I encourage you to consider increased investments in career
    coaching within the workforce system, so people have access to
    this valuable resource throughout their careers. In Colorado we
    know that with strategic career navigation job seekers using
    workforce system earn about $12,700.00 more in annualized wages
    than those who find work on their own.
        This truly is the value add of the public workforce system.
    Access to well-trained coaches, availability of, and access to
    career connected learning, to reskill, upskill and next skill
    and labor market aligned with job placement retention. Let me
    close by saying again how proud I am of Colorado's workforce
    system which promotes a driving employment environment with
    opportunity for every Coloradan to prosper.
        I hope my remarks have been helpful as you work to
    reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and
    ensure all Americans have the ability to find a career and
    economic success in the future of work. I'm happy to answer any
    questions from the Subcommittee. Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Barela follows:]

                        Prepared Statement of Joe Barela
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Chairwoman Wilson. We will now hear from Mr. McGrew.

    STATEMENT OF PJ McGREW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INDIANA GOVERNOR'S
                           WORKFORCE CABINET

        Mr. McGrew. Thank you, Chair Wilson, and Ranking Member
    Foxx. Good afternoon Subcommittee Members. My name is PJ McGrew
    and I serve as the Executive Director for Indiana Governor Eric
    J. Holcomb's Workforce Cabinet. I'm pleased to be able to
    provide and speak to you today about the unique and successful
    program he has implemented in Indiana to address critical
    workforce shortages, providing Hoosiers with the skills they
    need for greater economic mobility.
        The Governor's Workforce Cabinet serves as the state's
    workforce board as outlined in the Workforce Innovation and
    Opportunity Act however, we serve as much more than a typical
    workforce board.
        In 2018 at the direction of Governor Holcomb we were tasked
    to rethink how our workforce system operated. We worked with
    the State legislature to separate and elevate our workforce
    board from within the Department of Workforce Development,
    restructure our membership, and added additional
    responsibilities that would allow us to begin to break down the
    silos that exist between State and Federal programs.
        The restructuring of our workforce board necessitated a
    waiver from the U.S. Department of Labor. Our cabinet is still
    comprised of a majority of employer partners however, our Chair
    is from within State government, and that helps us coordinate
    day to day operations across State agencies.
        The Governor's Workforce Cabinet is able to coordinate
    activity across the Department of Workforce Development and the
    Commission for Higher Education on the state's signature state-
    funded workforce program NextLevel Jobs.
        NextLevel Jobs was created in partnership with the Governor
    and the Indiana general assembly in 2017 and includes two
    different funding streams: The Workforce Ready Grant, and the
    Employer Training Grant.
        Our Workforce Ready Grant program is targeted to
    individuals and includes free training for up to a 1-year
    certificate, and several post-secondary institutions as well as
    qualified providers on our eligible training provider list
    maintained through WIOA.
        Each program must be in one of five targeted sectors that
    are vital to the state's economic growth, advanced
    manufacturing, building and construction trades, business and
    IT, health and life science and transportation and logistics.
    The training must also meet a threshold for wages and
    occupational planning.
        In just 3 years of operation we have had over 44,000
    individuals enroll in training, 22,000 individuals complete,
    and we are seeing median wage gains of $6,800.00 1-year post
    program completion.
        Last year under the leadership of Governor Holcomb and the
    new cabinet, Indiana submitted its first combined WIOA plan, A
    Better Future for Every Hoosier. In the plan we prioritized
    integration across State and Federal programs, and we are now
    leveraging our local workforce boards to help implement our
    NextLevel Job's programs.
        This type of collaboration would not be possible without
    restructuring and redesigning the role of the State workforce
    board to be more intentionally focused on other parts of the
    talent development system other than WIOA. A key focus of our
    State plan also includes better employer engagement, and the
    other critical component of our NextLevel Jobs program includes
    an investment in employer-led training through our Employer
    Training Grant program.
        Employers can work with a business service representative
    from their local workforce board, or directly with the
    Department of Workforce Development to access the grant.
    Employers fill out a brief training plan and once the training
    is complete and we have verified wage gains and employment
    retention, the employer is eligible for up to a $50,000.00
    reimbursement to help cover the costs of training.
        Over the past 3 years over 2,900 employers have
    participated in the program. We've trained 26,500 individuals,
    and we're seeing average wage gains of $5,900.00 per year post-
    training. Access to training is only one variable in the
    equation to help provide Hoosiers an opportunity to gain
    quality employment. Career coaching and working with employers
    to identify their needs are reasons that we have been proud to
    partner with the Markle Foundation in Skillful, Indiana the
    past 3 years.
        In partnership with Skillful, we have launched the
    Governor's coaching corps. This annual cohort of career coaches
    was established to provide comprehensive training to career
    coaches from across the talent development system. During the
    pandemic we were able to work with Skillful to quickly
    transition they're in-person training to online modules that
    were piloted within our community college system and are now
    being scaled beyond.
        Skillful has also been working with our local boards and
    employers across the State to take a deeper look at the skills
    necessary for open positions throughout Indiana. This has
    resulted in more employers transitioning to skills-based hiring
    practices.
        We're extremely proud of the progress we've made in Indiana
    to address critical workforce shortages and believe the work we
    have done can help serve as a model to how State and Federal
    programs can work together to serve clients throughout the
    system.
        With targeted investments and training programs, we could
    help equip more Americans with the training necessary to
    connect occupations that provide greater economic mobility, and
    employers the talent they need. Thank you for the opportunity
    to provide Committee Members an overview of our work, and as
    the conversation to reauthorize this important Federal
    legislation continue, we stand ready to help serve you all.
    Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. McGrew follows:]

                    Prepared Statement of Patrick J. McGrew
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you, Mr. McGrew. Next, we'll hear
    from Mr. Sigelman.

              STATEMENT OF MATT SIGELMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE
                 OFFICER, BURNING GLASS TECHNOLOGIES,
                         BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

        Mr. Sigelman. Good afternoon, Chairwoman Wilson, Ranking
    Member Foxx, distinguished Members of the Committee, and thank
    you for the opportunity to testify today about this important
    issue. My name is Matthew Sigelman, I'm the CEO of Burning
    Glass Technologies, a leading labor markets analytics company.
        Our big data analysis of job postings and of career
    histories gives us a unique perspective on what employers want,
    what workers need, and what kind of workforce system the
    country should pursue as Congress considers reauthorization of
    the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
        The challenge facing the American work is unprecedented.
    The short-term disruption of the pandemic combines with a
    longer-term trend of profound change, and even disruption in
    skills. Across the economy 30 percent of the skills required in
    the average occupation today are different from those needed
    just a decade ago.
        In fact the velocity of skill change is outpacing the
    ability of traditional labor market information sources even to
    track it. In addition there is a growing disjoint between the
    skills of America's workforce, and the skills sought by
    employers. The problem is particularly acute in underserved
    communities where the opportunity gulf has existed for decades.
        A study by Policy Link in University of Southern California
    using data from Burning Glass estimated there were 2.3 trillion
    dollars in unrealized economic opportunity in 2018 alone
    because of the inequity in the workforce. This supply/demand
    mismatch will serve as a potent drag on our national economy, a
    driver of inequality, and a threat to America's ability to be
    globally competitive.
        Fortunately, there are opportunities to reframe the model
    of workforce development. These new skill adjacency
    methodologies such as that developed by Burning Glass for the
    World Economic Forum build on the skills workers already heavy
    to identify the shortest, most efficient reskilling paths.
        For instance, a laid-off administrative assistant making on
    average about $36,000.00 a year can share many skills with a
    production planner. Now that's a role with a strong future, an
    average salary of $49,000.00 a year as opposed to $36,000.00
    and direct path onward to clear as a logistician earning
    $78,000.00 a year.
        So by targeting the specific skills required to follow this
    pathway such as building inventory management skills, the
    workforce system can place people more quickly, less
    expensively, and with greater long-term success. From this
    perspective we need a workforce system that brings us closer to
    three great objectives. First, we need a system that can better
    support the displaced.
        Now this is the primary mission of the workforce system as
    it exists today, yet the massive dislocation caused by the
    pandemic underscores how ill-prepared we are. To meet this
    challenge the workforce system must go beyond focusing on
    referring people to jobs.
        Instead the workforce system will need to train people for
    the specific skill gaps that will enable their transition. It
    will need to assess eligible training provider list, EDPL
    programs rigorously against metrics of demand to ensure that
    funds are spent on programs that lead to good opportunities,
    and not to dead ends.
        It will need to leverage modern skill-based methods for
    identifying a wider set of relevant job openings for each
    worker, and our workforce system will need to empower workers
    themselves with the information they need to navigate the
    opportunity.
        Second, we need a system that can provide critical skill
    development resources for all American workers, not just for
    those who have been displaced, or who are at risk. We often
    hear of jobs being created and destroyed by technology, but the
    more significant impact is in how fast existing jobs are being
    reprogramed.
        The rapid pace of skill change will demand that many
    workers gain skills just to keep the jobs they have. The need
    for lifelong learning has been evident for some time, but it is
    also evident that our workforce and educational systems are not
    equipped currently to support it.
        This will require that workforce funding be restructured to
    provide for ongoing learning over time even after a worker has
    been successfully placed. And third, we need a system that can
    be a better partner to industry. Today's system is focused on
    how to place unemployed workers in jobs, but we need to go
    beyond that and shift more of our focus to opportunity.
        What are the opportunities for those workers, and what are
    the skills employers demand to unlock those careers? That will
    require a workforce system with new information sources aligned
    not only with what employers are looking for today, but also
    the strategic trends that will shape what industry needs
    tomorrow.
        Skills are increasingly becoming the currency of the job
    market. We all can play a vital role in assisting American
    workers to thrive in this new landscape. Once again thank you
    for inviting me to testify. I look forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Sigelman follows.]

                     Prepared Statement of Mathew Sigelman
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Chairwoman Wilson. We will now hear from Mr. Wu, Ms. Wu I'm
    sorry.

            STATEMENT OF PORTIA WU, MANAGING DIRECTOR, U.S.
                 PUBLIC POLICY, MICROSOFT CORPORATION,
                        U.S. GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

        Ms. Wu. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to Full Committee
    Chair Scott and Ranking Member Foxx, and I also want to thank
    Congresswoman Jayapal for that kind introduction. Members of
    the Subcommittee thank you for inviting me to testify today. My
    name is Portia Wu, and I'm here on behalf of Microsoft and our
    subsidiary LinkedIn to share our views, as leading technology
    providers who care deeply about our workforce system.
        As Mr. Sigelman said, our economy, labor markets and
    workplaces have changed in fundamental ways since 2014 when
    WIOA was enacted, and these changes have been accelerated by
    the COVID-19 pandemic. If we want to have a more resilient and
    equitable economy, our workforce system needs to change too.
        Change should include bold and innovative investments. That
    means not just investing more, although we believe that is
    critical, it also means investing smarter. Federal funds should
    provide more support for skills training that is relevant to
    employers and leads to good jobs.
        We also need to leverage private sector innovations and
    technology so we can maximum the use of resources. This is not
    something government can achieve alone, employers, education,
    and training providers, non-profits, libraries and other
    stakeholders all have a role to play. I'd like to touch quickly
    on four key recommendations.
        First, workforce systems must support people to gain
    technology skills over a lifetime. Technology skills have
    become a core requirement of every industry. I'm guessing every
    single person in this virtual room learned to use new digital
    skills or tools during this pandemic. That's because work is
    where most people learn new skills.
        But people who are out of work, or in jobs that don't
    provide these opportunities are getting left behind. By some
    estimates roughly one-third of the U.S. workforce lacks the
    digital skills that are essential in today's economy, and that
    number is over 50 percent for black and Latino workers.
        Private sector has a role to play here, and I'm happy to
    talk about some of our partnerships that we are supporting to
    advance digital skills, but truly addressing these inequities
    will require strong, deliberate collaboration across
    government.
        The workforce programs that means WIOA should dedicate
    funds for digital skills, assessments, and training. And as
    part of State plans, Governors should address digital skill
    needs for all individuals, particularly those in underserved
    communities.
