人人享有好工作：聯(lián)邦法律如何創(chuàng)造從教育培訓(xùn)到好工作的途徑

1、Good Jobs for AllHow Federal Laws Can Create Pathways From Education and Training to Good JobsBy Laura Jimenez and Livia LamJanuary 12, 2021Despite the billions of dollars that the federal government spends each year on education and workforce training, education and labor market outcomes remain ine

2、quitable. For example, not all students graduate from high school, and even when they do, most are ineligible for their postsecondary training program of choice.1 Research shows that students do not receive sufficient information about what careers are available and which courses best lead to those

3、options, so they waste time in courses that do not lead to good jobs. Whats more, it is not clear how effective public workforce programs are at raising wages and increasing access to better jobs.2ftese poor outcomes in part result from how Congress structures and funds federal K-12 education, highe

4、r education, and workforce laws. For example, even though federal legislation should help students achieve the same long-term outcome of getting a good job, these laws have different purposes, are on different timelines, and the funds they provide can be used in a wide variety of ways. ftese differe

5、nces create challenges in designing coordinated education and career training programs. Furthermore, federal laws do not hold schools, colleges, and workforce training pro- grams accountable for the quality of jobs students receive as a result of their school- ing. Every year, millions of high schoo

6、l students graduate but are unprepared for college or careers. As a result, many students who enter postsecondary training do not earn a degree. Similarly, many workers enrolled in workforce training programs ultimately find employment in low-quality, dead-end jobs.Improving long-term outcomes requi

7、res a new approach that links all these sys- tems with a unified vision where school and training systems lead to employment in good jobs.ftis issue brief recommends that federal laws take a unified approach to build pathways to better jobs. Specifically, Congress should:Align the reauthorization sc

8、hedule with federal education and workforce development laws without creating legislative gridlock.Create a common set of rules and practices around defining quality.Create parameters for job quality that are included in federal education and workforce development laws.Align key legislative elements

9、 of federal education and workforce development laws with good jobs.Require states to implement federal education and workforce development laws collaboratively across the education and workforce training systems.ftese recommendations are informed by conversations with local leaders in edu- cation a

10、nd workforce training programs across the country so that they can better respond to the real-time needs of students and workers.Defining “good jobs”fte Center for American Progress has defined good jobs as “the kind of jobs that afford economic security and participation in civic life as opposed to

11、 occupa- tions that require few skills, pay low wages, or are vulnerable to outsourcing.”3 However, others in this policy space have developed ways to measure and define job quality that add greater dimension to this broad definition.4 fte topic of jobquality has also become a concern for internatio

12、nal organizations; for example, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development created a job quality framework that includes the working environment.5 Moreover, federal laws have enacted some measures speaking to job quality, including worker safety, sup-port for equal pay, prevention of

13、discrimination, and the right to form unions.And there are some job quality standards attached to federal apprenticeships and other federal job spending to support private sector jobs, such as prevailing wage laws and anti-discrimination protections. However, these measures do not go far enough to e

14、nsure that federal programs lead to good jobs.No single federal law related to education, training, or employment speaks directly to this more robust definition of good jobs. But each of them, to varying degrees, includes measures related to job quality. For more information on how some exist- ing l

15、aws address various aspects of job quality, see the Appendix.Despite plenty of research and practice on defining and creating good jobs, current federal laws supporting education, training, and the workforce focus on merely attaining jobs rather than prioritizing quality employment. Simply put, with

16、out greater attention, these programs will not necessarily ensure that students and workers qualify for good jobs. If federal laws focused more on job quality, they could both promote consistency across programs and create greater accountability for students and workers to obtain good jobs. Such a f

17、ocus would allow states to use federal funds collectively to create coordinated education and training in K-12 schools, postsecondary institutes, and job placement programs, thereby raising the quality of the services they provide.Factors such as cost of living and distance between jobs and housing

18、are included in the various job quality frameworks mentioned above. fterefore, local context dictates what “good jobs” ultimately look like. One approach to account for a wide range of factors in defining good local jobs would be creating a multiple measures dashboard, which CAP has previously recom

19、mended.6Using job quality to break down silos in federal laws for education, training, and workforce developmentAll too often, policies are created and carried out in silos. K-12 education, higher education, and workforce laws are no different. For example, the term “job qual- ity” does not appear i

