Yesterday, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing focused on reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
The witnesses for the hearing were:
- Dr. Stephen Moret, President and CEO of the Strada Education Foundation
- Molly Dodge, Senior Vice President of Workforce and Careers at Ivy Tech Community College
- Robert Sainz, Chair of the National Youth Employment Coalition
- Nicholas Moore, Director of the Office of Education and Workforce Transformation for Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL)
Lawmakers on both sides highlighted their interest in reauthorizing WIOA this Congress and noted various aspects of A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA), which almost passed Congress in December. ASWA was a bipartisan agreement that would have reauthorized WIOA that was originally included in the continuing resolution being considered at the end of the year, but was removed at the last minute.
Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-PA), co-chair of the House CTE Caucus, used his time to ask the witnesses about how WIOA and Perkins could be better aligned. He noted that WIOA planning guides should include states’ wider strategic vision for CTE as outlined in Perkins V. In response to this, Nicholas Moore added that Alabama added “Perkins CTE to our combined plan in 2020” and did so again in 2024.
Witnesses also addressed the need for better data to improve alignment between training programs and good-paying jobs. Dr. Moret said that one way to do this would be to codify and expand the Workforce Data Quality Initiative grants, as included in ASWA.
A recording of the hearing can be found here.