Make Worker Training Work

Improvements Needed to Fill Skill Shortages

The Chamber's Karen Elzey urges members of a House panel to make workforce training programs more responsive to business needs.

Federal worker training programs must do a better job of meeting the needs of employers and job seekers, Karen Elzey, vice president and executive director of the U.S. Chamber's Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW), told a House Education and Labor subcommittee.

The federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA), which oversees state and local job training and placement programs, is up for reauthorization this year, giving the Chamber and other business groups an opportunity to tell Congress where the program has succeeded and where it needs improvement.

One continuing challenge, Elzey said in her testimony, is overlap among state and local agencies in the constituencies they serve and the services they provide, which creates confusion for program participants and employers.

"Increased flexibility, streamlined bureaucracy, and programs that are responsive to businesses' needs are necessary to help employers find qualified workers in areas of the country that are facing skill shortages," Elzey said.

To view the Chamber's recommendations for improving employment and training policies, go to www.uschamber.com/goto/education.