        Second, we need to make better use of low-cost widely
    available resources. Now last year the world of online learning
    has exploded. LinkedIn learning saw an 80 percent increase in
    online learning, with over one million hours of content being
    accessed worldwide every single year.
        The workforce system could do more to leverage free, or
    low-cost online training courses. For example, many states
    require that eligible training providers have a physical in-
    State presence, which could discourage online training.
        States should update ETPL's and use other options to ensure
    cutting edge tools are available to assist job seekers and
    employers. Third, we should provide incentives for employers to
    upskill. The Workforce system as we have discussed is also
    charged with supporting employers.
        During the pandemic, El Paso-based Workforce Solutions
    Borderplex partnered with Microsoft and city, county, and State
    government to launch a program to help entrepreneurs and small
    business owners grow their businesses with technology.
        That involved helping businesses to get online and provide
    digital literacy training for employers and employees. More
    than 200 business have already participated, and the program
    continues to help more business and their workers to adapt and
    grow.
        We encourage the Subcommittee to consider how WIOA can
    support innovative partnerships like these. It should also
    consider expanding flexibility and the amount of funds that can
    be used for incumbent worker training and encourage the use of
    these funds for acquisition of digital skills. Finally, we
    should make better use of private sector data and tools to
    connect workers to jobs and opportunities to learn in demand
    skills.
        While it is important to assess what skills individuals
    still need to learn, we also need to find better ways to assess
    the skills and experience they already have. Job platforms can
    see information across millions of employers and jobs, and we
    need to use those insights to help make better connections.
        For example, we know that one-third of food service workers
    could not go to work during the pandemic, and many of them are
    permanently out of a job. But food service workers typically
    have 70 percent of the skills for customer service jobs which
    are in high demand.
        Employers and workers need to know of these possible skills
    matches to take advantage of them. WIOA should encourage and
    leverage skills and job matching to open up a more equitable
    and efficient labor market.
        These are just some of the ways in which we believe our
    workforce system can be improved to meet the challenges of
    today and to better serve both workers and tomorrow's as we
    face the opportunities of the future. Thank you for your
    attention and I look forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Wu follows.]

                        Prepared Statement of Portia Wu
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much. And now
    under Committee Rule 9(a) we will now question our witnesses
    under the five-minute rule. I will be recognizing our
    Subcommittee Members in seniority order, again to ensure that
    the Members' five-minute rule is adhered to, staff will be
    keeping track of time.
        And the timer will show a blinking light when time has
    expired. Please be attentive to the time. Wrap up when your
    time is over, and re-mute your microphone.
        As Chair I now recognize myself for five minutes. Ms. Wu in
    your testimony you highlight Microsoft company skills program
    which supports black, local workforce development
    organizations, including the Opa-Locka Development Corporation
    which operates in my district, I'm well aware of it. How can
    our workforce system best target investments in under resourced
    communities and engage employers to address the persistent
    skills gap among workers of color?
        Ms. Wu. Thank you, Madam Chair. I think it's very important
    to recognize that who sits at the table influences how
    workforce funds are distributed and focused, and so it's very
    important that we have a diverse set of organizations like Opa-
    Locka Community Development Corporation to be there to
    contribute and to partner with the workforce system.
        So the Federal Government can encourage that certainly, but
    those are decisions that also need to be made at the State and
    local level to have a diversity of voices at the table, and
    certainly for employers, employers want to have diverse talent.
    They also want to make sure that their needs are being met, and
    so thinking about how the workforce system can better serve
    small and medium business in particular as they seek to survive
    and evolve in this pandemic.
        I think that provides a value add to employers so they will
    be eager to participate and work more closely with the
    workforce system.
        Chairwoman Wilson. All right thank you so much. This is for
    Mr. Barela. Should we consider extending individuals access to
    supported services while they are working after training
    program completion and placement employment, and how would
    lower income individuals with barriers to employment benefit
    from such an extension.
        Mr. Barela. Thank you, Mrs. Chair, for a great question.
    And you know I think you mentioned in your opening address that
    it's not only the placement, but the retention in these
    occupations or jobs and career advancement, and so support
    services when people go to work are so critical so that they
    can be successful to access the tools, maybe additional
    training, so that they could see advancement in that initial
    career placement. But I do think the Workforce Innovation
    Opportunity Act needs to allow us to provide support services
    beyond just a short period of time. It's important for people
    to stay at work 6 months, 1 year and beyond.
        And so the ability to offer support services, and then
    again look at what are the resources available, not only in the
    public workforce system, but through community-based
    organizations, and other funds to allow those support services
    to be available, particularly for what we just saw in the
    pandemic. Those occupations who weren't able to work from home
    to access childcare, to access transportation, those are all
    costs that only are increased when someone is able to go to
    work.
        So definitely the opportunity and the availability of
    support service is critical to not only retention but career
    advancement.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Ms. Wu, in your current capacity as
    Managing Director for public policy, and as a former Assistant
    Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration at the
    Department of Labor, can you speak to the importance of fully
    funding WIOA adult programs which supports incumbent worker
    training?
        Ms. Wu. Absolutely. As has been referenced earlier, the
    workforce system has been underfunded for quite some time, and
    this has never been a more dire situation because frankly we
    have millions more Americans who need this help and need these
    supports. We know workforce system supports work, supportive
    services work, and also helping people find jobs is more
    critical than ever.
        So we believe absolutely there is more funding and more
    support that's needed. The private sector needs to do its part
    too, but we all need to work together to support this system
    and get more people the skills for the jobs of tomorrow.
        Chairwoman Wilson. All right. Mr. Barela due to funding
    shortfalls only about 30 percent of individuals who interact
    with the workforce are able to access training. How do
    individual training accounts function? And should Congress
    expand funding in these ITA's?
        Mr. Barela. Madam Chair great question. In Colorado, and I
    believe as you referenced before, only 30 percent are accessing
    training. In the last program you reported on about 77,000
    individuals received services through the public workforce
    system.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Should they be funded under Pell Grants?
    Should the funding levels be provided as high as Pell Grants
    which is currently $6,500.00?
        Mr. Barela. Definitely. And I think it should be
    encouraged. A lot of workforce boards are keeping those
    training caps down just because of low funding levels and they
    want to serve more people, and so if we could raise those funds
    to Pell Grant levels it requires more funding to do so, but
    also the availability with additional funding so that we can
    serve more people through upskilling, reskilling, and next
    skilling, that there's a cost involved.
        And so it's very important to increase the availability. I
    think workforce boards have that ability to do so, and also to
    attach the training to labor market information in those
    communities.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much. I'm out of time. I
    now recognize Representative Foxx for the purpose of
    questioning the witnesses.
        Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Chairwoman Wilson, and again I thank
    our witnesses for being with us today. Mr. Sigelman, you
    discussed at length in your testimony the need for our
    workforce system to be more demand driven, and a better partner
    for industry.
        At the same time workers are not well-served by a system
    that focuses solely on credentials without identifying skills
    that individuals already possess.
        What is driving this disconnect between supply and demand?
    How can WIOA help to address the problem, and what benefits
    will workers and employers see if we can close this gap?
        Mr. Sigelman. Thank you, Ranking Member Foxx, for the
    question. You asked about the question of the mismatch between
    supply and demand. And it's a critical one because one of the
    things that we're seeing right now is a very strange
    phenomenon. What seems on the surface to be a strange
    phenomenon of millions of people who have been displaced, and
    at the same time increasingly urgent skills gaps.
        And I will put it simply this way, a million displaced wait
    staff can't fill a single cybersecurity job. And so what we're
    seeing is that as employers let go you know, have had to let go
    of people, as they begin to rehire now as the economy recovers,
    employers are making a bet whenever you make a hire, on the
    future of your business. And so employers are starting to hire
    for the future skills that they need.
        So as a result on the one hand workers who have been
    working in a field for decades may not have the skills, they
    need to get their old job back. And at the same time it means
    that employers are doubling down on skills that were already in
    short supply.
        Our workforce system can help to bridge that gap by
    tracking the sets of skills that are in demand for jobs today,
    and by being responsive to those changes in demand.
        Ms. Foxx. Well thank you very much. Mr. McGrew thanks for
    sharing the exciting work that Indiana is doing to strengthen
    the workforce in your State. We often talk about how states can
    serve as ``laboratories of democracy'' that are often more
    innovative than the Federal Government.
        One issue you mentioned that seems to plaque our workforce
    system is the balance between accountability and flexibility
    for the list of eligible providers of education services. What
    recommendations do you have on how to maintain the quality of
    providers while also welcoming new and innovative actors onto
    these lists to address in demand skills needed in the future.
        Mr. McGrew. Well thank you Ranking Member Foxx for that
    question. I think it has in part things to do with what Matt
    was just discussing in terms of looking at in demand jobs and
    skills, and it's really two-fold. What we do here we have two
    mechanisms. That wage and demand threshold that we look at for
    program eligibility, while at the same time we are monitoring
    outcomes of our programs.
        Looking at job placement rates, looking at completion
    rates, and looking at wages. I think if more states took an
    open-end approach to looking at both the labor market
    information to drive investment, as well as the outcomes of
    programs we would be able to better serve all Americans.
        Ms. Foxx. I want to inject something in here that I think
    is important that none of you have talked about in your written
    testimony, or in your spoken testimony. And I think it's a
    tremendous opportunity that's being left out.
        Every employer has the opportunity to spend $5,250.00 for
    education expenses for an employee. You all are asking us for a
    lot more money through WIOA when I hear nobody talking about
    the fact that employers who have the greatest interest at heart
    in filling their jobs, could be using this money.
        Furthermore, I'm not sure exactly which one of the CARES
    Act bills that passed, but we are currently approving $5,250.00
    for any employer to pay off student loans, and for an employee.
    I do not understand why those things aren't getting more play,
    and while you all aren't talking about that.
        Every one of you should be pushing those things, and nobody
    is mentioning that. We need to be pushing that too, every
    Member of Congress needs to be doing that. It is no cost to the
    employers to pay those expenses, and it is not income to the
    employee.
        And I'm doing everything I can to get that word out, and I
    think we need to do more. I don't think we need more money in
    these programs. I don't think the money is being spent very
    well, and I don't think all the resources that are available to
    employers are being used wisely.
        And I think I'm going to be asking you all a lot more
    questions when this hearing is over about what you're doing to
    get accountability, and to use all the resources that are
    available to you.
        But I thank you very much and Mr. Barela please tell
    Governor Polis I said hello because he was one of two
    republicans who voted for the Skills Act when it originally
    passed the House of Representatives. He got it a long time ago.
    Thank you very much.
        Mr. Scott. One of the few Democrats.
        Ms. Foxx. Yes, one of the two I said.
        Mr. Scott. You said Republicans.
        Ms. Foxx. I'm sorry one of the two Democrats, excuse me,
    that voted for it, so thank you Mr. Scott. I appreciate your
    correcting me thank you.
        Mr. Barela. Madam Chair I will convey that message to
    Governor Polis thank you.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Leadership, leadership, all of you are
    over time. Dr. Scott I think it's important also while we are
    fighting to bring up why we're fighting so hard for this $15.00
    minimum wage to be instituted, but also, we need to make sure
    that our employers know all of the benefits that came out of
    the CARES package. I agree with you 100 percent. And now Mr.
    Takano.
        Mr. Takano. Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm certain that
    Governor Polis is relieved that he is still known as a
    democrat. My first question is to Mr. Barela. Mr. Barela
    research has indicated that career navigation services can make
    a big difference in helping connect workers, especially with
    individuals with barriers to employment to the right training
    in jobs.
        What are navigation services? Can you answer it? What is
    meant by navigation services Mr. Barela?
        Mr. Barela. Rep. Takano thank you for the question. You
    know what we feel in Colorado is when people have access to a
    career navigator, career coach that knows about the labor
    market, knows about what training demands from industries that
    are growing or in their communities, there's a better
    connection to their current portfolio skills and what they may
    need to boost our access skills training so that there's a
    better placement.
        And the career connected input is related to the labor
    market in that community. And so you know what that coach will
    do is assess where they are, their life experience, maybe their
    education, but also the skills they've learned on their job.
    And then match that to what's it's the point in the economy. So
    if there is an investment or could be work-based learning where
    there's a wage involved where we put them in on the job
    training, or in an apprenticeship program, there's a better
    connection to career path and the retention is better.
