|
Union
Checklist: How to Make the Best Use of WIA Training Funds
| Training
Level |
Funding
Source |
Local
WIB |
Governor’s
15% Fund |
| Pre-Apprenticeship |
|
|
| Apprenticeship |
|
|
| Journey-Level
Training |
|
|
What can building
trade union leaders do to ensure that they take advantage of funding
opportunities provided under WIA? Here are three steps to consider:
- Assess your
union’s needs and those of your community.
- Identify
potential partners, supporters and allies.
- Develop
a plan to navigate the application process.
1.
Assess the Needs of Your Union and Community
For
Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Programs
Most Likely
Funding Source: Local WIBs
What opportunities are available for individuals with poor English
language skills? Do your pre-apprenticeship programs offer training
in a foreign language? Do they offer English as a Second Language?
Have you considered reaching out to targeted groups in your community
(e.g., women, minorities, youth) to create or expand training programs?
Do youth in the community understand apprenticeship opportunities?
Are there
effective methods
in place to educate youth about these programs?
Are there large public works projects that represent real opportunities
for career building for apprentices and community members?
What are the withdrawal rates in the first or second year of your
current apprenticeship programs? If they are high, do you understand
why?
Under
WIA
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Under
WIA, states and local communities have considerable flexibility
in developing workforce investment policies and practices
that can impact building and construction trades training
programs.
Some
states operate under “grandfathered” systems and
have rules that differ from the basic WIA structure. Others
have state laws in the area of apprenticeship that may come
into play in structuring your program. And some apprenticeship
trust agreements may have provisions that will require different
structures for receipt of public funds.
Labor
representatives serving on Local WIBs or your Regional Coordinator
at the Working for America Institute may be able to assist
you with the process. To contact your regional coordinator,
send an e-mail to info@workingforamerica.org.
|
For
Journey-Level Training
Most Likely
Funding Source: Governor’s 15% Fund
Are journey-level workers missing opportunities because they do
not have the necessary certification to perform work?
Has the introduction of new technology necessitated upgrading the
skills of journey-level workers?
2.
Identify Partners, Supporters and Allies Who Will Help Get WIB Support
for Your Proposal
Who are the labor representatives on your local WIB? Do they understand
apprenticeships? The Institute can help you identify these labor
representatives.
Who is the local WIB’s chief elected official (the official
who sits on the local WIB and appoints its members)? Both your central
labor council and the Institute can help identify this individual.
Who else serves on the local WIB who might be a potential ally?
Are there representatives of community organizations, local government
agencies, union employers who might support apprenticeship training?
Do you have a relationship with the leaders of the building trades
council, central labor council and the state federation of labor?
Do they or their nominees sit on the local or state WIB?
Who are your potential allies among elected officials—the
governor, the mayor, the county executive—on workforce development
issues?
 3.
Plan in Advance How to Navigate the WIA Process
The Working
for America Institute can help you follow up on all the issues raised
by the questions below.
Is your apprenticeship program certified as an eligible training
provider?
What cost and performance information will be required to become
an eligible training provider?
Has your local WIB established its own self-sufficiency standard?
How does it compare with apprentice-level wages?
Does your state have a formal solicitation process for allocating
workforce development funds? How does the governor distribute funds
from the state’s 15% set-aside?
Do other building trades’ apprenticeship programs in your
area access public training dollars? If so, could they help you
navigate the process?
How
WIA Dollars Actually Flow
Organizations seeking funding for apprentice-level training
programs through individual training accounts (ITAs) must
be approved and certified by the appropriate public workforce
system as “eligible training providers” under
the Act. Other types of training—including all pre-apprenticeship
training, all journeylevel upgrade training and apprentice-level
training funded out of customized training dollars—are
not required to be certified as an eligible training provider.
In these instances, dollars could go either to the JATC or
to a similar umbrella group already experienced with managing
public dollars. In either event, the Working for America Institute
can provide technical assistance to the fiscal agent on how
best to manage public funding streams.
WIA
specifically identifies apprenticeship programs as potential
providers of training to unemployed workers and adults who
are in need of training to become “self-sufficient.”
In fact, the Act treats apprenticeship programs just like
colleges and universities, providing a “shortcut”
for them to become an eligible training provider. The simplified
process, called “initial eligibility,” requires
that the apprenticeship program submit an application to the
local WIB.
Application
processes vary from one WIB to the next. But most applications
to the local WIBs require that the JATC submit program cost
and performance information—information that is usually
already developed for registration of the program with the
Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training or a state apprenticeship
council. |
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