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The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) authorizes the nation's federally funded workforce development system, which provides critical employment and training services to individuals and employers. However, since the enactment of WIA, the share of low-income adults receiving intensive [employment] and training services has steadily declined. This paper provides an analysis of the structural issues within the law that are contributing to these declines and offers recommendations on how Congress can reverse these trends by reinvesting in workforce development and transforming WIA through reauthorization.

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The Council of Europe/UNESCO Recognition Convention (also known as the Lisbon Recognition Convention) provides the legal framework for academic recognition in Europe, and it serves a double purpose: as a legal text and as a guide to good practice. The [European Network of National Information Centres] ENIC and [Network of National Academic Recognition Centres] NARIC Networks promote the implementation of the Convention and seek to develop a better common understanding of recognition issues across the European Region, which also includes some countries outside of geographical Europe. A particular challenge is developing a common understanding of the concept of qualifications, broadly made up of five elements: quality, level, workload, profile and learning outcomes. It is in relation to these elements - and particularly in relation to learning outcomes - that possible substantial differences between qualifications should be assessed. The developing qualifications framework in Europe should facilitate recognition, even if practices still need to develop and better policies need to be developed for the assessment of the increasing number of qualifications not linked to a specific national framework.

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This report and companion policy brief argue that basic skills and educational credentials are critical for labour market success. It is suggested that the current US federal welfare funding, through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, is too restrictive in its allowance of education and training activities and recommends that this be addressed when the welfare law is reauthorised. The report recommends the following important steps to increase access to, and successful participation in, high quality education and training. In terms of federal TANF policy: (1) ease some of the current restrictions on counting education and training participation toward federal work requirements; (2) allow sufficient time for welfare recipients to move through both adult basic education and job training to obtain occupational certificates; (3) make it easier to balance work, family, and school by keeping the overall required hours of participation at a reasonable level; (4) offer incentives to states to provide support services and work-study positions to low-income parents who are students; and (5) encourage states to provide job retention and advancement services, and provide federal grants to build training program capacity in partnership with employers. In terms of state and local TANF policies: (1) establish clear links between basic education, English as a second language (ESL), and job training; (2) maintain a close connection between education and training and employment; (3) provide intensive services and closely monitor progress; and (4) establish training options for those with low skills. The chapters of the report are: Welfare recipients, skills, and employment; Which welfare-to-work strategies work best?; When does education and training pay off?; Implications for federal, state and local TANF policies. Show less

This policy brief was developed as part of joint project of the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis and the Center for Law and Social Policy to explore the potential for coordination of IDAs and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in order to increase access to postsecondary education, job training, and related services for lowincome individuals. The brief is intended to provide a guide for WIA stakeholders and IDA providers in thinking about the possibilities for collaboration, and to highlight some areas in which clarification of federal law could promote such collaboration. The brief provides an overview of IDAs and WIA, explores areas for potential collaboration, and offers recommendations for federal and state policy.

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