20、n the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Higher Education Act, or the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)three of the most significant federal laws supporting education and training.7 Until Congress updates these laws to help students and workers get good jobs, the U.S. economy will

21、continue to leave millions of people behind through an ever-grow- ing gap between the wealthy and the poor.While there are many pieces to federal legislation, introductory statements could make clear Congress intent to close this gap. Specifically, the statements of pur- pose and definitions in legi

22、slation can address the range of education and work- force factors influencing job quality and discuss how jobs affect quality of life. For example, the quality of a persons job affects their ability to provide for themselves and their family.Job quality can also be addressed through other component

23、s of federal law, such as reporting and accountabilitya term that refers to program outcomes. ftis could help ensure that programs do in fact lead to students and workers getting good jobs and that these results are accurately and consistently reported.Harmonizing legislative components across these

24、 related policy areas can help students and workers easily transition from education and training into good jobs. Specifically, crafting common provisions and using similar language about job quality helps integrate it as a goal across systems.Components of current workforce lawsuch as unified plann

25、ing across core pro- grams in a state and common performance accountability measures for multiple laws with similar aimsillustrate how to help foster collaboration among the different state offices carrying out portions of these laws. For example, the CarlD. Perkins Act requires state plans to conta

26、in information about how the states career and technical education activities will be coordinated with state activities under WIOA and ESSA.8 And both Perkins and WIOA must align training pro- grams with local labor market needs and in-demand jobs.While these examples show how Congress directs state

27、s to coordinate their educa- tion and training activities, the laws are less clear about how these programs result in participants getting good jobs and how they measure that result.Questions on job quality for local leaders of education and workforce training programsThe authors met with leaders in

28、 state governments, third-party service provider orga- nizations, and K-12 schools to ask five questions related to job quality, which sought to answer how job quality affected program design and, if it did not, why. The interview questions used in these conversations are listed below:What makes a g

29、ood job?How are these defining characteristics/qualities built into your approach to preparing students for those jobs or for further training?Within your work (or program), what conditions need to be in place to ensure the learning that takes place prepares students for a good job? How about in the

30、 classroomwhat does that look like?Research suggests a relationship between youth underemployment, unemployment, and poor later labor market outcomes in the form of lower skills or training, reduced wages, and weakened labor force participation in the future. Are there certain policies or practices

31、that aim to ensure improved longer- or shorter-term labor market impacts/ employment outcomes?Research also suggests a connection between labor market participation and civic participation. Are there certain policies or practices that aim to help your students become productive citizens?A framework

32、to promote a high-quality job for all students and workersWhile getting a good job is important, there are no common standards for job quality, nor are there incentives for education and training programs to improve pathways to good jobs. Current efforts to prepare all students and workers for good

33、jobs focus on students and workers improving their skills rather than addressing the chronic issues that lead to income inequality. However, improving workersskills will do nothing to get rid of low-wage, low-quality jobs.While all federal education and workforce policies are similar, they are not t

34、he same. To help organize and classify job quality-related information and dimen- sions based on these similarities and differences, this issue brief offers a three-part framework with the following objectives:Define qualityManage and govern programs for qualityRequire decision-making processes to b

35、e based on job qualityHow to define qualityDefining quality must address two elements. First, programs must prepare students and workers not only to enter into good jobs but also adapt to the chang- ing needs of the workforce. Second, program service providers, employers, and government agencies mus

36、t also develop consensus on the definition of a good job, which may have common categories such as a livable wage regardless of industry but vary in the particulars by industry, geographic area, and local cost of living.fte authors conversations with leaders of schools and workforce training pro- gr

37、ams offer insight into how the existing setup of these programs fall short. “Were only getting the answers to the questions were asking,” said one third-party ser-vice provider.9 He explained that what is missing among these systems is that pro- grams cannot adapt quickly to labor market conditions,

38、 which would help drive the K-12 education, higher education, workforce, and even economic development ecosystem “to focus on good jobs.” ftus, if program service providers asked how they could prepare students for good local jobs, the answers would likely require changes to how they approach their

39、work. For example, he mentioned how theAffordable Care Act changed how the U.S. Centers for Medicare and MedicaidServices paid medical providers; it began basing payments on standards for quality of care, not just the provision of care.10 ftus, these providers had to demonstrate that they provided h

