Every state has a different timeline for creation and evaluation of their local WIOA plans, but every state completed a new state plan at the beginning of 2020, right before the economy completely changed.
The state plan is a process, not designed to be completed in just a few weeks, so almost all submissions reflect the charging economy and tight labor market that characterized our economy at the time the plans were written.
The same will be true of almost every local workforce development plan, some of which were written simultaneous to the development of the state plan, and others which were written or updated in 2019.
All of these plans reflect a fundamentally different economy than exists today. Where we were experiencing many quarters of more job postings than unemployed workers, record unemployment will define the next several quarters at a minimum.
Over the coming weeks, this blog will examine how the changed economy impacts state and local WIOA plans. It will cover
- What planning WIOA requires when economic conditions change;
- What plan elements are most impacted by our changed economy; and
- Some tips to create resilience in your plans and workforce operations.
If you have questions or items you would like to see highlighted, let me know!