        When you know that there's a good match when you place
    someone in training and then a job, we hope that the retention
    into the career path and that will lead to a better outcome for
    that worker, and for the employer. Employers don't like to
    rehire and rehire when there's not a good fit.
        Mr. Takano. Well thank you for that. Thank you for letting
    us know what navigation services are. How does Colorado's
    workforce system provide job seekers or career changers access
    to these services that determine which employment or training
    options are right for them? I just wanted to kind of embellish
    on what you were saying.
        Mr. Barela. Sure in Colorado again as I mentioned in my
    testimony, work very closely with the Markle Foundation, and we
    started with their career ``coaching'' training, and we've had
    over 60 coaches that have gone through that 1-year program.
    We're in discussions to look at how do we make it available to
    every career coach in every American job center of the 53 we
    have in Colorado, have that training virtually and ongoing, so
    that they have the ability from that curriculum to look at
    labor market information, to do assessments, to look at
    profiles of individuals, to look at a human center design.
        But the counterpart to that is making sure we work with
    employers so they're not shutting the door to people who may
    not have proxies such as an education credential or years of
    experience, that they're really looking at the jobs and the
    competences and skills that are needed in those growing
    sectors, and they may look at a resume that is skills-based, so
    that they're not shutting the door, especially for marginal
    communities, people of color, low-income individuals that may
    not have that credential, that most employers look for with an
    associate's degree or a bachelor's degree.
        Mr. Takano. Yes, it's getting not how to be stuck on the
    credential, there is other ways to validate. What impact would
    be expanding access to individualized career services and
    navigation supports through a WIOA reauthorization have on
    helping people get back to work or find better career pathways?
        Mr. Barela. I think I heard you. I think the access was in
    regard to I talked about you know people who have the
    opportunity to work with our current workforce system, not all
    the coaches have been trained, and our annualized outcomes of
    the workforce system about $12,700.00 better for the people
    that come into our centers, than someone who tries to find a
    job on their own.
        If we would have all our coaches trained in upskilled and
    consistently up to date with the labor market information, and
    tools that would make them better, that outcome would be even
    higher I believe, and you know, I think Ranking Member Foxx
    mentioned that we need to see a better retention rate of 70
    percent.
        I do think that would be impacted when we'd see a better
    retention rate from the training inputs, or even the direct
    labor exchange we offer individuals would greatly be improved.
        Mr. Takano. Oh great. Mr. McGrew, you've noted that there
    are not enough slots in qualified training programs to meet the
    demand for training in your State. What are the challenges to
    expanding training program capacity?
        Mr. McGrew. Thank you Representative for the question. It
    really is I think twofold here, capacity of the provider
    community to actually have those slots available. You know we
    work primarily with our community college system on our next
    level jobs programs, so making sure that all of the training
    that has been identified is available at those campuses and are
    able to meet those local needs is extremely important things
    that we are thinking we need to work through with them.
        But I also think you know we look at how we fund our
    current programs within the State funds that we have available.
    There is so much demand that we often times run out of that
    funding halfway through the year. So we are you know borrowing
    from other programs in order to fill that need.
        And then creating our awareness in the connectivity through
    the employer it is extremely important in getting them to
    recognize investments that they are making as well, and that's
    why I think on our employer training grant program we're seeing
    employers invest many more dollars in that $50,000.00
    reimbursement that we're seeing.
        So it really is trying to take that comprehensive approach
    to the entire system is really what our goal is.
        Mr. Takano. Thank you. Ms. Madam Chair I apologize for
    going over time, but I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much. We all have our days.
    Mr. Good of Virginia? You're next.
        Mr. Good. Thank you Madam Chair and I thank you to our
    entire panel and all of our witnesses here today and thank you
    for the opportunity to ask you some questions.
        And I'm actually going to do something today that we don't
    hear enough of, and that's the innovation and the economic
    opportunity that comes from the results achieved by the real
    leaders in the private sector in rural America, instead of more
    Washington knows best promises that we often here from.
        In order to address the needs of displaced workers I think
    it's important to acknowledge private innovation, and the
    investment that is already meeting these needs I want to give
    credit where it is due. I want to highlight specifically
    Microsoft's presence in my district, as one such example.
        Microsoft has a facility in rural Mecklenburg County that
    acts as a data center and a major employer for the area. For
    most of you who probably don't know Mecklenburg, it's a
    beautiful county with great communities, and I'm proud to
    represent them. Sadly, it has endured the pain of economic
    displacement like other rural areas throughout the country as
    some of its historic industries have shrunk or have been
    displaced.
        But Microsoft has a presence going back some 10 years in
    the district in this community, bringing digital innovation to
    this part of rural southside Virginia, and this does not simply
    represent one additional employer for my district, but it's
    actually helped change the way we view education and workforce
    development more broadly.
        Mecklenburg County is currently in the process of
    constructing a modern high school expected to open in fall of
    2022, with specialized career tracks for students to develop
    the skills they need to thrive in a skill-based economy.
        Among the many skilled job-ready specialties offered,
    things such as: Electrical, mechanical, plumbing, welding, et
    cetera, also included is advanced technology with a credential
    that is required to work at this local Microsoft data center.
        So for those looking to Washington, DC, or Congress to have
    all the answers, and I say go to Mecklenburg and see what
    Microsoft and our community education leaders there are doing
    that this body so often fails to do, innovate, and recognize
    the value in rural America.
        So my question probably expectedly with that lead-in, is
    for Ms. Wu with Microsoft. Ms. Wu aside from direct investment
    of more hard-working taxpayer dollars, how can Congress help
    and encourage the private sector to develop innovative
    opportunities like what Microsoft has done in rural Mecklenberg
    County in Virginia?
        Ms. Wu. Thank you, Congressman, and we're very proud of our
    work in your district. And frankly, we've learned a lot from
    working with southside Virginia Community College. I think
    something we learned from that as they say it takes a village,
    and so sometimes Federal dollars can be a helpful sort of
    leveraging point.
        They can also be a helpful convenor of the workforce system
    to sort of bring people together, and show look, here are where
    are the gaps, here are some partners that can work together.
    They can use non-Federal dollars as you said, but sort of
    bringing people together to have a better understanding of the
    needs and the different supports is very important.
        Something we really learned from that partnership for
    example, is there needs to be supports all the way along. You
    have got to recruit students, students need scholarships which
    we provided, they need devices. Their devices weren't up to
    snuff.
        When we worked with the community college to say OK, we'll
    have a data center lab, so we can simulate what it's like to
    work in the data center. It turned out in the building you know
    the electrical systems needed to be upgraded to build the lab.
    So there are many stages along the way, and many ways that
    different partners, Governor or non-government can pitch in to
    help.
        Mr. Good. Thank you for that answer. Why do you think some
    might view rural America as an economic liability, rather than
    an opportunity for investment as Microsoft did a few years back
    here in Mecklenburg? And what could be done to improve of how
    that perception of rural America?
        Ms. Wu. Well first of all I think it's going out to our
    communities and really listening and working with partners.
    Microsoft is proud to partner with 4H and Future Farmers of
    America on making sure people all over the United States have
    digital skills.
        And we learned our lesson. You know people want to stay in
    the communities where they were raised. You can try to bring in
    talent from somewhere else, but those people maybe won't stay.
    So actually investing in communities, getting people the skills
    they need, it benefits us not only because they may work at the
    data center, but they may open other business, start their own
    tech firms in the area, and that way we can help to grow a hub
    of innovation which is what we're really trying to do.
        Mr. Good. Well thank you all for being part of the solution
    there in that rural part of Virginia, Mecklenburg County, and
    Chairman my time has expired, so I yield back thank you.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much Representative Good.
    And now Representative Jayapal from Washington.
        Ms. Jayapal. Thank you so much Madam Chair and great to
    hear the bipartisan support for this. I've seen in my district
    how WIOA can help workers connect with strong well-paying jobs.
    And I wanted to root it also in a real person's story. This is
    the story of Gloria, a woman that was helped by My Neighborhood
    Houses WIOA program.
        Gloria wanted to earn more, so she could move out of her
    doubled-up living situation, but she also needed a swing shift
    because she only had evening care for her children.
    Neighborhood House, which is a non-profit here identified a job
    at Harbor View Medical Center and helped her to apply and
    negotiate her salary to $21.40 an hour.
        She is now living with her family in a two-bedroom
    apartment, has a savings account, and is becoming more
    financially secure. I think that's the type of assistance that
    is more critical than ever as we recover from a recession that
    has hit women, people of color, and people in lower wage jobs
    particularly hard.
        Women, many of them women of color, have lost 5.4 million
    jobs overall during the recession, and in December 2020 alone
    women accounted for nearly all the jobs lost with a
    disproportionately high number of job losses coming from women
    of color.
        Mr. Barela what role should the public workforce system
    play in making sure that workers hardest hit by this pandemic
    are not being left behind?
        Mr. Barela. Thank you, Representative, great question. We
    know that the disruption that has happened as of the economic
    crisis from COVID has hit young people and women, and people of
    color exponentially difficult. I think we need to make sure
    that access points for these individuals are available like you
    mentioned in the community, the Neighborhood Housing, or the
    House Program.
        We need to make sure that no matter what door someone walks
    in that the public workforce system has resources and
    availability of upscaling potential. We also need to get back
    to that learning doesn't have to be separate from earning, and
    for especially people of color and young women, single mothers,
    where we can train them, credential them while they're working
    and earning a wage is so critical.
        And those need to be available at every juncture of their
    career, not just when there's disruption. I think we need to
    make sure that we work in partnership with our businesses and
    industries so that skilling, upskilling, reskilling, next
    skilling is happening while they're working, so that
    potentially they can escape the next economic downturn because
    of those interventions.
        And so we need to look at how apprenticeships, lifetime,
    not just when they're young people, but mid-career
    professionals can access the opportunity to be relevant in
    growing industries and with skills as they earn money as well.
        Ms. Jayapal. Very important. Thank you so much. Mr.
    Sigelman as of last month 4.2 million people were experiencing
    long-term unemployment. And in the last recession we saw that
    Asian Americans experienced more long-term employment than any
    other group.
        That trend has continued under this recession. What lessons
    should we take from the last recession to not only ensure that
    people find new employment, but also find more suitable careers
    that keep them in the labor force, and are there particular
    steps that should be taken to address long-term unemployment
    among Asian Americans and other groups?
        Mr. Sigelman. One of the greatest tragedies of the job
    market as we've seen in past recessions, and we're seeing in
    this one, is also one of its greatest opportunities. It's kind
    of what your rearview mirror says: Objects in the mirror are
    closer than they appear.
        And people and opportunities are often just a few skills
    apart. We too often try to match people on very literal levels.
    If somebody loses a job in a field and in many places,
    workforce systems are trying to find another job in that same
    occupation. Opportunities in that occupation often experience
    shortage at the same time.
        And so we need to be able to refocus the way first of all
    that we look for how people look and identify opportunities,
    and to be based on the skills that they have, rather than the
    jobs that they've been in. And second, we need to use that same
    idea to refocus workforce training programs to make sure that
    we are being as efficient as possible.
        People will often have to take a step down and as a result,
    and one of the things we've learned from the past recessions is
    that people who have been displaced wind up as you've pointed
    out, on the sidelines of the economy for long periods of time,
    and ultimately sometimes unfortunately never get back to where
    they were.
        The key is as Mr. Barela was just saying, it's so important
    to make sure that we can provide ongoing support to workers.
        Ms. Jayapal. Thank you.
        Mr. Sigelman. Sorry go ahead.
        Ms. Jayapal. Thank you. I just wanted to make sure I get
    Ms. Wu in here because she worked on this in the last recession
    for the Obama administration. Anything you want to add on this
    topic Ms. Wu from your experience?
        Ms. Wu. I agree with what Mr. Sigelman said. I think it's
    also important for the Department to think about under WIOA or
    otherwise, how to have some targeted interventions, especially
    for those who end up long-term unemployed.
        When people get unemployed for a long time, they can lose
    hope. They lose attachment, and I think there are a lot of
    tools that can keep people sort of continuously learning and
    showing their skills in other ways and provide that positive
    affirmation for that.