40、igh-quality care to be paid for their services. To make his point, the provider said, “by design, Congress aimed for better integration of care, better designed services better measurement tools.”In other words, Congress must build incentives and requirements within K-12 educa- tion, higher educatio

41、n, and workforce development laws to provide an incentive for those systems to provide services that benefit the long-term outcomes of students.How to manage programs for qualityfte authors interviewed a leader of one statewide organization that coordinates a career preparation system running in all

42、 regions of the state.11 He stressed thedifficulty of managing the quality of training in these programs because decisions are made by regional leaders, not centrally. However, he said the organization does require a review team to locally endorse programs to provide some assurance that training pro

43、grams meet minimum criteria. Additionally, this entity asks for regions to submit letters from employers. fte letters say that program graduates would be qualified for entry-level jobs, though they do not guarantee employment.How to govern federal programs for qualityfte Medicaid-managed care model

44、described above offers another example of how to create a decision-making model at the agency level based on quality standards. For example, the federal regulations passed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on managed care include requirements that strengthen the quality of care

45、provided to Medicaid beneficiaries and promote more effective useof data in overseeing managed care programs.12 In particular, these regulations created health care governing boards and made them responsible for ensuring quality-of-care compliance at all levels of service. ftis is just one example o

46、f how to govern a federal program for quality.Recommendationsfte following recommendations detail specific actions Congress can take to emphasize job quality across federal education and workforce development laws. Congress should consult with educators, workers, and employees to get their input on

47、these changes:Congress should align the reauthorization schedule with federal education and workforce development laws without creating legislative gridlock. One significant barrier to creating a complementary set of laws and regulations that support pathways to good jobs is the different time perio

48、ds over which these laws are put into effect. For example, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which contains a provision to require postsecondary transition plans for students with disabilities, has not been updated since 2004. 13Meanwhile, ESSA was due for updating in 2019 and WIOA wa

49、s due for updating in 2014.14 Congress updated the Carl. D Perkins Act in 2018.15 Putting these laws on the same timeline for revision without creating more opportunities for gridlock would support practitioners, policy experts, advocates, and lawmakers in considering changes to create consistency a

50、cross these laws.Congress should create a common set of rules and practices around defining quality. Specifically, it should determine how local programs are managed for quality and how local governments hold programs accountable for meeting quality standards within education and workforce laws. Add

51、itionally, federal agencies should create regulations that also emphasize quality.Congress should create parameters for job quality that are included in federal education and workforce development laws. Because job quality is an elusive concept, definitions set boundaries. Lawmakers should craft leg

52、islative text in bills to convey a stated purpose or intention of job quality, as well as limit allowable activities for programs that promote attainment of a good job. ftis would in turn help convey the importance of job quality to agencies and practitioners across the education and workforce devel

53、opment ecosystem as they carry out these programs. Knowing what a statutory term or phrase such as job quality means would at least give federal and state agencies an understanding of what policy conditions lead to education and workforce program activities that result in a good job. For example, th

54、e laws could require states to adopt job quality metrics that assess the differences between good jobs and bad jobs and would help hold programs accountable for program results.In the absence ofor in addition tocongressional action, even without renewed laws, the departments of Education and Labor c

55、an observe how their regulations do or do not address job quality and take steps to bridge the gap by issuing nonregula- tory guidance.Congress should align key legislative elements of federal education and workforce development laws with good jobs. Creating job quality pathways across the education

56、 and workforce ecosystem requires shared policies for determining how good jobs should be represented. For example, Congress must establish what events commonly qualify for public funding, which entities would be eligible to apply for these resources, and who can participate in program services. fte

57、se changes to the law will mean that state agencies and local programs will carry out their responsibilities differently because they must pay attention to how well their services lead to the end goal of a good job.Additionally, as the departments of Labor and Education carry out these laws, they sh

58、ould develop regulations, guidance, monitoring, and technical assistance that align with a new federal legal framework that results in students and work- ers getting good jobs.Congress should require states to implement federal education and workforce development laws collaboratively across the educ

59、ation and workforce training systems. Effectively carrying out job quality responsibilities within and across systems requires strong leadership. To establish a governing framework that puts job quality-related issues at the center of decision-making, there must be three- part cooperation and consul

60、tation among representatives of business, industry, and K-12 and higher education. ftey should focus on future earnings or earnings gains, employment benefits, workplace protections, and other issues that affect economic well-being. In order to do so, they must recognize how the labor market current