Chapter 7: Workforce
Workforce
Introduction
Most Texas companies are now addressing their training needs without
assistance from state government. In the fluid, dynamic labor market of the
future, state government’s primary role in workforce development should be
to foster a climate that encourages continued improvements in productivity. As
Texas Workforce Commissioner Ron Lehman stresses, “We need to figure out
how to impart knowledge faster, better, quicker, and cheaper.”
This will require the state to create innovative public-private partnerships
to optimize our training capacity and resources; provide information and
technical assistance to both employees and employers so they can assess and
respond to the market’s demand for job skills; and finally, remove
obstacles that impede the effective flow of skills across industries and
regions.
The Workforce System Should Better Meet the Needs of the State’s
Employers
Changes in the economy and in employers’ expectations require a
rethinking of the state’s role in workforce development. What should these
changes entail? The state needs to do much more to form partnerships with
private companies, and to reduce paperwork and bureaucracy throughout the
system. It fundamentally should shift its role to that of a partner in funding
training and a broker of quality information.
The Smart Jobs program, currently administered by the Texas Department of
Economic Development, provides grants to businesses for worker training. Texas
should move Smart Jobs to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). This move would
integrate the program into the state’s workforce development system and
improve public–private training partnerships. The Smart Jobs program and
the Skills Development Fund should be merged into a single program that is
completely funded by the Smart Jobs fund.
Restructure the Adult Basic Education System
An increasing number of jobs require some education beyond high school.
Basic adult literacy is critical to the improvement of Texas’ workforce.
The lack of meaningful accountability information on adult basic education
programs means that precious resources cannot be targeted to the most effective
providers. In addition, organizational separation between the state’s
adult basic education system and workforce development system creates problems
for individuals trying to learn basic workplace skills while also working to
improve their literacy. TWC operates some adult literacy programs, but most
adult basic education programs remain at the Texas Education Agency (TEA),
making it difficult to link literacy and workforce development training
effectively. All adult basic education programs should be housed at TWC to
ensure full integration with local workforce development board efforts.
TEA has little data on the effectiveness of Texas’ adult education
programs and should complete its accountability system. Upon assuming
responsibility for these functions, TWC should compile and analyze solid data on
results through a system that requires providers to devote minimal time and
resources to reporting data to the state. The easier the system is to use, the
greater the number of providers that will use it, and the better the information
on program success will be.
The Workforce System Should Better Meet the Needs of Workers
A driving principal in both the Texas workforce reforms of 1995 and the
federal workforce reforms of 1998 has been customer service, where customers
include employers and employees. The state should provide employers and
employees with information concerning labor markets and training opportunities
and should improve the accountability of the Texas workforce system.
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