WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT: Better Guidance Needed to Address Concerns Over New Requirements

A competitive national economy depends, in part, on a workforce development system that provides individuals with labor market skills and gives employers access to qualified workers. In the past, the nation s job training system was fragmented, containing overlapping programs that did not serve job seekers or employers well. 1 To address these problems, the Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act WIA in 1998, seeking to create a system connecting employment, education, and training services to better match workers to labor market needs. WIA s requirements represented a significant change from prior workforce development efforts, including, among other things