        Ms. Jayapal. Thank you so much. Madam Chair my time has
    expired so I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much. And now our
    Representative Grothman of Wisconsin. Representative Grothman?
        Ms. Foxx. Glenn, can you hear? Obviously can't, Madam
    Chairman I apologize. Go ahead to the next person. We'll get to
    him when he's available the next time, thank you.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Representative Spartz?
        Mr. Spartz. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am very happy to see
    PJ here in the Committee from Indiana. I know that Indiana is
    very forward looking on an innovative approach to workforce
    development, and it's very needed, and I was proud to be part
    of this effort, and I know I just would like you to share some
    of the things regarding how we can have a better operation
    between State and Federal Governments.
        And I wanted for you to just maybe mentioned a few of the
    things what we can improve in the flexibility of structure. How
    the State managed workforce development problems, and also
    maybe in the flexibility of funding streams that you could
    streamline all of these processes. Could you just share some of
    the examples how we look to do better so we could have a better
    return on investment when we invest in human capital which is
    very important.
        Mr. McGrew. Thank you representative. It's great to see you
    again. I think a couple of things on that topic. What we've
    been able to do with the waiver that we received from the US
    DOL from our broad structure so that we could really start to
    coordinate more activity across State and Federal programs
    which was so important.
        What we found was that you know our former workforce board
    was really driven by the workforce development agency and we
    want to see that connectivity across all of our programs, so by
    removing that, separating that out, elevating that a little
    bit, and including that directly underneath the Governor's
    office and driving for his vision with a Chair from our
    government system to better coordinate those activities on a
    day in and day out basis is so vital to what we've been able to
    do the last several years.
        In terms of flexibility I know we have talked a lot about
    supportive services, and other programs to be able to connect
    people to. I think taking a broader look across where various
    funding streams are and Federal programs, especially those
    programs that also provide employment and training services to
    individuals that are on SNAP and other Federal programs is
    very, very important.
        And one of the reasons why we opted to do a combined plan.
    So that we looked at it from in terms of eligibility across
    these programs so that we could start to stack funding streams
    together to see that ROI, instead of having disparate systems
    trying to accomplish some of the same goals.
        So I think as we consider WIOA reauthorization, that
    connectivity, flexibility of funding streams I think especially
    as it relates to the core programs within WIOA, and the people
    that are being served at a local level and how we can transfer
    funds back and forth between those programs will definitely go
    a long way.
        Ms. Spartz. Thank you very much. And the bottom of that
    issues is also maybe all of the panelists can briefly mention
    as a CPA and someone who works a lot in the financial fields,
    it seems like you know financial illiteracy is really something
    that is a big discussion, because ultimately you know we start
    our careers, but our investment in our future investments in
    assets and in our careers really creates an understanding of
    finances.
        That's why we create wealth in advance of our careers. And
    it seems like out of college a little bit too, accounting and
    was a high school Ambassador for CPA's society, and it seems
    like there is such a lack of understanding core basic principle
    you know of finances, and we are like a powerhouse of finance
    and not educated our children you know about the finances.
        So I want to know just from the panelists if you've been
    successful in implementing, and PJ you can start and maybe go
    quickly through all of the panelists and give us a success of
    some of the initiatives, and where you see maybe we can do
    better.
        Mr. McGrew. Yes. I think we can again as several Members of
    the Subcommittee have already alluded to of the other
    panelists. What is happening within the private sector, I just
    met with an employer last week who had mentioned that they were
    raising their wages from $11.50 an hour to over $15.00 an hour,
    but you know recognizing with those wage chains that employees
    were going to have other issues that they were dealing with,
    with that new income and wanting to provide them more
    comprehensive financial planning services to be able to
    accomplish that.
        I think we need to interject just like digital literacy
    skills that financial planning within our workforce system, so
    that as individuals go through training and are placed at
    higher wage occupations, they know how to use those resources
    going forward.
        Ms. Spartz. Anyone else?
        Mr. Sigelman. Mr. Barela before discussed the importance of
    career navigation programs and I couldn't agree more. And I
    think I bring that up here because we have to think about
    career navigation, not just as once and done, but as an ongoing
    support for people to have the skills that will enable them to
    keep going in their careers, not just to place into the first
    job, but to keep progressing upward and to achieve the American
    dream, they need a broad set of skills, a broad set of
    foundational skills, as well as kind of the financial literacy
    skills to enable them to navigate their careers and build
    prosperity.
        Ms. Spartz. Thank you very much, but I agree with you. We
    have to teach people how to create wealth, so thank you. I
    think my time expired. I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much.
    Representative Omar welcome?
        Ms. Omar. Thank you, Chairwoman. Really appreciate this
    hearing today. My home State of Minnesota has started taking an
    important step in addressing the racial disparities of economic
    and educational outcomes in our workforce system.
        The Minnesota Strategy Plan has two racial equity goals,
    reducing educational, and skilled training and employment
    disparities based on race, disability, gender, or disconnected
    youth, and building employment-led partnerships that expand the
    talent pipeline to be inclusive of race disability gender and
    age.
        However, as I'm sure you all know, there aren't Federal
    guidelines to encourage all states and localities to explicitly
    include demographic goals in their workforce plan. Mr. Barela
    I'm curious to hear if Colorado has similar goals in their
    strategic plan to close racial equity gaps and improve outcomes
    for disenfranchised communities.
        Mr. Barela. Thank you, Representative Omar. Great question.
    And I think in part of the documents that I sent you is we have
    the talent equity agenda that really sets the pathway for
    Colorado workers and business industry, and even educators to
    start looking at how we are serving our diverse population in
    Colorado, and the goal of that equity agenda is that every
    Coloradan has the opportunity to upskill, reskill, and next
    skill, so they have a valid career path to live in the
    community that they call home here in Colorado.
        And so we will be looking at how we can you know first of
    all put out there that we aren't doing as well with some of our
    marginalized populations, our people of color, our disabled,
    and what we need to put in resources and programs so that they
    have a fair opportunity to reach success in the world of work,
    so great question.
        And we are paying attention to that. We have that equity
    agenda plan, and we also have a talent pipeline that
    specifically targets where we're not meeting the mark in
    Colorado, and we need to do better.
        Ms. Omar. Glad to hear that. Have these efforts yielded
    positive results for historically disenfranchised communities
    in your state?
        Mr. Barela. They have and over the years we've done the
    talent equity, but this is the first year for the talent equity
    agenda, but with the talent pipeline report has seen progress
    in our Hispanic populations, and in our black populations.
        We know that we have to do better with attainment of not
    only basic skills and high school education, but we also need
    to see how we can make opportunities for credentialling post-
    high school, post-secondary education, so that they have a
    chance to look at career paths that look beyond minimum wage.
        Ms. Omar. Thank you so much. I've been talking to many
    communities in our district about their concerns during this
    post-COVID economic recovery. The most common priority brought
    up to me was that we need to create a holistic support system
    to help people fully participate in our economy and greater
    society. This means improving access to essential supportive
    services from cash assistant to childcare, and from
    transportation to housing.
        The economic and human toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has
    been devastating, and so it is understandable that many
    Americans will need additional support just to be able to
    participate and succeed in these programs, putting funds toward
    training and career services can only take us so far if we also
    aren't addressing the underlying socio-economic disparities,
    preventing many people from entering or staying in the
    workforce in the first place.
        So Mr. McGrew can you discuss how your State is handling
    the delivery of support services to address the systematic
    inequities faced by underserved communities?
        Mr. McGrew. Thank you Representative for that question. I
    think one of the main focuses that we had in our strategic plan
    was really colocation services and cross-trained staff, so that
    you were making sure that all of our staff were aware of the
    various programs that existed to help support individuals
    through their education training journey such as cash
    assistance, or food assistance.
        I think one of the unique things that we are doing in
    Indiana is we have deployed a group of Ambassadors to select
    locations across the State to learn how these programs are
    actually being implemented at a local level to understand the
    barriers, and then we can come back and pull what policy levers
    we need to, to be able to provide those supports that are
    needed and changes within the system.
        The other thing that we have done, and this was strategic
    on our part of the data that we were using in that scene of the
    first couple of years of our employer training grant program
    was that we carved out a set amount of funding and we actually
    went above and beyond this past fall of our employer training
    grant designated to minority businesses, women owned
    businesses, and we set aside five million dollars initially for
    that effort, and then we ended up spending over seven million
    dollars and saw an increase of about 200 percent of such
    employers, so.
        Ms. Omar. That's great. I know I'm out of time. It would be
    really interesting to see if any of these training programs
    have helped with retention in employment in your State. Madam
    Chair I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. He can followup in writing if you would
    so desire. Thank you so much. And now Mr. Grothman are you
    here?
        Mr. Grothman. Thank you yes, can you hear me?
        Chairwoman Wilson. We can hear you.
        Mr. Grothman. I'm going to switch the original question I
    had after hearing that last question from the Congresswoman
    from Minneapolis. A big complaint I get from my employers is
    they feel the government benefits are so generous they are
    paying people to sit on the sideline, which means they are not
    only getting not only not working, but not getting the work
    experience you need to move in a more highly skilled position.
        Have any of the four of you as you talk to your employers,
    heard about the complaints of the current dollars pouring out
    of Washington, that they're too generous and are causing
    people's life to stagnate? Mr. McGrew, anybody? I mean I hear
    it all the time that's why I wondered, anybody? Nobody heard
    that?
        Mr. McGrew. I'd like to talk a little bit about what we're
    doing to help resolve some of those issues with the folks that
    we had on unemployment insurance currently and using data to
    better serve those individuals.
        What we have done throughout the pandemic is really been to
    look at our unemployment insurance claimant's data, their
    educational attainment levels, their job experiences, and I've
    started to use that data to group that into various groups by
    workforce region, and then provide very specific and targeted
    information about if they do not have a high school diploma,
    the adult education program nearest them in their region. If
    they are looking for certain jobs, sending them job postings
        Mr. Grothman. What if the employers think they're sitting
    on the sideline, and when they come in, they offer them a job
    and then they won't show up? What do you do with people like
    that?
        Mr. McGrew. I have not heard that specific complaint from
    our employers about offering jobs and people not showing up to
    work.
        Mr. Grothman. OK. My second concern is we continue to I
    think get too many people who are directed wrongly, and then
    they get a big college degree that doesn't lead to a job, and
    later on get a skills-based education from a tech school, or
    for a second degree, or from their employer themselves.
        Could you comment on what you are all doing to prevent
    people from getting degrees that don't lead to a valuable
    skill. Does anybody know about that?
        Mr. Barela. Congressman Grothman this is Joe Barela. I
    would say again I would stress how important that career
    navigation is for young people and mid-career professionals, so
    that if we're going to invest public money, or private money of
    their own, or even loan money, that that training leads to
    employment in a career pathway.
        We are so far beyond the days where we could train and pray
    that there's a job at the end of the training process.
        Mr. Grothman. I just asked you guys because I talk to young
    people all the time. Could you give me say three or four
    college degrees that you would suggest I advise my high school
    students to stay away from?
        Mr. Barela. College degrees or high school degrees, I'm
    sorry?
        Mr. Grothman. College degrees, yes, yes, yes.
        Mr. Barela. You know I don't know if there's a particular
    one, I would say stay away from. Young people need to be in
    tune with their local labor markets. Where do they want to
    work, and are they hiring?
        Mr. Grothman. OK. I'll rattle off four for you: Psychology,
    political science, communication arts, and social work. What do
    you think when people say I'm getting a degree in one of those
    four fields?
        Mr. Barela. Well I will tell you I have a dual degree, one
    in psychology, and one in biology, and I'm working and have
    really enjoyed my profession in the human services, and
    workforce development, human capital development. So I really
    think it depends on the individual and what they want to do
    with that degree, and that's where coaching comes into play.
        If you can attach any type of learning, if it's
    professional education, if it's academic education, is there a
    job in a career path at the end of the day.
        Mr. Grothman. I'll ask you this. We put a lot of money into
    this. The last thing we need is more money because we're paying
    people to get one degree, and then later on another
    certificate. Do you think we should condition Federal Pell
    Grants, Federal loans, and aiming for a skills-based degree
    that people need like nursing?
