Strategic Goal 2: A Competitive Workforce

Meet the competitive labor demands of the worldwide economy by enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the workforce development and regulatory systems that assist workers and employers in meeting the challenges of global competition.

Other Information:

Resources: Performance goals and major initiatives that support A Competitive Workforce are managed by six DOL agencies – the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP), the Women’s Bureau (WB), the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), and the International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB). The Department’s $3.54 billion of FY 2009 discretionary funding will contribute to maintaining a Competitive Workforce through efforts to address worker shortages in sectors of the American economy and build a demand-driven workforce system. Included in this goal is $3.47 billion for employment and training programs, $12 million to support policies and practices for disabled workers, and $9 million to assist veterans. Strategic Direction: Three trends transforming the American workforce and the manner in which people work are: an increasingly global economy; a sharp increase in the demand for knowledge workers: and, greater use of alternate work arrangements that do not fit the traditional work model. The world has become more interconnected and the country’s economic development and competitive advantage depend on the competitiveness of the workforce — one that creates new products, makes better products, and brings them to the market faster. An increasingly competitive and worldwide economy will require changes in the current regulatory construct. Competitive advantages stem from the transformation of new ideas and knowledge to advanced, high-quality products and services through innovation. Regions that will be most successful will connect three key elements: talent, infrastructure, and investment. In particular, efforts must focus on connecting workforce skills and lifelong learning strategies; regional infrastructure and economic development strategies; and investment and entrepreneurship strategies to maintain America’s competitiveness. Departmental programs supporting this goal focus on the continued retooling of the workforce and refinement of a workforce investment system that is responsive to a demand-driven economy and addresses employer skill needs. Similarly, our regulatory strategies and approaches have been retooled to promote the greater flexibility desired by workers and employers. Employment related laws, regulations and regulatory practices have been reconsidered to ensure they do not impose unnecessary costs on employers without yielding corresponding benefits to the workforce and the economy. The Department will strengthen partnerships among the workforce investment system, business and industry, education and training providers, faith-based and community organizations, and economic development agencies through current policy emphases and key strategic priorities Strategic priorities critical to transformation include: * Building a demand-driven system within a regional economic development context; implementing system reform, with streamlined governance and alignment of economic and workforce development regions; * Enhancing an integrated service delivery system that focuses on services rather than programs; advancing a vision for youth most in need; * Expanding workforce information as the foundation for strategic planning and career guidance; strengthening partnerships with community and faith-based organizations; * Increasing the use of flexibility provisions in WIA to design innovative programs to fuel economic competitiveness and create opportunities for career seeker customers; and * Utilizing an integrated and enhanced performance accountability system. To measure performance, the Department’s employment and training programs use a set of common performance measures, an integral part of the performance accountability system. They serve as a uniform management and oversight tool for the workforce investment system by describing the core purposes of programs using a universal language. While workforce services vary from program to program, two core purposes are employment for adults and skill attainment for youth. Data collection focuses on how many people found jobs; whether they stay employed; and what they earned. In order to ensure competitive and quality workplaces the Department, through work conducted by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), promotes internationally-recognized worker rights and labor standards, including those that relate to the elimination of exploitive child labor. Key strategies for this contribution to the competitiveness of the American workplace include research, monitoring and reporting on international labor developments, including the labor dimension of U.S. trade and investment agreements, and the application of labor standards. The Department also participates in policy development and representation in the negotiation of trade agreements and in international organizations such as the International Labor Organization, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and other international forums where labor issues are addressed. The Department also assists in the formulation of international economic and labor policies and programs that lead to open markets globally and benefit U.S. workers.

Objective(s):

DOL-09/08/07-2A: WIA Adult Program

DOL-09/08/07-2B: WIA Dislocated Worker Program

DOL-09/08/07-2C: Information Service Outcomes

DOL-09/08/07-2D: Senior Community Service Employment Program

DOL-09/08-2E: Trade Adjustment Assistance Program

DOL-09/08-2F: Worker Shortages

DOL-09/08-2G: Disability Employment Policy

DOL-09/08-2H: Regulatory Flexibility and Flexible Workplaces

DOL-08-2I: Child Labor

Content