WIA's History
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) was enacted in 1998 as a workforce development system to replace the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). WIA was a bipartisan effort enacted during Bill Clinton’s second term and introduced business services to the local delivery of workforce development. The principal vehicle for service delivery is the Workforce Investment Boards (WIB), which are chaired by a member of the business community. A majority of WIB members are also required to represent the interests of the private sector. The WIB, in collaboration with local elected officials, is responsible for overseeing the One-Stop system in each local area.
Key Principles
WIA is constructed around the principles of increasing employment, retention, earnings, and skill attainment of program participants. It also aims to improve the quality of the workforce, improve the nation’s productivity and competitiveness, and reduce welfare dependency. Its cornerstone is the "One-Stop", where numerous training, education, and employment programs (One-Stop partners) are unified under a single roof for ease of access by customers.
Partners
The Act requires certain partners required to participate in each local One-Stop system:
- Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth activities
- Employment Service
- Adult Education
- Postsecondary Vocational Education
- Vocational Rehabilitation
- Welfare-to-Work
- Title V of the Older Americans Act
- Trade Adjustment Assistance
- NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance
- Veterans Employment and Training Programs
- Community Services Block Grant
- Employment and training activities carried out by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Unemployment Insurance
The Act also allows local areas to include other Federal, State, or local programs, as well as private sector initiatives, as partners in the One-Stop system.
Services
The One-Stops offer a wide spectrum of services, ranging from self-service activities such as using a computer, to intensive staff-assisted services such as group counseling, and includes access to training and other services for which the individual may be eligible.
One-Stops also operate programs geared specifically toward the youth population in their communities, with a focus on older, out-of-school youth with significant barriers to obtaining education or employment. Much like the Adult and Dislocated Worker programs, Youth programs under WIA are designed to prepare youth for academic and employment success. These programs fuse youth development activities (i.e. leadership growth opportunities such as community service) with traditional employment and training activities (i.e. classroom-based instruction).
For more information on the specific services provided by One-Stops, visit the Services page. The full text of WIA law can be found at http://www.doleta.gov/usworkforce/wia/wialaw.txt.