        Mr. Barela. I do think that any resources that are spent on
    a degree in education should be attached to skills and
    competencies in those industries and sectors that are growing.
        Mr. Grothman. OK. So not Pell Grants for everything under
    the sun. Thank you. I will quote you on that. Anybody else
    comment on that?
        Mr. Barela. Well and that's the role of the local workforce
    board. They can decide how they can use their resources in any
    of the Title I programs in how they reward and allow people to
    use those funds that are connected to the labor market in their
    community.
        Mr. Grothman. OK. Thank you very much. We have lots of
    other questions, but I'm sure the other people will catch some.
        Chairwoman Wilson. OK. Before recognizing our next witness
    I just want to note that there has been plenty of reporting
    done to show that people are not in fact sitting on the
    sidelines out of the labor market because of pandemic
    unemployment, but because the wages and the benefits employers
    are offering are too, too low they don't even make the
    positions attractive to potential candidates.
        That is why even some republicans have now acknowledged
    that we need to raise the minimum wage, and why this Committee
    right here that you're sitting on has led the charge of
    increasing the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour. If there were
    really a labor shortage then wages would go up, but they
    aren't.
        We also need more resources for our workforce system to
    help people find pathways to new jobs, which is what we are
    discussing today. Not unemployment insurance, which our
    Committee has no jurisdiction over, and with that I now
    recognize Representative Leger Fernandez of New Mexico.
        Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you, Chairwoman Wilson, for that
    clarification, and for holding this hearing and Ranking Member
    Murphy. I want to also thank our witnesses for joining us today
    to share the apprenticeships, the coaching, the talent equity
    approaches, and life-long learning programs that work.
        You know I am struck by the Burning Glass documentation of
    a 2.3 trillion-dollar opportunity grab, and I hope that we can
    meet that challenge using WIOA. I want to talk a little bit
    about something that I think affects my home State a lot, but
    also this entire country, and that is in New Mexico one in 10
    paychecks is tied to the arts.
        And how that's especially important in New Mexico, the
    creative economy is essential to the entire U.S. economy. But
    since the start of the pandemic the United States has lost an
    estimated 15.2 billion dollars in the arts and cultural sector.
    Creative workers have been some of the most severely impacted
    by the COVID pandemic at the height 63 percent of creative
    workers experienced unemployment.
        Mr. Barela can you elaborate on what Colorado is doing to
    help provide employment opportunities for those engaged in the
    creative economy?
        Mr. Barela. Thank you, Representative Fernandez. And my
    heart is with you. My family has roots in New Mexico and
    southern Colorado, so my parents have a home in Santa Fe, so
    the arts are so important to me growing up.
        And so I wanted to let you know in Colorado I've mentioned
    sector partnerships. We do have a specific sector partnership
    that works on the creative arts industry, and so bringing
    together employers and community-based organizations to work
    with us through the workforce system to make sure that we have
    pipelines for people interested in going into the career arts,
    and even the entrepreneurial field with creative industries.
        So that's how we are making sure that the arts industry is
    recognized, and we're supporting that in Colorado because it's
    so important to our economy as well. We also have to the
    pandemic people who are unemployment insurance highlighting
    sectors that are hiring and growing.
        In April one of our weeks was specifically spent on the
    growing job openings in the creative arts industries. And so I
    want to let you know that you know just as in New Mexico, thank
    you to that people have a variety of opportunities to take to
    the public workforce system and go into careers that are
    growing, and we need them to grow to support our tourism
    industry and our heritage are important to the public workforce
    system.
        Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you for summarizing that. I'm
    actually working on Federal legislation to create a grants
    program under the Department of Labor in consultation with the
    national endowment for the arts to put creatives to work, so
    creating that art and experiences that can be enjoyed by the
    public, this is inspired by the WPA.
        We all remember the beautiful WPA Federal project one after
    the depression, and we see the murals, the beautiful art that
    has been preserved some of our most iconic artwork coming out
    of the depression and the WPA. And what I loved about it is it
    was celebrating cultures as you mentioned, our heritage across
    diverse communities.
        I hope you'd really be willing to work with me on getting
    that structured and with great input from Colorado as well.
        Mr. Barela. We'd love that opportunity thank you.
        Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you. And you know when we think
    about the ability of the arts to inspire a nation, I only need
    to remember Amanda Gorman's inauguration poem, ``For there is
    always light, if only we were brave enough to see it. If only
    we're brave enough to be it.''
        So on the issue of light, another workforce that needs our
    help in New Mexico and across the entire country is fossil fuel
    workers. And as we move toward clean energy to address the
    climate crisis, I want to make sure we don't forget the folks
    that earned their living supplying energy to our Nation.
        Mr. Sigelman I'm struck by your Burning Glass model, and
    how that could be applied to displaced oil and gas workers.
    Have you found any best practices for these folks in particular
    that we can adopt in this reauthorization of WIOA?
        Mr. Siegelman. Thank you, Representative Leger Fernandez.
    And such an important opportunity right now to build on the
    skills that those working in the carbon economy have. As we see
    growing levels of decarbonization of the economy, we're going
    to need to be able to build bridges.
        And that starts by recognizing the skills that oil and gas
    workers have and using those to identify a broader set of
    opportunities for them. One of the things compounding the
    challenge there is of course the geography of the carbon
    economy and the geography of the green economy don't always
    align.
        And so one of the things we'll have to do in addition to
    aligning up skills is making sure that we can leverage remote
    technologies and the like to be able to build bridges for those
    workers that can find the opportunities and the kinds of
    incomes they deserve.
        Ms. Leger Fernandez. Thank you very much Mr. Sigelman, but
    my time has expired, but that goes to the point that was
    mentioned earlier people want to stay and live in the place
    they call home. I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much. Ms.
    Fulcher of Idaho? No? Ms. Miller-Meeks?
        Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you so much Madam Chair and I'll
    just say I've spent my day today traveling to various employers
    in my district, and contrary to statements just made here in
    Iowa they're having tremendous difficulty in hiring people, and
    these are not jobs at minimum wage, these are jobs at $16.00,
    $25.00, $30.00 an hour, and even some employers jobs that are
    between $80.00 to $130,000.00 a year with excellent benefits.
        So I just wanted to add that in that there are good paying
    jobs in Iowa, so if people want to relocate, we would welcome
    them here. Mr. McGrew it seems like Indiana has a rather unique
    structure for your State workforce system. This structure has
    also seemingly influenced your State planning process across
    multiple programs.
        How have you maintained a stronger employer voice on your
    State board, while also increasing coordination across
    government agencies at the State level? Has this structure
    enabled you to bridge gaps more effectively between the
    education and workforce systems?
        Mr. McGrew. Well thank you Representative for that
    question. In terms of maintaining employer voice. So we do have
    a policy Committee underneath the cabinet, and it is primarily
    employers, so we have five employers on that representing the
    various sectors that are a part of our workforce program, and
    then we have four members from different State agencies that
    are implementing programs, the Commission for Higher Education,
    Department of Workforce Development, our Department of
    Education and then myself.
        So you know we really get to hear from our employers there,
    but also then working with our local workforce boards and their
    employers and serving them and sitting in on their quarterly
    meetings of our workforce board association to get that
    feedback of what's happening at a local level.
        In terms of coordinating across the agencies I do believe
    by having a Chair that serves in State government, and runs a
    State agency, we are better able to better coordinate that
    activity, especially since you know the Governor appointed our
    commissioner to higher education, we are seeing the bridging of
    that education and workforce gap.
        I often times would like to say that you know workforce
    development anymore is educational attainment paired with
    supportive services and skills that are aligned to economic
    needs, and that's what we're doing with the targeted
    investments that we're making in our next level jobs program.
        Mrs. Miller-Meeks. So thank you for that, and here in Iowa
    we're similar where our employers have a voice because they
    know what skillsets they need, so that training can be provided
    whether it's at the high school level, concurrent enrollment at
    community college, or there at the facility for that skills
    training, so thank you very much.
        Ms. Wu after LinkedIn's experience piloting skills-based
    hiring, you found that the company was both able to broaden the
    talent pool you were drawing from and improve hiring
    efficiency. I believe that efforts like this will be
    increasingly important as the world moves into a more skills-
    based economy.
        And so two questions. Do avenues like TikTok which have
    been hiring. We learned that they were hiring people to help
    the cartels bring people across the border, but I know that
    TikTok has now for young people to become an avenue that they
    look for employment.
        And then also through LinkedIn and other avenues, how could
    the workforce system do a better job of focusing not just on
    credentials, but on individual skills?
        Ms. Wu. Thank you for that question. I think you know one
    of the things I'm not as familiar with some of the TikTok
    workforce efforts, but you know part of it is the workforce
    system has to go to where people are to try to reach them.
        And there was a question earlier about how they can do a
    better job of serving employers, this partnership we had in El
    Paso. You know they were very creative. They had laptops.
    Workforce staff went out. They went to where businesses are,
    business owners are busy. They're trying to run their business.
        And so in order to support them, coming to where people are
    in providing those services is tremendously important. We do
    think we're building on our skills-based hiring pilot, working
    with other companies that are interested in the same thing, and
    I think we have to remember actually before the pandemic the
    labor market was really tight, and so there were a lot of jobs
    already going unfilled, and a lot of employers are saying we're
    having a tough time filling these jobs.
        Maybe if we have a slightly broader lens, cast a wider net,
    we'll find more people, and at the same time achieve the ends
    of acknowledging people's skills and hiring people who maybe
    don't have the existing job title or degree, but can do the job
    very well.
        You know everyone has to do a job for the first time, and
    so making sure that people who have skills, but not necessarily
    the job title already are included as important.
        Ms. Miller-Meeks. And some of the data and information you
    gain through these events and outreach, do you relay those back
    to like a community college, or other apprenticeship programs,
    so they're aware of what's available and what skills are
    needed?
        Ms. Wu. Yes absolutely. We try to partner with local
    workforce boards and provide that information to them as well
    as community colleges and other partners.
        Ms. Miller-Meeks. Thank you. My time ran out. I yield back
    my time. Thank you so much.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. And now the very patient
    superstar Mr. Jones of New York.
        Mr. Jones. Thank you, Madam Chair, for those kind words,
    and to all of our witnesses for being here to share your
    testimony today. I'm glad the Committee is looking at how we
    can create pathways to employment for workers who have lost
    their jobs for one reason for another. The past year has
    demonstrated why investments in workforce development are
    critically needed.
        Millions of people lost their jobs as a result of the
    COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent economic fallout. And
    during this time many turned to workforce programs for
    assistance. Fortunately, we are on the path to recovery as
    things get back to normal.
        In my district the unemployment rate has dropped from 15
    percent at the height of the pandemic to around 6 percent
    today. There is still so much that needs to be done as we
    recover from the past year, which is why I'm glad our focus
    today is on the workforce in fostering employment
    opportunities.
        As Members of Congress it is our responsibility to ensure
    that all people have the resources they need to get back into
    the workforce after having lost a job, especially our
    vulnerable populations which are at a disadvantage because they
    lack those resources.
        Mr. Sigelman, I read in your testimony that racial inequity
    in our workforce isn't just a social problem, but an economic
    one. And you cite a study that found racial inequity accounts
    for 2.3 trillion dollars in unrealized economic gains in just
    2018 alone. Can you describe how we are limiting ourselves
    economically by not doing more to address racial inequity in
    the workforce, and how can WIOA better serve woman and people
    of color?
        Mr. Sigelman. Thank you, Representative Jones, for the very
    important question. So first the study that you're referring to
    was developed by policy Lincoln with Burning Glass using our
    data, and it provides an in-depth analysis of a disaggregated
    equity indicators in labor market dynamics.
        It found that white workers are 50 percent more likely than
    workers of color to hold good jobs, and that if you could
    eliminate those racial inequities in income, it would boost the
    U.S. economy, and as you sited by 2.3 million, trillion dollars
    here.
        I think it's important first of all to recognize that there
    will be really a double gain there. Not only does that
    represent 2.3 trillion dollars more in wages for workers of
    color, but it also says even in a free-market economy wages are
    a proxy for correctivity.
        So not only would that 2.3 trillion dollar gain to workers
    be a gain to workers, but it would also be a gain to industry
    having an even more productive workforce. So to your question
    the mechanism for being able to bridge that gap, and I think
    this is why it's skilled.
