Senators Marshall & Hickenlooper Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Improve Workforce Training Programs

Washington - On Monday, U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) and John Hickenlooper reintroduced the bipartisan Workforce Data Enhancement Act to improve how we track workforce data across states. Specifically, it would make Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) grant funding permanent to ensure State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) and other providers of workforce training have the tools they need to measure and evaluate their workforce programs.

"If you can't measure it, you can't manage it," said Senator Marshall. "The Workforce Data Enhancement Act will help states like Kansas and Colorado improve their workforce development programs and connect more Americans to good-paying jobs. I'm glad to partner with Senator Hickenlooper on this effort."

"Connecting the dots between learning and earning empowers students, workers, and employers to make better decisions," said Senator Hickenlooper. "Better long-term data on workers' unique pathways helps everyone."

The Workforce Data Enhancement Act funds the development or enhancement of state-level workforce databases. These databases provide SWAs, employers, educators, workers, and students with data that can be used for evaluating long-term outcomes of individuals through the workforce.

The funding comes from WDQI, which the Department of Labor established in 2010 using funds from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The senators' bipartisan bill would codify the WDQI into law under WIOA.

The Workforce Data Enhancement Act would:

• Direct specific funding for WDQI grants that can last up to 3 years each.
• Require that funding is used to design and improve statewide longitudinal data systems that integrate data from education, workforce development, and labor market outcomes.
• Emphasize data standardization and skill needs transparency.
• Include multistate data collaboratives as eligible grant recipients, prioritizing consortia across multiple states to better understand outcomes of individuals who work across state lines and to identify employment trends.
• Focus on understanding how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence are impacting the workforce.
• Mandate that a report be submitted upon completion of the grant activity.

Full text of the bill is available here.

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