Sen. Enzi is ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.

Today I received a report, which I requested along with Senator Kennedy and Senator Murray, from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the efforts of community colleges and one-stop training centers to meet the needs of the 21st century workplace.  This report confirms the need for Congress to renew and improve the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), a high priority of mine, so that all Americans have access to education and training opportunities that will prepare them for new, rewarding careers.

Community colleges and one-stop training centers provide vital opportunities for many Americans to receive the education and training they need to prepare for the high skills, high growth, high wage jobs being created every day.  Congress needs to renew and improve the Workforce Investment Act to make sure that these programs continue to help our workers succeed in the 21st century, global economy.

However, as long as Congress continues to delay WIA reauthorization, these programs will face funding instability, and they will not be able to keep pace with the increasing skill demands of today’s workforce.

Today’s report by the Government Accountability Office, titled “Community Colleges and one-Stop Centers Collaborate to Meet 21st Century Workforce Needs,” GAO-08-547, highlights the successes that community colleges and one-stop centers have had in preparing workers for jobs in high growth industries, and linking job training to local workforce needs.  However, the report concludes that WIA performance system measures need to be updated, and notes that unstable WIA funding makes program planning difficult.

That is why I have worked hard to make sure that any potential WIA reauthorization bill will include changes to stabilize the flow of federal funding, so states can plan better and more fully utilize WIA to educate and train their workforce.

By some estimates, nearly 4 out of every 5 new jobs being created will require some education or training beyond high school.  Congress has an opportunity to renew and improve the Workforce Investment Act to ensure that Americans have the knowledge and skills to fill those jobs and succeed in the workplace.  I urge the Democratic leadership of the Senate to take action on this important legislation.

I encourage you to take a look at the full GAO report.  It is available here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 15th, 2008 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Politics, Labor .