        What's most exciting is that the opportunity here to bridge
    the gap is real, it's clear, and it's achievable. The key is to
    look at what are the jobs that are going unfilled, and there
    has been a number of representatives who have cited that there
    are a lot of employers who are unable to find talent for jobs,
    there are critical talent shortages throughout the economy in
    New York and every district.
        If we start there with the landscape of opportunity and
    then work backward and say OK, where are there talent pools
    that have high representation of people of color, of women, of
    immigrants, and how do we think about the specific skill
    pathways that will enable people in those talent pools with
    strong representative to move into better paying jobs with more
    upward mobility with lower rates of representation.
        The workforce system can be designed to help people bridge
    those gaps by specifically acquiring the skills for those
    particular transitions.
        Mr. Jones. Thank you so much. Ms. Wu, since the beginning
    of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed a historic number
    of displayed workers, particularly in communities of color. As
    my colleague from Washington Ms. Jayapal pointed out, reports
    show that women of color have been disproportionately affected.
        What kinds of resources and funding can employers like
    Microsoft bring to the table to ensure that when displaced
    workers return to the workforce, they are earning livable wages
    that allow them to support their families?
        Ms. Wu. Thank you, Congressman. This is something I feel
    very passionately about. I actually started my career
    representing workers, a lot of steelworkers, tobacco workers,
    hotel workers, who had lost their jobs, and it is really tough
    on not just the worker, but their whole family when this
    happens.
        Microsoft has partnered with non-profits around the country
    to make sure that we're meeting people where they are, serving
    communities, diverse communities. We actually have a focused
    effort right now especially working with black and African
    American led, and serving non-profits, 50 non-profits around
    the country to provide career services, counseling, skills
    education, opportunities to connect to jobs.
        And doing that you know, that's part of what private sector
    can do. We have to do it in partnership with government and
    others, community colleges, libraries, wherever people are to
    meet people, and to help them do the best match they can to try
    to find good jobs as we talked about earlier, and also say if
    you need a few more skills here are some options.
        We're providing low and no cost training and
    certifications, but we know people do better when they have a
    partner to help them and support them, and so it's important to
    invest in those partnerships too.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much. If you want to
    respond more to Mr. Representative Jones, you can do so in
    writing. Everyone is interested in what you're saying.
    Representative Letlow?
        Ms. Letlow. Members of the Committee and witnesses, thank
    you taking the time to discuss opportunities for dislocated
    workers under the Workforce and Innovation and Opportunity Act.
    I'd like to highlight one workforce program that has benefited
    dislocated workers as well as new entrants into the workforce
    in my district and State. The Department of Labor has partnered
    with Delta Regional Authority and the Appalachian Regional
    Commission to administer an initiative called the workforce
    opportunity for rural communities.
        This program has boosted rural community workforce
    development efforts across the State and within the Fifth
    District. In fact, my alma mater and former employer, the
    University of Louisiana Monroe, was able to benefit from one of
    these grants.
        ULM partnered with numerous local parish school systems,
    community colleges, and workforce boards to create a high
    school business academy which taught students the basics of
    entrepreneurship, management, marketing, and accounting while
    allowing them to earn college credit.
        This partnership sought to align curriculum to regional
    needs. I hope Congress will continue to invest in the DOL Rural
    Community Workforce Program. Ms. Wu, you said that the most
    critical component of skilled programs is an immediate prospect
    to connect to good jobs.
        This seems to be a straightforward point, yet our workforce
    system all too often misses the opportunity to successfully
    partner with the business community. How can WIOA maximize
    employer engagement to ensure that workforce development
    priorities are closely aligned to regional economic development
    needs?
        Ms. Wu. Thank you for the question, and it's exciting to
    hear about that partnership. I think you know a couple things.
    As I said earlier small and medium size businesses, especially
    the ones that rely on the workforce system often are very
    stretched. They don't have a separate HR person, they don't
    have an internal training department, so working with them to
    really understand employer's needs.
        And as Dr. Foxx and others referenced, there are some great
    incentives and financial supports out there on the system, but
    sometimes business owners are too busy to find out about them,
    and so I think it's very important for the workforce system to
    sort of go to where employers are, provide them that support
    and information, and you know help them upscale their current
    workforce.
        You know, skating to where the puck is going, we want to
    skill all workers of course, but helping you know maybe being a
    little more flexible or providing more funds or programs for
    incumbent worker training, existing workers, they can develop
    skills on the job, that will help businesses and workers too.
        Ms. Letlow. Awesome. Thank you, Ms. Wu and to the other
    witnesses. I yield back my remaining time.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much. And now
    Ms. Manning of North Carolina.
        Ms. Manning. Thank you, Madam, Chair, and thank you to all
    the witnesses for being with us and staying right through to
    the end. I represent a district in North Carolina that lost
    thousands of jobs in the textile and furniture manufacturing
    industries in the late 1990's--early 2000's.
        And those were good jobs that workers could do with only a
    high school degree. Today as well look at the manufacturing
    jobs we currently are getting, they are advanced manufacturing
    jobs. They require more skills than people can gain with just a
    high school diploma, and I know that we're going to see more
    technological change, and more automation, and workers will
    need more skills if they have a shot at keeping their jobs.
        So Mr. Barela, can you talk to us about how the public
    workforce development system can adapt to provide access to
    upscaling opportunities for workers, so they can keep their
    jobs, rather than having a system that's reactive, and
    intervenes only after workers are displaced?
        Mr. Barela. Right. And I believe Assistant Secretary Wu
    mentioned incumbent worker training, and I think that's what
    workforce boards need to do with the Workforce Innovation
    Opportunity Act, but we need more opportunities that we can go
    and partner with our industry associations through sector
    initiatives, or even individual employers that could be small
    businesses, to work with those impacted works who need to be
    upscaled to work alongside technology, and not be displaced by
    technology to keep those jobs in advanced manufacturing.
        So I do think we have the opportunity, but we need to
    enhance the funding available to do that, and also encourage
    workforce boards to use those resources in that way. So much of
    our performance is based on reactionary displaced workers, and
    we need to look at how we measure success working with impacts
    to incumbent workers.
        The disruption that happened with COVID only exasperated
    what we're going to have to look at the disruption in other
    industries as automation becomes more prevalent, and is work is
    done by technology. But that technology needs human support,
    and so how do we do that?
        In Colorado you know we are working with advanced
    manufacturers with our in-school high school students who are
    apprenticeship programs, starting them at their junior and
    senior year, they're learning on the job, it's complemented
    with not only curriculum in high school, but in community
    college the third year they work mostly and get trained on the
    job, and then they have a choice to make.
        Do I want to continue my education in formal structures
    education, or do I stay employed and have the employer work
    with me with the career that I have, or earned while I was
    still in high school?
        Ms. Manning. Great thank you very much. And I have to say I
    have spent time visiting both of the great community colleges
    in my district, and they are working with employers to make
    sure that the training they're offering is in areas that
    employers need workers, and that they're also reaching into the
    high schools to make sure that they're getting training,
    getting high school kids interested, getting them summer
    internships or paid jobs while they are in high school, so they
    can also develop those skills or work toward those skills and
    then go into community colleges and continue to develop those
    skills.
        Mr. Sigelman I'd like to ask you if you have comments along
    the same lines, and also what can the Federal workforce system
    do to best meet the needs of the employers and workers?
        Mr. Sigelman. Thank you, Representative Manning. I think a
    lot of this comes down to being able to start by understanding
    what employers need. And you mentioned some of the excellent
    work that's being done by North Carolina community colleges
    where I'm very proud of our work with the number of community
    colleges in North Carolina and around the country.
        And helping them to take a data driven approach to
    understanding the landscape of opportunity for their
    communities. That's very important because very often we find
    is that all too often we find is that workforce systems, our
    career and technical education system, our CT system that is
    and others, are often misaligned in terms of how they are
    serving the landscape of demand and the landscape of
    opportunity.
        I'll give you an example. We recently did an analysis of
    the spending on TGE programs for the Excel and Ed Foundation,
    post the Perkins Act reauthorization. There's billions of
    dollars flowing into CT's and an incredible valuable resource
    in helping make sure that students can acquire an industry,
    recognize credentials.
        Unfortunately, what we found is that only 18 percent of the
    credentials that are being funded are actually in demand by
    employers, so then we start with opportunity first, use that as
    a key threshold to create standards for what kinds of training
    we fund, subject the ETPL community college programs to a
    standard of assessing their E2 jobs that are locally in demand
    and lead to good wages and upward mobility, then we can really
    turn the corner.
        Ms. Manning. Thanks very much. I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you, Ms. Manning. And now Mr.
    Bowman, Vice Chair of the Education and Labor Committee, you're
    on.
        Mr. Bowman. Thank you very much Madam Chairwoman. Ms. Wu, I
    have a question about digital literacy and upskilling. Thinking
    about employees who have been in the workplace for 10 to 15
    years who now find themselves needing to upskill. Given
    Microsoft's work on many digital literacy training efforts, can
    you describe what the key components are for making digital
    literacy training effective for workers who may need to upskill
    after having been in the workforce for some time?
        What additional support like childcare is needed beyond the
    content of the training?
        Ms. Wu. Thank you for that question. Well as you know from
    your background in education as well, people do need different
    kinds of supports to succeed. First of all we know adults learn
    best in context. And work is a great motivating context. When
    people know that you have to get on that conference call for
    work to be there with their boss, they are going to learn those
    tools, or they need to take these orders so the business will
    survive and thrive. They are very motivated.
        So that's first of all finding ways to help adults learn in
    context makes a big difference. Cohorts make a big difference.
    The people learning together with other peers, understanding
    hey, I'm having this challenge, how are you working through
    this challenge? That's also very important.
        And mentorship. People have gone through the program
    already and saying I had troubles there too, but actually this
    can make a big difference and you will get there. And a lot of
    our through community college partnerships, we find that
    people, you know, we have to give people also an opportunity to
    fall down and get back up.
        And so they need those other supports. That's why working
    with the public systems is important to provide transportation,
    maybe childcare, IT troubleshooting. My device at home is too
    old. I can't even log on to that course to get to it online.
    It's too slow, or it's too old. What do I do? How can I access
    resources? Get better broadband access, or to have you know
    some technical support to achieve what I want to.
        Mr. Bowman. Would you say that context and cohorts are also
    important as we think about high school education and even
    middle school education as well?
        Ms. Wu. Absolutely. Microsoft has a long-standing skills
    program which is basically teaching computer science in high
    school. We recognize that far too many students didn't even
    have a computer science class in their high school, and we've
    been expanding our effort in particular because we know for
    underserved populations if they get a class in high school,
    they are seven to 10 times more likely to pursue it in college.
        So you've got to start early, absolutely agree. Our
    approach there has been focusing on supporting teachers to sort
    of train the trainer, so we teach teachers in local high
    schools who are already there, already have the relationships,
    already are known to the students, and help students and
    teachers move forward together.
        But I absolutely agree you know at middle school and high
    school we all need support, right? We all succeed better when
    we're part of a team, and so having those supports and
    encouragement, and repeated exposure. It's not just a one time
    you're running across this, but you get to see technology
    opportunities, education, and people who look like you, or who
    are like you succeeding in technology fields is very important.
        Mr. Bowman. You made me very proud when I was a middle
    school Principal, we had one of the only computer science
    courses in New York City, and I have two former students. One
    is currently at MIT, the other is at Brum Science, excuse me,
    at Cornell after going to Brum Science. And we were located
    right around the corner from a housing project and as a Title I
    school.
        And I just got a text today from a former student who's
    going to be going to North Carolina A and T, so yes, computer
    science really matters. One quick question, what would you say
    to critics that argue workers cannot successfully make the
    transition, or make the change?
        Ms. Wu. I'm sorry to stay to critics that they can't do it.
        Mr. Bowman. Yes.
        Ms. Wu. Well you know I think everyone has the capacity to
    learn right? We're human, and that is part of being human. If
    people aren't successfully able to transition over to other
    things, we need to look at first of all we have to give people
    options. We have to look at the skills they already have as Mr.
    Sigelman also said, and not to say what don't you have, but
    what skills and experience do you have, and how can we build on
    that?
