Every day, workers seek out job opportunities to ensure their families can thrive. The majority of jobs in the U.S. require training beyond high school but not a four-year degree. Yet, we’ve consistently underinvested in holistic, high-quality, and inclusive skills training that supports working people and their families. In fact, funding for our public workforce system has steadily declined over the past two decades.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is the primary law governing our nation’s workforce system, Congress has never fully funded this crucial law, nor has it invested in the workforce strategies necessary to advance workers’ careers, support small businesses’ talent needs, or promote racial equity and pathways to quality jobs. Most workforce programs do not provide direct funding for childcare for their participants, despite it being a major unmet need. Additionally, many workforce and adult education programs lack the resources to offer these services.
Increasing investments in support services is crucial for workers balancing parenthood, multiple jobs, and other responsibilities while pursuing career goals. A supportive workforce system must address not only training but also essential needs like food, childcare, and holistic coaching and navigation services. This strategy is vital for racial equity, benefiting Latino/a, Black, and other people of color who could benefit from access to quality job training and advancement opportunities.
Our recent public opinion poll shows that 82% of voters support increased funding for support services like career navigation, childcare, housing, and transportation assistance to help people finish skills training programs.
WIOA lacks sufficient funding for essential supportive services like childcare and transportation, which are crucial for workers to access skills training. Although WIOA funding could support these services, chronic underfunding means that less than 15 percent of 2021 participants received them.
In New Ideas for WIOA– NSC calls for the need to expand access to high-quality skills training and supportive services by making any worker with income under a certain level eligible for a Skills Training Grant that covers the cost of tuition and supportive services. Grants would provide e workers up to $10,000 in in public funding to pursue occupational skills training programs (including registered apprenticeship programs) to pay for tuition and services such as childcare, equipment, physicals, exam costs, etc. to aid in the completion of these high-quality training programs.
A growing body of evidence sheds light on the extent of basic needs insecurity among college students—especially parents, students of color, and others that don’t fit the traditional mold—and the importance of supporting students holistically to effectively promote equitable enrollment, persistence, and completion of postsecondary education and training. This evidence undergirds evidence of how life circumstances—such as having children, being the first in one’s family to go to college, or facing significant financial strain—and the ability to meet basic needs—such as food and housing security—fundamentally affect people’s ability to pursue and complete programs and earn credentials
Over the years NSC has convened multiple stakeholders to understand the programmatic, systemic, and administrative complexities of moving the economic needle for individuals and families, particularly those of color who have historically been excluded from mobility investments and advancement opportunities. What we’ve learned is that tuition simply isn’t enough. The costs of child/adult care, transportation, and food require attention and must be addressed to enable workers to fully commit to and successfully complete a high-quality skills training program. This includes access to public benefits such as food and nutrition assistance, Medicaid, cash assistance, and coaching and navigation services.
Childcare is also especially important, particularly for parents with young children who are Black, have low incomes, and/or are single mothers. But in many cases, parents must choose between attending college or job training and caring for their families, given the high cost of child care, limited access to childcare assistance and services that meet their needs, and complexities of both the workforce development and child care systems. States have learned that “free college tuition only gets you so far” and are working to develop cross agency and community-based partnerships to offer a comprehensive approach for students.
Ninety-one percent (91%) of voters support policies that create closer partnerships between training providers and businesses to train people for available jobs.
Policymakers need to support people holistically to ensure they can access and complete training and education programs, including short-term noncredit workforce programs, and that they show up career-ready on day one with job retention services. Comprehensive supports include simple things like gas cards and bus passes, but extend to family-friendly policies, career and academic coaching, direct opportunities for paid work experiences, networking within their industries to build relationships and social capital, and/or direct access to medical and dental services. In our State Financial Aid for Non-Degree Credential Report, we call for the need to integrate holistic supports into the design of financial aid programs that support non-degree credentials. States like Virginia, Iowa, and Washington have made progress in this area by recognizing that providing holistic support alongside financial resources is crucial to achieving access and equity goals.
Stories are data points with soul. Incorporating student and worker voices in policy design and implementation ensures that policies are responsive to the actual challenges faced by students. This inclusion advances greater buy-in, as people are more likely to support policies they helped shape. Additionally, it enhances the effectiveness of programs by drawing on the lived experiences and insights of diverse stakeholders, leading to more equitable and sustainable outcomes. Identifying ways to incorporate qualitative data and student voice is an important component when designing inclusive programs for workers. It helps us understand the role training providers, institutions, community partners, practitioner, and industry partners while being attentive to real-time student needs. NSC advocates for incorporating experiences directly on state and local workforce development boards, elevating recommendations into local and state workforce strategic plans, and creating leadership platforms like our Making College Work Student Advisory Council.
NSC’s network, has emphasized the need for a range of improvements to how our workforce development, postsecondary, and social welfare systems support people in skills training