        And what are your aptitudes? Not all technology is the
    same. There are lots of things that you know it could be
    technology focused on energy and the environment. It could be
    in the helping professions, helping in healthcare. It could be
    counseling. It could be in gaming.
        So there are a lot of different opportunities across
    technology, and what we really need to do I think is open up
    that world, show people how technology is relevant to their
    lives and can help them advance, and find what's a good fit for
    them.
        Mr. Bowman. Thank you so much my time is running out. Sorry
    Mr. Sigelman and everyone else. I really wanted to ask you all
    a question, there's just not enough time. Thank you and I yield
    back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Bowman. And
    now Mr. Pocan of Wisconsin.
        Mr. Pocan. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thanks to all the
    witnesses for being here today. You know I was struck by
    something that you said Ms. Wu about who sits at the table
    really matters right? I think that's in so many aspects of
    life.
        And you know one thing I haven't heard talked about a whole
    lot today are the role of unions because as we know
    apprenticeships; although Mr. Barela you did mention registered
    apprenticeships in your initial remarks, are joint labor
    management cooperative processes.
        And so Mr. Barela if I can first, please extend my
    greetings to your Governor and to Marlon please, they were good
    friends and I appreciate them. But could you talk a little bit
    more about that registered apprenticeship experience?
        And then second, what more could we do to put unions at the
    table to help make these decisions, because I just left 2 days
    ago, I was at the apprenticeship program here at the painters
    and trades in Madison. We had Secretary Walsh here in town, we
    had him out to see it.
        So if you could just talk a little more about that I just
    haven't seen a whole lot of those conversations today.
        Mr. Barela. Thank you for that question, Representative.
    And you know part of our whole eco-system is making sure that
    through our earned learned models in the apprenticeship
    programs are highlighted.
        And I think our unions with the skills, trades,
    construction apprenticeships, offer such an opportunity for
    people in high school, people that are recently graduated from
    high school, and even mid-career professionals to go into an
    opportunity to get into a relative career pathway that offers a
    wage while they're going through that process.
        We have the Bell Commission here in Colorado which is our
    business experiential learning commission that was first
    created by Governor Hickenlooper and now Governor Polis which
    takes the business community and really exposes them to not
    only the opportunity through the State Department, the
    Department of Education, Department of High Education,
    Department of Economic Development, International Trade and
    Department of Labor, and figure out how can we make sure that
    people have pathways into industry that involve professional
    experience education and credentialling, and not just
    formalized academic credentials?
        And so our union apprenticeships and our merit-based
    apprenticeship programs sit at the table and discuss how we
    create opportunities for people to look at going into the
    apprenticeship field when they're young. But you know our
    average age of our apprenticeship when they join Colorado is 27
    years old, so we need to make sure that people, I don't want to
    say floundering, but they want to look for better opportunities
    and livable wages in the communities.
        The apprenticeship system is to both unionize and merit-
    based apprenticeships here in Colorado offer great
    opportunities so that they don't have to stop earning and get a
    credential at the same time.
        Mr. Pocan. And let me ask you a quick followup to something
    kind of related, trade adjustment assistance. Can you talk a
    little bit more about that because in our area I know that I
    still you know even since I've been in Congress, I'm still
    watching companies go overseas or south of the border, and
    we're still having some workers who are displaced out of that?
        Can you talk a bit more about no matter what the job loss
    is, how we can try to make trade adjustments assistance, what
    we could add to this bill in that area?
        Mr. Barela. For Colorado, what a great question as far as
    we go through coal disruption and the closing of our coal
    plants, our coal mines. If we could look at the trade
    adjustment model to in this particular case, the coal industry.
        And I think one of your previous colleagues asked about the
    fossil fuel industry. How do we take care of those workers who
    are probably in primary jobs in their communities, and help
    with transitioning from those jobs into jobs in those
    communities that pay at or close to that rate?
        And so we could take the trade adjustment model and make
    sure that we look at them holistically. In Colorado we're using
    State and some WIOA funds to do it now as we plan for that, but
    there are not a lot of resources to deal with those huge
    impacts not only to the workers, but the tax revenue that those
    industries provide to the communities to support them is going
    to be something that we struggle with.
        Here it's the coal industry, but because of technology the
    disruption will happen in many industries, and so we need to be
    prepared. What is the package that best serves not only the
    employer, but the worker and the community that's left behind
    from those disruptions?
        Mr. Pocan. Thank you. And Ms. Wu since you brought up the
    comment about at the table, any thoughts on how we can help
    bring labor to the table to try to help improve in this area as
    well?
        Ms. Wu. Well I know that's an important place where labor's
    voice is heard is at the workforce boards. And you know as
    technology is changing workplaces it's important to hear what
    worker's perspective is there because they're the ones doing
    the job every day.
        They have a lot of insights about how technology can be
    used efficiently and well, and you know I think it's important
    to bring everyone into the conversation and help workers see
    the opportunities for them as well as address the concerns they
    may have.
        Mr. Pocan. Great thank you. Madam Chair I'll yield back my
    two seconds.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you appreciate it. And now we'll
    go forward with Ms. Bonamici the very patient Ms. Bonamici.
        Ms. Bonamici. Thank you so much Chair Wilson, Chair Scott,
    Ranking Member Foxx and thank so much to our witnesses. Just to
    briefly followup on that conversation we were having about the
    need for partnerships and meeting local demand, I have a great
    agriculture of science example.
        Here in northwest Oregon where Yamhill Carlton High School
    students, typically FFA members have classes in viniculture.
    It's probably the only vineyard in the country planted and
    managed by high school students. They can get credit at
    Chemeketa Community College and they're ready to work in the
    wine industry which is a big part of the economy and part of
    the district I represent.
        So I want to move on, and you know recognize that as we
    have in the comments today that the economic consequences of
    COVID-19 and the pandemic have been kind of a stark reminder of
    the problems of consistently underfunding our Nation's
    workforce system.
        We do not have adequate pathways now and supportive
    services for displaced workers to help them access probably the
    upskilling and reskilling opportunities, and at the same time
    entire sectors of our economy like manufacturing and energy are
    on the brink of significant transformation that will create new
    good-paying jobs.
        In fact, I'm also in a science Committee hearing with
    Secretary Granholm today talking about these workforce issues
    with the energy transition. So we need to make sure that those
    have been affected by structural changes in our economy have
    access to transition assistance programs, investments in
    workforce training and economic support, development support.
        So Mr. Barela I appreciated your reference to Colorado's
    Just Transition Office. I'm currently working on a bill to
    establish a national economic transition office which is
    modeled on Colorado's efforts that will help scale up and
    target Federal economic and workforce development assistance to
    communities and workers beginning with the coal economy.
        So in my work on this legislation I've heard from many in
    the workforce system about the strengths of the trade
    adjustment assistance program, which of course Mr. Pocan just
    mentioned for training and income support, but Mr. Barela,
    should displaced workers receive different benefits based on
    the reason for their displacement, or do we need a model that
    serves as sort of a universal dislocated worker program, and
    how can this Committee expand WIOA benefits to serve more
    workers regardless of the cause of displacement?
        Mr. Barela. Representative great question and thank you for
    that. I do think that it should matter, the reason of the cause
    of displacement, but the package that's available to workers is
    robust enough for them to be successful transitioning in their
    communities.
        So many of what has happened is people realize that you
    know I'm getting back to the power generation. If there's a job
    somewhere else those workers are forced to move to where the
    jobs still exist, rather than look at opportunities to stay in
    their community that they chose to live with in Colorado.
        So I think you know you look at housing assistance,
    transportation assistance, support services, access to
    training. I know a lot of these unionized positions in the
    generation, power generation, you know if they have to move
    into another category or program and then they have to start
    back at that apprentice level, and it could take four or 5
    years to get back to the journeyman level and is to say power
    transmission.
        And so, I don't want to say wage guarantee, but the wage
    replacement to keep them whole as they're upskilling and moving
    to that new opportunity would be a great opportunity that we
    just can't resource through the dislocated worker program. So
    when you look at how the disruption is going to happen through
    industry after industry because of technology, it would be
    great to have a package that's universal to dislocated workers.
        Ms. Bonamici. Absolutely. And I don't want to cut you off,
    but I wanted to get in another question. We also need to
    consider strategies that help workers avoid displacement before
    it occurs. So for example, here in northwest Oregon, Oregon
    Manufacturing Innovation Center, also known as OMIC brings
    together industry leaders, Boeing, educational institutions
    including Portland Community College, Oregon Institute of
    Technology, Oregon State, Portland State.
        Together they're developing a registered apprenticeship
    program in advanced manufacturing. So Mr. Barela you talked
    about Colorado's efforts to secure more than 1,600 sector
    partnerships, so what are some of the best practices for sector
    partnerships that could be scaled at a national level, or
    codified when we reauthorize WIOA and how have they helped
    create career pathways and emerging industries to meet the
    needs of local businesses?
        Mr. Barela. I think I'll highlight the healthcare industry
    in looking at how it's really dependent on industry and
    business partners coming together at the table forgetting they
    may be competitors out in the real world and figure out how
    they meet critical talent needs collectively as an industry and
    getting them to the table and saying here are the critical
    skill shortages, but also maybe the occupational shortage.
        And then making sure that there are educational pipeline
    systems hearing them and creating programs that can meet their
    needs. And that's not stagnant. That has to be agile because we
    know those needs change very rapidly now. You know they're not
    5 and 10 years, they're 1 year and 2 year, and so that
    education pipeline system needs to be agile in listening to
    business and industry.
        Ms. Bonamici. Terrific. Thank you very much. And my time is
    expired, I yield back thank you Madam Chair.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. I remind my colleagues sorry
    our Chair of the Committee Dr. Foxx are you ready? Chairman
    Scott.
        Mr. Scott. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Barela we've heard a
    lot, you've mentioned I think in your testimony about the
    possibility of counter cyclical spending with Medicaid when
    poverty goes up, Medicaid spending goes up, SNAP benefits,
    unemployment benefits, and there's a recession should workforce
    training benefits be also on a counter cyclical basis?
        Mr. Barela. Thank you, Chairman Scott. What a great
    question. We're so reactive in the dislocated worker program
    and several of our Title I programs. It should be made
    available. I don't know I think if there could be a trust fund
    like we have with the unemployment insurance system that's
    available for states, localities to take advantage of.
        When there is a surprise and economic downturn that's
    acute, so that we have resources to serve and maybe prevent the
    dislocation. I do feel when people stay attached to employment
    if it's through upskilling and reskilling, and working with the
    employer, we're much better off.
        And so I do think it should be that funding formula needs
    to be looked at so that local workforce boards, State workforce
    councils have access to that fund when they need it, not
    waiting for the bulk of that resource to be seen 2 years out
    when you may not need it.
        Mr. Scott. Yes, we keep hearing that we're serving about
    one-third of the people that actually need assistance. Does
    that mean we're serving one-third of the people at the full
    cost of service? Or we're serving everybody in about one-third
    of what we ought to be spending on each one?
        Mr. Barela. Great question. You know I think I mentioned in
    2019 Colorado had about 77,000 people use the public workforce
    system. Only 7,000 of those individuals received intensive
    services or training, or upskilling.
        The far majority of those are just getting career coaching
    and navigation. So we could do so much better to be responsive
    to the critical skill shortages we have if we could upskill
    people when they're dislocated, or before they're dislocated.
    So it's a very good question.
        Mr. Scott. Thank you. Mr. Sigelman. The first step I think
    is getting on the vendor's list to provide services. If you're
    on the vendor's list how does the program actually target the
    job training to where it's needed? If everybody wants to be a
    dental assistant, but the area needs welders, how does that
    work?
        Mr. Sigelman. Representative Scott I'm so glad you asked
    that question because it's a critical and urgent problem right
    now with our eligible training provider lists. In most places
    there are no defined standards for what qualifies as fundable
    training.
        And so there's often a political process of what sectors
    are able to shout the loudest. We need, and I think this is an
    opportunity for Congress to act, in creating rigorous standards
    to make sure that the training that we fund aligns to jobs that
    are in demand, that are in demand locally, because jobs that
    are maybe in demand in one part of the State may not be
    elsewhere.
        That they are also vetting that they are teaching the
    skills that differentiate people for those jobs, and that those
    are jobs that are good jobs, that pay well and provide people
    with upward mobility from there.
        Mr. Scott. Well we thought that's what we were doing when
    we funded and had the local board and didn't tell them what to
    do, that I guess we need to do a little more work on that. But
    in terms of skills how do what are called soft skills, how do
    they fit into the program?
        Mr. Sigelman. They're very important and I think they need
    to be part of every kind of training program that we do. Just
    teaching somebody how to code, or how to weld isn't enough to
    get them a job. In the 21st Century economy jobs blend skills.
    Our research shows the new foundational skills that are cross-
    cutting across most kinds of jobs in the 21st Century economy,
    and they include not only technical skills, but also human
    skills, like creativity and ability to communicate.
        They include data skills and digital skills as has been
    pointed out earlier in the hearing, and of course also business
    skills. We're finding there are certain business skills like
    project management whether you're a nurse case manager, or
    whether you're in construction, or whether you're in IT. Those
    are sets of skills which are broadly needed.
        We need to make sure that students have the full package,
    that our workforce training integrates those foundational
    skills alongside technical training.
        Mr. Scott. Are people that provide those kinds of skills,
    are generally found on the vendor lists?
        Mr. Sigelman. I think the vendor lists have a very wide
    array of providers. Some of them are doing really excellent
    work.
        Mr. Scott. I mean if you have a provider of soft skills, is
    it likely that they could be providing those services in the
    community?
        Mr. Sigelman. I'm sure they're provided. I would want to
    make sure that those soft skills are being provided alongside
    hard skills. If somebody just takes a course in communications,
    but they still don't have the technical skills, it's going to
    be tricky. The 21st Century economy industry needs are both
    that as valuable as foundational skills are, people also need
    to be able to have the technical skills that enable them to be
    productive on the job on Day 1.
        Mr. Scott. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you. Representative
    Mrvan.
        Mr. Mrvan. Thank you, Chairwoman. First, I'd like to extend
    my thanks to Chairwoman Wilson and Ranking Member Murphy for
    allowing me to participate in today's hearing as a non-
    Subcommittee Member. I would also like to extend my thanks to
    Subcommittee and to staff for recognizing the workforce
    development initiatives taken in the State of Indiana and
    providing the opportunity for Mr. McGrew to testify today.
        As a representative from Indiana's First congressional
    District, I am proud that Indiana with the leadership of
    Governor Holcomb and Mr. McGrew have demonstrated the
    incredible value of innovative and effective workforce
    development programs with proven results.
        As we toward the end of the hearing I want to ask Mr.
    McGrew are there any other successful Indiana actions you would
    like to highlight? And, if not already discussed, what Federal
    actions can be taken to support your initiatives and to allow
    other states to follow your example?
        Mr. McGrew. Thank you Representative Mrvan. You know I
    think one of the things that we continue to try to do is
    connect employers to you know, and that has been one thing that
    has come up time and time again today is how we're going about
    doing those things.
        I previously mentioned the UI data project that we're
    working on to provide direct targeted information to our UI
    clients on educational opportunities, as well as job
    opportunities to fit their needs. And today we're also
    launching an employer connector tool for our career in tech ed
    program.
        The workforce cabinet also serves as the state's eligible
    Perkins recipient, so we direct all of the career and technical
    education activity throughout the State, and so we provide
    opportunities for our high school students to opt into sharing
    their contact information with employers.
        And so we're using that information that we have to get
    that out and of course directly to our employer communities. So
    we think that will help alleviate some of those you know issues
    that employers are dealing with, especially as we come into
    better alignment for our CTE programs with our local labor
    market needs.
        So we're very excited about that. I'd also say looking
    outside of government for work and activity that's being done,
    I serve on our State Chamber of Commerce as New Institute for
    Workforce Excellence board, and they are working to identify
    not only State and Federal resources that are available to
    employers to work on talent attraction, talent development,
    talent recruitment, but also what is happening at a local
    level.
        So whether or not local chambers have programs or county
    community foundations have programs, so I think looking outside
    of the system for support is another way that we can really
    leverage things and work better together.
        Mr. Mrvan. I thank you very much. And my followup question
    is coming from the First District obviously labor is extremely
    important, also labor unions, but my question is what the State
    of Indiana is, and any of you might want to add to this, on
    manufacturing and making sure we bring workers along to the
    next generation of manufacturing and the renewable energies
    exactly if we could just have your view of that Mr. McGrew what
    we're doing in Indiana.
        Mr. McGrew. Yes. So I think one exciting opportunity that
    we have is our smart manufacturing grants that we're providing
    employers to help transition to new technologies. With that
    comes obviously the reskilling, and upskilling of incumbent
    workers to meet those new technological needs.
        So I think with our employer training grant, and the fact
    that it can be used for incumbent workers provided there is a
    wage gain, that the employee sees as important, but I also
    think in redesigning and using employers to really look at our
    community college system, and our high school career and tech
    ed system to make sure that we have the skills that are going
    to be needed once those graduates complete the program in two
    or 3 years really fit with where technology is going.
        Mr. Mrvan. Thank you very much. And I thank the
    Subcommittee and at this time I'd like to yield back my time.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you for visiting us
    today. I don't believe we have any other Members questioning
    OK. I'll remind my colleagues that pursuant to Committee
    practice materials for submission of the hearing record must be
    submitted to the Committee Clerk within 14 days following the
    last day of the hearing.
        So by close of business on June 10, 2021, preferably in
    Microsoft Word format. The materials submitted must address the
    subject matter of the hearing. Only a Member of the
    Subcommittee, or an invited witness may submit materials for
    inclusion in the hearing record.
        Documents are limited to 50 pages each. Documents longer
    than 50 pages will be incorporated into the record by way of an
    internet link that you must provide to the Committee Clerk
    within the required timeframe.
        But please recognize that in the future that link may no
    longer work. Pursuant to House rules and regulations, items for
    the record must be submitted to the Clerk electronically by
    email submissions to edandlabor.hearings@mail.house.gov.
        Again, I want to thank these amazing witnesses for their
    participation today. Great information. You have given us a
    path forward and we thank you. Members of the Subcommittee may
    have additional questions for you, and we ask the witnesses to
    please respond to those questions in writing.
        The hearing record will be held open for 14 days in order
    to receive those responses. I remind my colleagues that
    pursuant to Committee practice when there's questions for the
    hearing record, must be submitted to the Majority Committee
    Staff or Committee Clerk within 7 days. The questions submitted
    must address the subject matter of the hearing.
        I now recognize the distinguished Member of the full
    meeting for a closing statement, Dr. Foxx.
        Ms. Foxx. Thank you Chairwoman Wilson I appreciate that
    very much. And again I thank the witnesses for sharing their
    perspectives on how our workforce system can be better prepared
    for the 21st Century skill-based economy.
        I note that most of the other Members have left the hearing
    and that's fine with me because I want to make a little speech
    that they've all heard before, and I apologize to the
    Chairwoman and to the Chair of the Committee.
        We've invested billions of dollars from hard-working
    taxpayers into the workforce system, but it's clear that the
    system is not effectively meeting the needs of workers or
    employers across the country leading to a vast and growing
    skills gap, and the situation that we have described today.
        And I want to bring up something particularly to our panel
    Members that I think leads to this and leads to it
    significantly. I read all of your testimonies yesterday and
    last evening, and over and over and over in your testimony and
    today you have used what I call the T word, training.
        I believe that a big part of the problem that we have in
    our country is the fact that we have segregated and divided our
    workforce into two different groups, and I've listened very
    carefully today to your comments. I've noted at no point did we
    talk about people with baccalaureate degrees who may be out of
    work and may need upskilling or reskilling.
        You know I'm an English major. I was an English major went
    on and got two degrees beyond that, but probably if I weren't
    in the Congress I might need upskilling, particularly in the
    use of computers, but we didn't talk about that.
        So what we've been talking about primarily today are the 70
    percent of the people who don't have baccalaureate degrees. And
    I think that you've contradicted yourself in several places,
    and I don't mean to be critical, I want to raise your
    awareness.
        You keep talking about training, but Mr. Sigelman you
    particularly said we need people to have human skills, we need
    people with awareness skills, we need people with project
    management skills. Well the only thing I remember from my
    doctoral program is that you train dogs, and you educate
    people.
        And I think that what we've so much talked about today is
    having people learn specific kinds of skills that aren't
    necessarily ability to be upskilled or to be reskilled because
    we're not talking about the kind of things that will help them
    learn over and over and over again.
        And so I'm very, very concerned about that. And I would
    like to urge you all to look at all of your literature and say
    should we be talking about education where we think with
    education, certainly I think all of us feel that way, we are
    helping the whole person learn, and learn throughout their
    lives.
        I'm a big believer in continuing education and lifelong
    learning, so I really want to urge you to do that because I
    think it's a great issue. I want to associate myself also with
    the comments that Chairman Scott made in his comments where he
    talked about how we tried in WIOA to give a lot of local
    control, and yet I think again Mr. Sigelman you talked about
    the fact that you find in so many cases people are not offering
    the skills that are needed for the 21st Century jobs, but
    what's available now.
        So I think we have to look very carefully, and I don't
    think we've got enough feedback on this today on how we balance
    accountability with local control. We push local control a lot,
    but we have to have accountability, or we're pouring money down
    a rat hole.
        And we would be seeing better results in terms of where our
    workforce is now if we were able to balance those two things I
    think better. And I do appreciate the fact that we've talked
    about removing obstacles. I think we have to do that. We have
    to use all the tools at our disposal. I did notice some of the
    witnesses jotting down the $5,250.00 tax deduction for the
    private sector, which made me believe that all the witnesses
    understood that or understood the $5,250.00 that can be used.
        And I think it's very important that we do that. I think
    this was a great conversation today. It brought out a lot of
    issues that I think we need to be dealing with as we look to
    the reauthorization. I think we have a lot better understanding
    of what the needs are going to be in the 21st Century, but I do
    urge we ourselves on the Committee, and those of you out there
    doing the work that you're doing, to rethink how you talk about
    these things.
        Because if we want to get people to stay in the education
    system, which is what it is, or come back into the education
    system, whether they left at the end of high school, or after
    some community college, or even after baccalaureate degree, or
    even after a master's degree, we've got to talk about treating
    these people with dignity.
        And I don't think we talk about dignity when you talk about
    training. That's my point. If you understand that we want to
    talk about education and workforce development, and I think
    that's so important. So I want to urge you to do that, and
    again I want to thank the Chairwoman and the Chairman of the
    Committee for helping put together a good bipartisan panel
    today and hearing and with that Madam Chairman I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you, Dr. Foxx. I now recognize
    myself for the purpose of making my closing statement. Thank
    you again to our witnesses for your testimony and for guiding
    today's discussion on the need to help workers recover from
    displacement, navigate future changes in employment, and access
    lifelong learning opportunities.
        Today we affirmed WIOA's proven track record of supporting
    workers who have lost their jobs, whether it is due to
    automation, climate change, or global pandemic. These programs
    are among the best tools that we have to ensure that displaced
    workers can get the skills and support they need to build more
    rewarding careers.
        This bipartisan reauthorization is an opportunity for
    Congress to realize the full potential of WIOA's program for
    both workers and employers. That means addressing the current
    underfunding of training programs, including individual
    training accounts. And it means making the serious investment
    in workforce development that our competitors in other
    industrialized economies have made for decades.
        It means ensuring the workforce system has the necessary
    data to help workers leverage the skills they already have so
    that programs can serve people more rapidly, less expensively,
    and with greater long-term success.
        It also means expanding comprehensive support to help
    dislocated workers find new and rewarding career pathways, even
    beyond the pandemic. Most important it means prioritizing
    investment in lifelong learning and career support so that
    workers can avoid being displaced without the skills required
    to transition to better jobs.
        I look forward to working with my colleagues on this
    Committee to pass a WIOA reauthorization that not only helps
    workers recover from displacement, but also prepares them to
    thrive, in a changing economy for years to come.
        If there's no further business before this Committee
    without objection this Subcommittee stands adjourned.
        [Question submitted for the record and the response by
    Mr. McGrew follow:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        [Whereupon, at 2:49 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]

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